Signs Of A Past Remembered

Chapter One- Rosa

The day I found Silas seemed destined to be just another day. I was walking in the village, a place where I fit in, but it was also a place I wasn’t supposed to be. Despite my midblood level on the hemospectrum, I lived with the highbloods in their grand hive as Dualscar’s slave. Dualscar is not a cruel master, in fact he is often fairly kind to me and  allows me these trips out of the hive often enough.

Before I begin this story, I should offer some sort of introduction. My title is The Dolorosa, but I’m often called Rosa by many of the lowbloods who I’ve taken to smuggling food to. Dualscar knows that I do so, but he doesn’t seem to care as long as I don’t get caught. I am eight sweeps old which in earth years is around sixteen and I have been a slave most of my life. Dualscar killed my lusus when I was young and took me as his slave that same day. I’ve lived in the grand hive ever since.

Today was one of the days when I was allowed to leave the hive to run errands and, though nobody except Dualscar knew, smuggle food to the village dwellers. I was walking to the village center, where many lowbloods gathered on days I brought food. 

On my way there, I was stopped by a young mutant blood named KP. In her tiny arms she held a small grub, obviously very young and judging based on his color, another mutant blood. I immediately stopped to talk to the young girl, kneeling in front of her. Her soft voice carried into my ears as I gave her a soft smile,

“Miss R0sa? I f0und this little grub near the caves. He d0esn’t have a sign, but I named the p00r little guy Silas. I wanted to kn0w, h0w do I raise a grub?”

KP was barely older than four sweeps, around eight years old, and she was still cared for by a lusus, though the time would be coming that she would take care of the crab lusii who had cared for her for years. She wouldn’t be able to properly care for a grub as well. So I did what any jade blood would have, tapped into my matriarchal instincts and took the small grub in my arms.

“Don’t Worry About Taking Care Of Him, KP. I’ll Take Him Home With Me And Watch Over Him. I’ll Even Bring Him To Visit. How Does That Sound?”

The young troll nodded and smiled a wide smile, hugging me around my shoulders and making sure not to crush little Silas.

“0h thank y0u Miss R0sa! Y0u’ll really bring him t0 visit me?”

She held out her pinky finger in the universal symbol of pinky promising and I hooked my slender pinky with her smaller one.

“I Promise.”

“Thank y0u!”

Within a few hours, I found myself heading back towards the hive. Now, how to keep him safe and raise him correctly without being found out...