A Soul That Sees Beauty
Chapter One: The Teacher
This story is written to fit somewhere between House Harkonnen and House Corrino in the prequel series by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson. I own nothing in this except the original characters, Amara Blin and her brothers.
The distribution of this story is for personal use only. Any other form of distribution is prohibited without the consent of the author.
Amara Blin stood in line at the gates of Castle Caladan, along with several hundred citizens. For weeks there had been an outpouring of support for Duke Leto Atreides after the tragic loss of his son. The Duke himself was recovering from his injuries, and it was still unknown whether his friend, Prince Rhombur Vernius, would ever recover. Amara did not know the Duke well, but she had known his son, Victor. She had been his art and music teacher, recommended to the Duke and the Lady Kailea Vernius by Thufir Hawat himself. Amara had been grateful for the privilege of teaching the young boy. He was happy and full of life, at an age when a boy is curious about the whole world.
She clutched a large book to her chest, almost leaning on it for support. Although she would normally have walked into the castle without a problem, security had become much tighter since the skyclipper explosion, and all visitors were forced to wait until they were cleared by the House Guard. She looked around to see if one of her brothers might be there. They were both Atreides soldiers, but they were not in the courtyard.
After more than an hour in line, she reached the desk of the guardsman, a tall blonde man with a scarred face and kind blue eyes. "Name and identification, please."
"I am Amara Blin, the art teacher. I was hoping to speak to Thufir Hawat. I have something for the Duke—something I hope may comfort him when he's recovered." She handed him a crystal containing her identifying information for his inspection.
"Hawat is occupied at the moment, but I can have you escorted to him, if you don't mind waiting, or I can take this for you, if you like." His voice was pleasant, rather than impatient, even after a full day of dealing with the people of Caladan. "May I see it?" he asked.
She opened the book for him. "It's all of Victor's artwork that I had in my possession and some drawings from his classmates." She felt her eyes mist over. "They miss him so much."
The man turned a few pages, shaking his head. "The Duke will appreciate this greatly."
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thufir Hawat approaching. "Amara Blin, have you been here long?"
"Oh, not really, sir. I have an album for the Duke, a collection of Victor's artwork."
"I will see to it that he receives the album, but I must speak to you about another matter, if you'll come with me," he said and then stopped to look at the blonde man. "About another hour, Gurney. It is late and I need to meet with the Guard to plan the funeral."
Hawat, the warrior Mentat, or the Master of Assassins, as her father had called him, took her to a small room inside the castle. She had passed by this room a few times, but she had never known its purpose.
"The Duke has recovered enough now to plan his son's funeral. We will need your services to help prepare the funeral barge. The Duke is particularly interested in having you paint several likenesses of his son to be placed on large panels around the body. Since you knew Victor personally, he feels that this duty should fall to you."
"Of course, Master Hawat. I would be honored to paint Victor." Amara heard her voice quiver. "I can think of several appropriate scenes. Perhaps a painting of Duke Leto holding Victor as an infant," she began, considering how the people should remember him. "We should include a likeness of his mother and Victor with some of his toys. He did love flying his whistle-kite. " Her voice trailed off. "I will do some rough sketches and bring them to you tomorrow."
"Very well. Thank you, Amara," he said, as if dismissing her. As she left Hawat's office, a tall round-faced young man impeccably dressed in the Atreides uniform walked in. The sword at his side made her wonder. She had heard that Duke Leto had a trained Swordmaster in his retinue now. He held the door for her as she left the room.
Amara walked quickly to the gate, but stopped to thank the blonde man at the desk. Thufir had called him Gurney. He gave her a nod, but didn't make eye contact because he was busy with two men who were having a dispute over land boundaries. It was a shame. His eyes were his best feature.
Amara shook her head. What good was it thinking this man, or any other man? She was no great beauty and had no fortune, though she lived comfortably enough in the house left to her by her father. She had at least thirty students and loved each one. Her mother would be visiting soon, with her elderly aunt. She was able to be with her brothers often as they were nearby. For now, that was enough, wasn't it?
