Jade Mother

You are the Dolorosa, the jade-blooded troll who tends to the mother grub. This is your story.

It is warm and dark within the mother grub's cavern, deep below the ground of Alternia. You must go to the surface to do errands for her. She is much too busy tending to all of the new grubs to be bothered by such trivial tasks. This routine is nothing but familiar. You climb the long rocky pathway upwards, getting slightly dizzy as it spirals towards the surface. Being underground for the majority of the time, day and night all blend together into one. No rays of light shine down onto your solitary walkway, and so you figure that it must be night. The sound of a rainstorm pounds above you. The constant pitter-patter of the drops is incessant, only to be occasionally accented by the roll of thunder. Finally reaching the open air, the fresh scent of the falling water fills your nose, and you breathe in deeply. The cavern has only stale, thick air to offer. You look forward to these trips, and do not linger, but attempt to take in as much of life above ground as you can. Stepping out onto the wet soil, you are immediately drenched in the still-falling rain. Your short black hair and jade-green robes are not spared the cleansing, but the feeling is welcome. Such a downpour washes away all of the evil in Alternia, bringing new beginnings for all.

Suddenly, you hear a noise not too far from where you stand. You aren't positive, but it seems like the faint whimper of a new-born grub, but the rain is muffling the sound. Puzzled, you rely upon your ears, making your way to the location. There lays a small grub, new born, one with a candy-red body. You gasp, realizing the meaning of his solitude. This grub is of mutant blood, the lowest upon the hemospectrum. Cursed with this rare colour, he has been marked as an outcast at birth, and has been left to die here. No sign will be given to him. None of the mother grub's care will be used to raise this little one. He will not survive here. She rejected him before the sight of his tiny, red body even reached her eyes. She could smell the colour of his blood. Yes, this little one is a most unfortunate. They are rare and next to none survive infancy, subject to discrimination and persecution.

You pick up the new born, wrapping him within the jade folds of your dress. He shivers and cries light candy-red tears; they run rivers down his grey cheeks. Wiping them away, you rock the grub in your arms, stroking his wet, black hair from his eyes. You kiss his forehead and shush him. The cries cease almost instantly. He opens his eyes, two black little orbs full of wonder, and looks up at you. A small smile creeps onto his lips, and he opens his mouth in a grin, small sharp white teeth sparkling in the dark. He laughs and you have to smile as well, but beneath your skin, your heart breaks for this infant. Before you even realize, your eyes are clouded with a light jade haze, and a single green tear falls upon the grub's forehead. He stops smiling and stares up in surprise.

"Ah, my poor little one. You do not know of the suffering that you have been condemned to. You are so young, so small and weak. I cry for your misfortune, but do not fear. I will keep you safe and raise you as my own."

You wipe the tear from his brow and kiss his forehead once more. The little grub yawns, eyes fluttering closed. You rock him gently in your arms again, and sing a song for him. There are no words, but after a minute or two, all you can hear is the light breathing of the new-born. You look around you. The rain has stopped, but the first rays of day are beginning to appear in the sky. You must find shelter quickly, before the bright sunlight blinds you and the child.

"I will not return to the mother grub. You will be killed for sure. I will stay with you and protect you, I promise. Never again will I return to the cavern below the ground," you whisper to the little sleeper.

He mumbles and snuggles closer to you. Taking quick strides, you search for a place to rest. A cave proves to do the trick, and soon you find that your jade eyes are closing from exhaustion. You take one last look at the tiny, candy-red grub, then let sleep take you over.