A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct. This every sister of the Bene Gesserit knows. To begin your study of the life of Al'Thaelab, then, take care that you first place her in her time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV. And take the most special care that you locate Al'Thaelab in her place: the planet Arrakis. Do not be deceived by the fact that she was born on Caladan and lived her first fifteen years there. Arrakis, the planet known as Dune, is forever her place.

- From "Manual of Al'Thaelab" by the Princess Irulan, Imperial Historian

The sounds of muffled thunder emanating from the heavy Calladanian clouds that hang over the tall spires of Castle Caladan, coupled with a cascade of heavy raindrops falling against the windows of her room awoke her.

She stirred in her bed, beneath thin cotton sheets and extended her flexible limps, starting with her left arm. Her joints crackled as they unlocked and arranged themselves for action in their proper positions and the day that would come. And what a day it would be, she thought as she lingered on her soft feather bed, looking at the intricately decorated roof of her apartments as they were lit up by the floating suspensor lamp. It portrayed some battle fought centuries ago between the forces of her House, the Atreides and some long forgotten enemy whom they certainly vanquished for their wickedness. It was always against this certain kind of foe that House Atreides, was pitted against in their precious stories, their murals, their songs and the films that peasants saw in their communal centers after a long day of work in the fields. For all of their kind words and powers of charisma, she knew, all too well, that they could be wicked themselves when they wanted to. Granted, I haven't another Atreides besides my father but he has done enough, she thought, her mind reaching into long forgotten fights. Even those were more welcome than the usual cold indifference.

She lifted her head for a moment before she brought it down sharply on her pillow once again. She decided that she had wasted enough of her time idling about. Pushing away the sheets, she rose from her bed in one swift motion. The floor was cold beneath her feet and the slight chill, a reminder of the terrible storm that raged all through the night, penetrated her thin night slip. She didn't care.

She had begun wearing as little as was possible and of course to the point that didn't offend the dignity of her father's house as a personal test of her Bene Gesserit skills. While other girls would huddle tightly in their beds, tucked away under thick furs, she had absolute control of her body, her homeostatic system working under her command. Her mother might have her failings as a parent but in the role of the teacher she reigned supreme. Under her tutelage she had advanced much into the training of the Sisterhood, learning the secrets that now allowed her to completely ignore the cold of night.

With quick steps executed by long legs, she was at her vanity. She enthroned herself in front of the mirror, taking stock of her rugged, sleepy appearance and proceeded to catalogue all the necessary corrections that would be needed for the day that awaited her. She run her hands through long red hair, a trait inherited by her mother, just like her thin, straight nose. Her eyes were grey, like those of her father who alongside them gave her his sharp cheekbones. An equal exchange, a whole made but two halves and equally unwanted by them, she thought for a moment before waving her head for a moment. The relationship between child and parents, as well as the one between them couldn't be repaired and therefore was not worthy of consideration. Her appearance though could be somewhat rectified. She refocused her attention on it.

There had been several occasions during which she would have to appear alongside her family to welcome visitors and honored guests but none was as important as this one. Her father would receive the fief of Arrakis by the Emperor, alongside all the money, influence and inevitably, the trouble that would bring. Members of the Imperial Court, the Spacing Guild and the Bene Gesserit would land on Caladan in full regalia to witness the change and make sure that the House of Atreides shouldered its duty. Full Regalia for us too then, she thought and opened a little box that she used for smaller jewelry. Her lucky amulet was on top of them all, carved from the heart of a Caladanian pearl. It brought a smile on her face as she turned it to find the small letters carved on its surface.

For the little Duchess Cassandra. DI

The gigantic orb was in freefall as it approached the spaceport of the Castle. It fell and fell until it was close to the ground. Then its landing gear extended slowly, like the maniples of an insect, beneath its belly. They touched the ground gently and with care, the gravity manipulators slowly coming offline as the vessel landed. The ramp fell and a collection of semi-important dignitaries began their descent.