On the day of the funeral, Amara was invited to ride on one of the boats escorting the funeral barge. Atreides soldiers stood on deck holding large ceremonial shields. She knew her brothers were among them on one of the boats. Commanding the men on her boat was the blonde man she had seen in the castle courtyard. He nodded to her as the flotilla began its journey to the coral gem beds where the funeral pyre would be lit. This time he looked her in the eye, exposing his own sadness to her for just a moment.
It was not long until they arrived at the coral gem beds. She had been there with her brothers many times, and like all citizens of Caladan, knew that the Duke enjoyed diving for coral gems.
Amara's heart went out to Duke Leto in his white uniform, as he lit the funeral pyre for his son. It hadn't been that long since she had worn white mourning robes to her father's funeral. He had been a member of the Atreides House Guard, and the Duke had praised his service to the family. Amara had recovered sufficiently to begin looking forward to her future. She studied the Duke and his concubine. Perhaps Duke Leto would find peace soon.
After the Lady Jessica had been helped from the funeral barge into a motor boat by the Swordmaster and the Duke had climbed in, the flotilla returned to shore. She thought it best to go straight home. Duke Leto and his closest friends needed time to mourn quietly, and she would not join the citizens in the courtyard who came for a glimpse of him. As the boat was tied to the dock, the blonde man helped her out—though she was so accustomed to being on the water, she hardly needed his assistance.
"Miss Blin," he said looking down at her, "your paintings were a fine tribute." Was he blushing? It seemed like the scar on his face was redder than before.
"Thank you." She looked down for a moment, not knowing what to say. To her relief, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Excuse us, sir. We just wanted to talk to our sister for a moment," her brother, Celeres interrupted. He nodded to them and turned to leave.
They pulled her aside. "Everyone thought your paintings were first-rate." Celeres and Maren both clapped her solidly on the back. I do wish they would remember how much larger they are than me!
"If only it had been a different occasion," she replied shaking her head. They nodded in agreement.
"What a shame," said Celeres. "Such a good little fellow."
Maren took her arm and they three of them began walking toward her cottage. "We'll escort you home if you have any of your fish stew for us. We don't have to be back until night fall."
"You know it's always ready, Maren."
"Yes, it's about the only thing you know how to make, sister," Celeres said with a crooked smile. "Just be sure to feed it to Gurney Halleck if you want to make him your husband."
"Who said anything about that? I've only spoken to him twice," she shot back, looking around to see if he was near.
"He wouldn't be the worst brother-in-law to have," said Maren. "He's got a healthy dislike for the Harkonnen."
"And you aren't getting any younger!" Celeres gave her a sidelong glance, as if to see her reaction.
Amara stopped walking. "I think we'd best discuss this at home. I don't want anyone to hear you making a spectacle of yourselves." Sometimes her brothers showed absolutely no tact. The two men chuckled under their breath.
Every time Amara approached her home, she felt fortunate to live so close to the sea. She had a view of the ocean from the large window in the front parlor of the cottage. Thanks to her brother, the flowers around her house were in bloom so that there were vibrant clumps of reds and oranges encircling the stone structure. "Maren, your flowers are lovely, don't you think?" Amara asked. Her brother had worked hard on the beds in his spare time, though he did not live in the house.
"I'm pleased this season. They seem hardier than last year's flowers." Maren smiled. Amara knew there was a young woman in the fishing village nearby who would be getting a bouquet of flowers this week.
As they walked into the house, Amara poured water into a basin for them to wash their hands and faces. She began heating the fish stew and loaves of bread she had baked early in the morning. She placed a fruit pie in the oven so that it would be ready to eat by the time they had finished their meal. Amara knew her brothers might eat with her today, so she had two bottles of excellent Caladanian wine just for them. "Celeres, would you please open this bottle and pour for us, dear?" she asked.
He took the bottle from her. "Good choice," he said, looking down at the label. As he uncorked the bottle, he spoke softly. "So, sister, is there something between you and Halleck?"
"No, I don't know him at all. I just met him the other day when I went to the castle to leave something for the Duke."
"I don't think he is attached if you're interested. Maren and I have great respect for him. He's suffered greatly at the hands of the Harkonnen."
"Oh, what happened?" she asked as Maren walked over to claim his glass of wine.
"We don't the whole story," Maren began, "but what we heard is that he attempted to escape from Geidi Prime with his sister. She was being held in a pleasure house, the poor girl, but his plan went awry. He was caught and he was punished severely. You can see the traces of the beating he received all over his face, but worst of all, his parents and sister were murdered."
