Part Two:

The Signless

"Mommy." Cries the small growing young troll.

"What is it my child?" Dolorosa asks.

The child's black hair covered his small horns; his red eyes glitter with pain, his one piece black suit doesn't have sleeves. He holds hand, the color red was flowing out of a cut.

"M . . . My hand," he pauses, "it hurts."

The Dolorosa turns around to see the young troll.

"Come here," she pauses, holding a hand out for his, "let me take a look at it."

The child walks up to her, very slowly. He learned how to be cautious on walking, since they live in a cave. This cave, however, had just been discovered by the two. When the boy got to his mother, he holds out his. The Dolorosa gets some white fabric out of a bag and tares some off.

"It's just a small cut, my son." She pauses, "You should be fine."

She carefully wraps the fabric around his left hand, over the cut. She sees the odd color of it. A memory returns to her. One that she thought she had forgotten. She remembers the lusui picking grubs back at the cave she worked out, a long time ago. She remembers seeing the lusus that looked so much like a spider.

"He is a mutant!" the words of the lusus repeated in the Dolorosa's head.

The child looks up at her, worried.

"Mommy?" he asks.

The Dolorosa's thoughts flew out of the cave's exit. She turns to look at the boy.

"Yes?"

"Are you okay?" He asks her, with weariness in his tone.

"Yes, I am alright," she pauses, "I just had a brief flashback."

"What's a flashback?"

"I will tell you when you are a little older, Kankri."

"Okay." He smiles at her.

The Dolorosa smiles back and finishes wrapping up the cut. All the sudden, the sound of anger starts heading towards the cave, slowly.

No, she thought, not this again.

She looks down at the child.

"Hurry my son, get your hood on," she pauses, "then you have to hide in a tree."

"Mommy," he pauses, "what if they hurt you again?"

"That doesn't matter," she says, "I will protect you, no matter the cost."

The Dolorosa helps her son put on his hood. They make a run for it outside to the nearest tree.

"Mommy." The child says as the Dolorosa helps him up the tree.

"I will be fine." She pauses, "Don't come down until they are gone."

"Mommy, I am frightened."

"Everything will be alright, I promise." She pauses, kissing the child's forehead, "stay hidden, stay quiet, and don't come down until they are gone."

The child didn't reply, he holds on a branch as he hides from the mob that made their way.

"Where is he?" asks Orphaner Dualscar.

His black hair holds a bit of purple in it, his horns make the symbol on his armor, his cape and armor are both purple, his black pants have purple stripes going up and down, his black shoes have a bit of purple in them, his dark purple eyes were full of hatred towards the Dolorosa, his fish fins, that are used for breathing underwater, is what he uses to hear everything when he dwells upon the land, he has two scar marks a crossed the left side of his gray-skinned face.

"He's not here." The Dolorosa calmly says.

"Don't pull that shit, Maryam," he angrily pauses, "I know that he is here somewhere."

"He isn't."

"You lie terribly." He slowly pulls out his rifle, "For the last time, tell me where he fucking is!"

"He's not here." She repeats what she had said before.

"You really want to die," he slowly puts his finger on the trigger, "don't you?"

"I will never tell you where he is." She says.

"I will give you to the count of ten, Dolorosa," he pauses, "to hand over the mutant, or you will be arrested. One."

Dualscar slaps Dolorosa a crossed the face.

What am I going to do, she thought, he has his figure on the trigger, I could die soon.

"Two."

He kicks her in the stomach, she falls to the ground.

What am I going to do, she pauses, and I can't lose him.

"Three."

He goes to the ground and punches her continually in the stomach.

The Dolorosa bites her lip.

"Four."

He then kicks her in the back.

I have to think of something quick, she pauses, if I don't think of anything to do soon, I am going to get arrested.

"Five."

He slaps her face once again.

Maybe I can tell them a false place where he is, she ponders.

"Six."

He kicks her in the stomach. She coughs up some blood. Her face scratched opened, her jade blood flows out of the wounds.

Hopefully they believe me, she thinks.

"Seven."

He kicks her in the back again.

That's what I'll do, she says.

"Eight."

Dualscar slaps her face again.

The child bites his lip to keep from tearing up. He is watching his mother getting hurt by someone he didn't know.

"Nine!" Dualscar pauses, "I am one away, Dolorosa, tell me where he is!"

He kicks her in the stomach again.

"TEN!" He picks her up.

"Wait," she says, "I will tell you."

Blood comes out of her mouth.

"Where is he?" he asks, angrily.

"He is in a cave." She pauses, "Go ten miles north and eight miles west, you will come to a cave. He is in there."

"What is this?" He pauses, "Some sort of fucking trick?"

"No," The Dolorosa puts her left arm around her, holding her stomach.

"Fine," he pauses, "Men! Let's head out!"

Dolorosa falls to her knees, jade tears flowing down her eyes. The salt from the tears go into the cuts and they start stinging. But, this didn't make her stern; she was used to this pain. She carefully watches Dualscar and his men walk away.

"For Her Imperial Condensation!" Dualscar yells before they were totally gone.

"All hail Meenah Piexes!" The men all say in unison.

The Dolorosa sobs. The child carefully gets down from the tree and runs to his mother's side.

"Mommy," he pauses, "you're crying again."

She looks at her son, she wraps her right arm around him pulling him closer to her.

"I'm sorry." She cries, "I'm sorry."

The child tries to wrap his small arms around her.

"Don't cry, mommy." He pauses, as he kisses her cheek, "Don't cry, mommy."