Whispers of the Golden Path
This is set after 'Children of Dune', perhaps five or so years in about the year 10,225, though the exact year isn't really that important. Leto's still young enough to have his human body and has not even started his real metamorphosis. I was also inspired by the CoD movie – yes, I liked it – and felt that the ages of the actors chosen for Leto and Ghani were good choices, and this story is partly inspired by the closeness of the twins, and partly by the decision Leto had to make and its consequences.
Disclaimer: Dune and its characters belong to Frank Herbert – rest his wonderful soul – and I make no claim on anything here except for the story itself, and make no profit off this work. Please let me know what you thought of this, as it is my first foray into Dune fanfiction.
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Ghanima has said that out of the two of us, I am the stronger. I made the decision that my father could not make. It is a decision I must live with every day, even after Ghani is long dead. Sometimes I envy her. I am certain that if our roles were reversed, she would have survived in the desert as I have and seen the Golden Path as I did. After all, we share the same gifts.
But during the rare times when I talk to her about what happened to me in Jacarutu, or my visions or what will happen to me, I see a glimmer of relief in her eyes. Am I angry? No. Were I in her position, I would be feeling the same. All the same, I'm glad she's not the one who had to make the decision.
The quiet sound of footsteps meet my ears, and I smile slightly. It is so rare that I smile, and only one thing makes me happy now. I wait patiently, knowing it can only be one person, the only person who would dare intrude on my privacy.
Without asking permission – she never has need to – my sister slides into the bed, her scent and presence reassuring. A gentle hand slides along my arm, the fingertips traveling across a plane that is a combination of my own skin and the tough worm-skin that creeps along my body. My lips part in a low sigh of contentment as her hand creeps along my chest to stop just above my heart.
Ghani is much more than a sister. She is my other half, the only person who could ever truly understand me or give me comfort. When I run across the sands, she is always there, waiting for me when I have worn myself out, stroking my hair when I place my head in her lap. She freely offers of herself to me, and I am actually jealous of Harq al-Ada, even though I have appointed him to be my sister's concubine so she can continue the Atreides line when the time comes.
It does bring me a small amount of pleasure to know that Ghani loves me too. She is after all, what keeps the human part of me alive. My lifetime will be much longer than hers, but at least I will have this time to cherish.
I turn my head, burying my face in my sister's hair as she snuggles close. Her hand slides lower, and I welcome it. My transformation doesn't allow me to sire children, but there are many ways to share pleasure.
I whisper her name before I reach for her with my own hands, feeling her warm and pliant flesh open to me as always. Cloth falls away, soft murmurs fill the darkness, hands and lips travel in exploration. Movements that start out as slow and relaxed become more frenzied. The smell of Spice is ever-present, a faint perfume that is a subtle note that enhances my sister's sweet musk.
We intertwine in a dance that has been done a infinite amount of times in our Other Memory, and by a innumerable amount of generations, ever since the beginning of history. A pleasure that no one else will ever be able to give me races through my veins, and during these soul-shattering moments with my love, I am human.
I am loved and wanted for who I am, not what I am. I am Leto, not the God-Emperor, not the ruler of the Known Universe who will go down in history as a Tyrant.
My life will be difficult because it is my job to set humankind on the Golden Path, and I accept that responsibility and the trials that will ensue. But I need my own salvation as well.