Amara gasped. "Those animals. The poor man." Yet his eyes seemed kind and his voice was not bitter.
"Apparently, he did escape and then joined Dominic Vernius for a while. After the death of the Earl, he came here to find Prince Rhombur and Lady Kailea. So he went from slave to smuggler. You've seen that scar on his jaw?" Celeres asked.
"Yes, it looks almost painful," she replied.
"It is. It's an inkvine scar. The inkvine poison is under his skin still and I reckon it hurts," Celeres said shaking his head. "We are indeed fortunate to live on Caladan where the Duke does not live to crush his people like Baron Harkonnen and his nephew." He held up his glass. "To Duke Leto, may he live a long life and find happiness again."
"To Duke Leto!" Maren and Amara lifted their glasses in salute.
"Sit down now and I'll bring your food in," Amara guided them to her small table, which she had set earlier in the day. She placed the steaming pot of stew in the center of the table and went back to the kitchen for the loaves of bread and the cheese. Her brothers would no doubt eat two loaves each, so she had several loaves ready.
Amara watched with amusement as her brothers consumed all but the small bowl of stew she had given herself, as well as five loaves of bread and a wedge of cheese. They almost didn't talk while they ate, they were so focused on the food.
"You two have remembered to ask your commander for leave in three weeks when mother and Aunt Doria are here?" she asked.
"Yes, we have. In fact, we have been given two full days to spend with them." Celeres declared.
Celeres and Marin stood up to start clearing the table. "Let us do this, sister. We'll clean the kitchen for you."
"No, go out and smoke your pipes. You need to finish the wine anyway and I have to prepare the cream for dessert and make some coffee."
Maren yawned. "Celeres, you're wrong. Fish stew isn't the only thing she knows how to make."
Amara laughed. "You know you each get half a pie, so quit trying to flatter me." They stepped outside to sit on the bench and smoke. Amara watched them from the window as she whipped the cream with a whisk. They laughed and slapped each other on the back, as they passed the second bottle of wine between them. Today had started out so sad and gloomy despite the sunshine, but at least it had brought them together as a family. She missed her brothers, even though they were close by. I'm lucky that most of my family is still alive. She thought of Gurney Halleck. Only a really courageous man would have defied the Harkonnen guards. She hoped his sister had not suffered greatly and that the poor girl had died knowing how much he loved her.
She called them in for dessert just as the sun began to fall. "Are you taking flowers to Soraya tonight, Maren?" Amara liked to tease her brother about his girl. Soraya's parents were not ready to lose their daughter yet as she was only sixteen, but in a year or so, Maren would marry her.
"I think I'd best wait a few days for the roses to bloom." He blushed a little.
"And perhaps if you go early in the day, her father will be on his boat and you can steal a kiss, if he's not around when you arrive." Celeres said with a mischievous look on his face.
"There's nothing wrong with a kiss, Celeres. They are promised now. I'll go with you, Maren, so they can't object. I'd like to see her mother anyway. I want to talk to her about the setting for Soraya's wedding portrait I'm going to paint," Amara said.
The two men managed to consume the pie without her assistance and she left the table to clean the kitchen while they drank their coffee and talked about their upcoming drills. She could hear complaints about the Swordmaster's relentless training sessions, but she knew they liked being in the Guard. Their father would have been proud of them.
"Amara, we must go now. We're expected back in about forty minutes." Celeres came up behind her.
"Thanks for the delicious meal. I'll see you in a few days," Maren said, handing her his cup and saucer.
She stood on her toes to kiss each of them on the cheek.
"Good night, sister," Celeres said, squeezing her hand. "Remember, I don't mind if you seek out Gurney Halleck. In fact, if you want me to talk to him about a match, I will."
"Celeres, please, don't jump to conclusions. I've hardly spoken to him."
"Yes, but I saw the way he looked at you when he helped you off the boat. I'm not blind, you know. I don't care if he is a commander, he should know that we're watching out for you."
"I'll let you know if I speak to him again. If he asks to court me, I'll direct him to you," she said laughing a little. "That should frighten him."