Cassandra studied them one by one, observing as her mother had taught her. The Herald of the Change, a tall black man in flowing robes walked with all the overblown importance that a man in his position would have, all the while showing the subtle signs of being overawed by the fact that he held the written word of the Padishah Emperor in his hands. The lackeys of the Emperor were similarly swimming in their own over-importance. The Guild Executives remained unseen behind their suits. Flowing in Spice, they must barely be in touch with their surroundings. And to round it all off, Cassandra's eyes fell on the dark robed and hooded specter that was the Reverent Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam. The Emperor's Truthsayer walked in measured and calculated steps, never overreaching or showing off. If Cassandra didn't know better, she would have believed what most people watching her would, that she would have preferred to be somewhere else, attending some grand affair for the Emperor, not a simple change of fief, however important that fief was. But she knew better.

She knew that the Reverend Mother was here for her.

"Smile Gurney", her father said between gritted teeth, addressing his master of war.

"I am smiling", the man replied. Cassandra stole a momentary glance, only to confirm what she already knew. One would think that he is incapable of smiling, she thought, adding herself to that pool of people. Gurney Halleck had lost his laughter and his levity at the hands of the Harkonnen, she knew. That was one of the things that made him the efficient killer, soldier and above all, loyal lieutenant that he was.

"How much will it cost them travelling all this way for a formality?" Her father now talked to his Mentat, the feared and respected Thufir Hawat. Three Guild Navigators… A total of… around 1.45 Million Solaris for a round trip, she thought, tackling the problem as soon as her father asked. She had been close, Thufir coming up with the exact answer of 1.46, 62 Million Solaris. That would have earned me a steep reprimand, she thought, vowing to work on her skills harder during their future lessons.

The following pageantry and ceremony was of little actual consequence. Everybody played their parts admirably. The Herald read the proclamation with a booming voice that could certainly be heard clearly even by the last men in their honor guard formation. Her father harped on about the precious word of House Atreides while Cassandra, Jessica and his father's consort, the Duchess Ilena looked like the perfect picture of family and marital bliss. Her mother, cold, distant and imperious, every inch the Bene Gesserit Lady that she was wrapped in her light blue flowing dress and veil. The Duchess, the Mistress of the Household, resplendent in her green and black dress and flowing cape, while she, the daughter of the concubine and regrettably the Heiress, in her long red dress and veil, held on her head by a golden tiara in the shape of a golden hawk, bright red rubies serving as its eyes.

The action moved to the table set up for the signing of the contract. And at that moment her father all of a sudden, surprised her with a gesture that seemed unimaginable to her. He turned towards her, standing immovable and silent, the fingers of his left hand grasping his signet ring. Some may have dismissed it as a random gesture. Some but not Cassandra. For her, the daughter that had been unwanted and neglected by a father that saw in her the machinations of the Bene Gesserit, a father that wouldn't love her. For her it was quite something. What is the old man thinking?

And then the moment was gone, the Duke brought back to his duties by the Herald. He pressed his signet ring in a deliberate and precise manner, staying within the borders of the golden wax, affixing his seal.

With an equally simple yet meaningful gesture like the one that preceded it, the whole thing was done. Arrakis was theirs.

The wind was strong, sweeping the part of her dress around her legs that remained uncovered out from under the heavy coat that her father's men had provided for her.

They had found Cassandra at the flyer hangar, as she anxiously paced up and down the space that had been reserved for Duncan Idaho. She had missed him oh so dearly, she admitted to herself as the fingers of anticipation and anxiety had closed in a fist around her heart, just like her own had over the amulet that hang around her neck. If her mother could see her now, she would have been incensed at such a flagrant display of emotion and subsequently, weakness. She wasn't usually like this but with Duncan… It was certainly different. She looked forward to him serving as her bodyguard again, even for a little bit, to spend time with him talking about anything from military strategy to the best spots for song and merriment on Caladan or a hundred different worlds. Some of it was the youthful girl that had no playmates of her age to speak of. The rest of it had to do with another part of young womanhood.

As she walked the distance between the Ornithopter's landing spot, it kept a respectable distance between the graves of her ancestors and herself, Cassandra studied her father from afar. He was on one knee over the grave of his own father, the Old Duke that had been murdered by a bull. A senseless death, she thought. The Atreides lived and died for spectacle and glamor, a fact that she disliked about her own bloodline. If that desire to be seen and admired didn't come alongside an almost overpowering ability for disarming charisma, it would have been utterly useless.

