On Her Knees

early morning interruption

POV: Alruna

"Who the hell disturbs someone at this time in the morning?" I yell as I'm forced to leave my frightened siblings as they hide in the corner of our bedroom, whimpering and quietly screaming as someone pounds at the door to our home, shaking the walls and frame of the structure only designed to tolerate slightly strong storms and tame knocking.

Whoever is at our door currently is determined to wake us all up, putting me in a very unpleasant mood. I still have to control my swearing as I try to comfort Link and Lilli before even attempting to deal with the monsters that decided it was perfectly fine to disturb people before the sun has even fully risen.

Rubbing out as much of the sleep from my eyes as I can, I leave our bedroom, sliding the door closed behind me before storming to the front door that quivers each time it's pounded against. The metal bolts that were always quite weak are almost torn out of the wooden door frame from the attacks on the door only making me even more frustrated. Not only are they insensitive to people sleeping but they're also willing to completely break down a door.

Before I can get close enough to the door as it concerningly creaks on its hinges it slams to the ground, tossing up a little bit of dust that I've been meaning to sweep up for weeks from the floor. I block my face and eyes as the morning sun pours in through the broken down door instantly blinding me, making me squint to protect my eyes still not fully awake from being abruptly awoken.

Heavy footsteps pour into the small home, storming past me and tearing open the doors to each of the bedroom. I withdraw my hand as heavy boots nearly trample my fingers, threatening to crush and break them if I don't get out of the way. They're truly being careless as they tear apart my home.

My heart churns as I hear the horrified and petrified screams and cries of Lilli and Link as they're thrown out of our bedroom into a pile beside me, instantly scurrying to me to huddle in my arms. Despite wanting to comfort them, I have to bolt to my feet to stop them from forcing our mother out of bed. Her body is far to fragile to withstand any kind of quick movements but I know they won't care.

The soldiers rampaging through my home ignore me as I barge between them, throwing myself in front of them before they can even get close to my mother. They each glare down at me, attempting to grab me and tug me away from my mother's bed so that they can reach her but I refuse to budge from the uncomfortable position on my knees I threw myself into when I darted in front of them.

"Get out of the way," they each yell at me, attempting to move me but I remain put, trying my best to not move even as their armour pinches my skin and leaves red marks that will most definitely bruise.

"Fuck no!" I retort. "You just barged in here early in the morning and expect everyone to tolerate this disrespect! She's severely ill. If you throw her out of bed as you did the rest of us you'll kill her!"

As I scream at them, my lungs getting tired, I feel a freezing hand grasp my fingers, to weak to hold my hand tightly. My head swivels to see my mother struggling to say something as she tries to sit up, definitely causing herself more harm than she should be.

"Mama, please lay down," I tell her, gently forcing her back down, manoeuvring her pillow so that its plump and rests comfortably under her head.

She groans as I lay her down, settling down all the layers keeping her warm. A few weeks ago she was constantly sweating and now, despite the constant heatwave and humidity surrounding her, she's always colder than winter. No blankets or fires or hot packs filled with boiled water can keep her warm. Mama's constantly shuddering and shivering and it just adds another crack to my heart whenever I see her in such a poor state.