The two men left and Amara turned back to her kitchen. She thought about what Celeres had said. It was probably nothing more than her brother's wish that she marry and have someone to care for her. I wouldn't mind it getting to know him, though; he seems like a good man.
It was a few days after the funeral when Amara looked out of the large window at the front of her house and saw the blonde House Guard walking along the shore, a baliset slung over his shoulder. Gurney Halleck. Had her brothers said something to him? She watched him, wondering if he would come toward her house.
He stopped and sat on a rock, taking the baliset off his shoulder and holding it as if he was about to play the instrument. Amara breathed a sigh of relief. He was just out for a walk. She thought of the baliset hanging in her den above the piano. There must be good in him if he likes music.
Amara would be teaching an art class soon, so she pulled her easel outside. She had planned to work on the lawn anyway, and this gave her a chance to listen to him. She could only hear bits and pieces in a minor key, but he just wouldn't turn to face her. Her students were starting to arrive, running to give her a hug and chattering so that she couldn't hear him sing.
"Now, everyone, let's get your easels out and we'll work on some ocean scenes."
The children filed into her house and each pulled out an easel and set it up at the top of the slope in her front yard. Amara stole quick glances at the tall blonde man. There was something about him that piqued her curiosity. He was definitely not handsome, but somehow that didn't seem to matter to her.
Snapping herself back to the class, she turned her easel to face the ocean too. "I want all of you to paint the ocean as it looks right now. Let's see if you can use some of the colors we talked about in the last lesson to capture the sunlight on the surface of the water."
She knew they were a bit young for this, but she wanted to stretch their abilities. The sea was such a part of life in Caladan and every home, no matter how smallor how poor had an ocean scene hanging on the wall. She moved across the two rows of easels, helping her students with their work and giving them as much encouragement as possible. Amara looked at the horizon as the wind began to pick up. She could see dark clouds and lightning coming toward the shore. Oh, no. A storm. I'd better get them inside.
"Children, let's put our brushes down on the palettes and start moving the easels into the house. We'll finish up in there," she directed them.
She began to help the youngest child with her easel when she heard someone shout, "Miss Amara, your painting!" She turned to see her easel and the painting fly off the cliff and down toward the beach.
"Don't worry about that now. Everyone get inside quickly. I'll go and get it in a minute." She directed one of the older children to hold the door for the others and took a large basket from the side of the house to collect loose paint brushes and paints. She didn't see the man coming up the hill until he spoke behind her.
"Miss Blin, you lost this." His deep voice surprised her and she whirled around quickly. He stood holding both her easel and the canvass that had been perched on it. His eyes seemed almost a deeper shade of blue than before.
"Oh, yes. I am sorry. It didn't hit you, did it?"
"No, but it's a good thing I was looking when it blew off." The wind began blowing harder and drops of water were beginning to fall.
"Please come in, er-" She realized she hadn't been introduced to him. What should she call him?
"Gurney Halleck, Miss."
"But quickly, Gurney Halleck, it's raining now."
They ran inside just as the rain began to fall harder. The children gathered around their teacher and this strange giant in uniform. They looked at him with wide eyes and were curious, but silent. Outside the storm grew more violent, and although the children were used to hearing thunder, several of them held onto Amara.
"Why don't we go into the den and sing some songs, children. Commander Halleck, will you sing with us?" she asked smiling at him. Maybe he wouldn't want to sing with children.
He chuckled, taking the hand of a small girl and following Amara. "I may not know songs fit for them to hear, but I'll follow as best I can."
As the storm raged, Amara did her best to distract the children with music. She played her balliset and sang. Gurney Halleck's booming voice joined in from time to time, and the children were entertained until the rain stopped and they could go home.
Amara stood at the door giving each of her students a small embrace or a squeeze of the shoulder as they left. "We will be working harder tomorrow to make up for today, children, so please be here on time."
Some of them looked up at Gurney Halleck, still in awe of his uniform. The tiny girl, Elia, whose hand he had held earlier stopped and tugged on his sleeve. He bent down to talk to her. "Will you come back again and sing with us?" she asked in her sweet, high-pitched voice.
He smiled. "If I can, child, and your teacher will allow it." Amara felt him looking at her and her cheeks became hot. "Commander Halleck is always welcome, Elia, but he must do the Duke's bidding before he comes to see us."
