Chapter 3
"Now, what are you supposed to say?" she asked.
"May your knife chip and shatter."
"Very good. Alright, attack me."
"The Fremen way or the Bene Gesserit way?"
"Doesn't matter."
He laughed and started toward her. They sparred for several minutes. Farad'n, as usual, expending much more energy than Ghani, who patiently blocked every attack he launched at her.
Eventually, he held up his hand to stop. They were back in the room where he had found her five months earlier, in an isolated corner of the palace. They had begun meeting each day in that room to spar. This usually also included a great deal of time spent just talking. After some time, they began meeting twice a day, then three times. Eventually, Ghani realized, in their free time they had become nearly inseparable.
"Why is it," he asked, "that I am melting with sweat, and you look as comfortable as a cat in the cream?"
"Oh, well, there are several reasons for that," she answered, smiling at him in his exhaustion, "Firstly, you expend far too much energy telegraphing your attacks. Secondly, you aren't accustomed to this climate here yet, and I was raised here. Thirdly, you are much bigger than I and have more body heat to expend. And fourthly, only men sweat; ladies glow."
"Wait. Go back to the third one. I want to talk more about how you have been observing my body…heat," he replied playfully. Ghani's smile froze on her face as he looked at her. He had been subtly flirting with her for some weeks now, and she didn't really know what to do about it. She didn't really want him to stop, but she was afraid to let it continue. As she always did in these situations, Ghani broke the awkward moment with motion. She reached over to look at the clock.
"Oh! It's later than I thought. We had better hurry and change or we will be late for afternoon audience."
Several minutes later, they were walking rapidly down the hallway toward the main chamber of the palace. As they hurried, Farad'n put his hand on her arm.
"Can you help me with these buttons?" she turned to him and quickly closed the clasps. In doing so, she noticed her naked hand.
"Oh, no! My ring! I must have left it in my dressing room," she spun to go back down the corridor.
"No, here, I have it." He took her left hand and splayed the fingers. As he slid the ring into place, he said "You actually left it up in the training room. Lucky I saw it, eh?"
Ghani couldn't answer. She was mesmerized watching him touch her fingers. It gave her butterflies.
They finally made it to the council room, where the other members of court stood in line preparing for the entrance procession.
"You are late," boomed a voice from the side of the room.
Leto stood in front of a window that let in the afternoon sun. The light created a halo around him that made him look as god-like as he professed to be. "Royalty is never late."
"Of course not, Brother," Ghani answered as she reached her place in the front of the line. "Royalty sets the clocks."
He grinned at her while walking in front of them to start the movement into the main audience chamber.
Farad'n lined up next to Irulan. She glanced up at her nephew. "Why do you look so sweaty?"
A smug smile was his only reply.