The men that guarded her father let her pass without making a sound. He had no doubt heard of the craft that had transported her here but Duke Leto Atreides didn't move to acknowledge his offspring.

"Father?" The Duke didn't stir, only gently touching the stone that covered his father's coffin. Cassandra cleared her throat and then asked for him once for. With that, the Duke was on his feet and turned to her.

"Cassandra. Thank you for coming". She only nodded and left him to do the talking for she had nothing besides curiosity to express. "I know this must unusual for you, daughter. After all, I haven't been the most loving of father's".

The nerve. He's trying to charm isn't he? Whatever for?

"I don't blame you for anything, Father"

"That's very…"

"How could you love me is what we should be asking. I am a girl, the only child of your body and a living, breathing proof that the woman you love values her Sisters more than you". She delivered her condemnation with a slight smile, always a slight smile for she knew how insidious that made her look and a flat tone. I shouldn't have but…

"That was no poor excuse for my behavior. I knew it when you were born and I know it now, more than ever", he only said solemnly.

"Wh…What?", she blurted surprised. Cassandra expected some explosion of fury, some terrible, soul sapping confrontation like the ones they usually have when such words flew around but all she saw was a man full of regret.

"Your mother was bound to her duty as much as I am to mine. Expecting of her to go beyond it for love was foolish of me. And you… you I hurt and traumatized the most, without any reason".

Cocking her head slightly to the right as she heard her father admit to the mistreatment that had been taking place continuously for almost fifteen years now. It confused her. She hadn't expected any of this. Her father extended a hand to her. "Walk with me, Cassandra". She took it as if she was in a trance or under the influence of the Voice, her body moving without conscious thought. The leather of her father's gloves secured her in his grip.

"When we go to Arrakis, we will be in great danger"

"Political danger"

It was the Duke's time to be surprised, raising an eyebrow. "Continue"

"I thought it was rather obvious. The Great Houses look to us for leadership and that makes the Emperor nervous. Now he sends us to Arrakis, the most valuable planet in the Universe and one that belonged to the Harkonnen. He wants us to kill each other". It was rather obvious to her or anybody who cared to look. She suspected her Father had reached the same conclusion, only holding back to test her.

"Keep talking", her father said, as he slightly closed his hand around hers. The silent praise made her smile return.

"It's a huge risk. If we hold on, we're rich beyond imagining. If we tame the Fremen too…"

"You've been studying about the Fremen?"

"Mother and Doctor Yueh instructed me…"

She didn't manage to finish her sentence before her father stopped in his tracks, turning her to face him, a pained but proud expression in his eyes. "Thufir mentioned that you are a prodigy and your mother is well versed in politics too… But I didn't expect…", he paused for a moment before waving his head almost mournfully. "It doesn't matter what I expected. You will be sitting in my Council from now on"

"In your Council… Father…", she began speaking while her mind screamed with delight at something that she hadn't felt before. Something that every child craved from their parents, whoever great or small they might be. Recognition. Acceptance.

"If something happens to me Cassandra, the ring will fall to you. Even if your mother or the Duchess bare me a son, he will be too young to assume the duties of my position. Whether we expected it or not, the fate of House Atreides is in your hands of the foreseeable future. This…", the Duke raised his right hand up to her face, his ring with the hawk right in front of her nose, " will be around your finger. You will have to succeed when you wear it. In their memory", he continued as the ringed finger pointed to the graves of dead Dukes and family members.

Cassandra looked up into her father's face, his olive skin and black hair, his narrow, predatory face full of angles and planes, the high-bridged nose that made him look like a hawk and his tough gray eyes. She saw it there, in his eyes. The regret, the second thoughts and words that he couldn't take back, his need to make amends and secure the future of their family. Their family, she thought. She had spent her whole life feeling like an outcast, the child that was a discomfort, a disgrace.

"I… I am honored, Father", she began, thinking over the words that she would use carefully. "I will do my best".

"And I will do mine. In the meantime, we will see how much lost time we can make up for".

-The idea came to me and a friend when we were returning from the cinema. We're both long time fans of Dune but I am the only one that can passably write, so the burden fell to me.

-Any sort of feedback is welcome.

-I regrettably don't own Dune.

-Till we meet again.