"She is right, little one. I must tend to my duties at the castle. Thank you for the shelter and the music, Miss Blinn." Oh, I didn't mean to chase him off. "Good bye," he said gently and turned to leave.
She touched his arm. "Thank you, Commander Halleck, for saving my painting and for helping me this afternoon." He walked backward a few paces, waving and then turned around again to walk toward the castle.
Duke Leto, Duncan, Thufir, and a few of the Guard were sitting around a table drinking some ale when he returned to the castle. He was surprised that Duke Leto was with them, given recent events, but he was happy that the Duke was trying to live as he once had. He watched Duncan Idaho down a tankard of ale in a single gulp. Since he had met Duncan, Gurney had found a true friend—a true friend who often joked at his expense.
"Where have you been, Gurney? We didn't know whether we should send out a search party. Even you should have known to come in out of the rain."
"I was out of the rain, Idaho." Gurney looked at him steadily, trying not to show any sign of embarrassment. Duncan Idaho looked him in the eye carefully.
"I know that look, Halleck. You must have been with a woman."
"A woman and fifteen children, actually," he said with a crooked smile, taking the baliset off his back. He laughed at the incredulous looks he received as he sat down next to Thufir.
"Well, I know they can't be yours, Gurney. So, tell us about this mysterious woman and her fifteen children," Duke Leto said, looking momentarily like his old self.
"They aren't her children. She's their teacher-"
Idaho stopped him. "You were with the art teacher? What's her name—er-"
"He must have been with Amara Blin," Thufir said quietly. "She lives along the shore in her family's stone cottage, a rather nice one as I recall."
Duncan got up to slap him on the back and pour some more ale in his tankard. "So, Caladan really is your home if you're going to pluck one of her beauties for yourself. No wonder you wanted to go off alone," Duncan said laughing. "You must have been hoping to see her."
"Gentlemen, Gurney Halleck does not have to have our leave to pursue a woman," Duke Leto chided them, looking very serious. "Is there going to be a wedding or is she just a temporary amusement?" They all burst out laughing. He was beginning to feel annoyed.
Thufir shook his head. "Amara often teaches the children out of doors so that the children can paint what they see. What better subject than the ocean, eh? I suspect that you came across them when the storm started and you were invited into her home. I see no reason to think that you are particularly smitten, but I will warn you that her two brothers will kill you if you toy with her." Thufir's voice was measured, but he smiled.
Gurney finally decided that this had gone on long enough. "It was all very simple and innocent. I was sitting by the shore playing my baliset and singing where I thought no one would hear. I looked back and saw that the teacher and her class were painting outside. All of a sudden, the wind picked up and knocked her easel down the hill. I picked up both her easel and the painting and I took it to her just as the rain began to fall in earnest. Amara asked me in, so I stayed with her and the children, singing songs."
"Singing songs with children? Thufir is wrong, you are smitten," Duncan said laughing.
Lady Jessica had entered and was standing beside the Duke's chair looking curious. "Gurney is telling us of his friendship with the art teacher, Amara Blinn," Duke Leto informed her.
He could feel the Lady Jessica studying his face. "She is an excellent teacher, I've heard. Gurney, do you know what her name means?" He shook his head. "It's an old Terran name that means 'beloved.'"
The hoots and whistles that followed made Gurney's stomach roll. He wanted to hit someone—especially Duncan Idaho. Fortunately, a servant arrived to call them to dinner. The Lady Jessica stood back as everyone filed out, as if waiting to speak to him.
"Please forgive my interference, Gurney, but perhaps you should approach her family for permission to court her. You do share the love of music in common," Jessica said, smiling at him.
"My lady, I have nothing to offer her," he blurted out.
"Quite the contrary, you are free to give yourself. Do not underestimate the value of this gift."
She turned and left him standing alone with one hand on his baliset. There would be time for thinking about this later. For now, he would take on his jolly mantle and sing after dinner, as he had since he had come to be in the Duke's service.
The title of this story is taken from a quote by Johann von Goethe, "A soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone." I chose it because I really loved Gurney Halleck's ability to see the beauty of life. I also wanted Amara to be someone who looked beyond physical beauty to see Gurney as he really is.