Even as Stilgar stepped onto the big patch of sand, he still felt this was
no longer his home. The place where Stilgar was taking Ghani and Farad'n to
was the Attendant. Ghanima hadn't been there in a couple of months and it
would be good for Farad'n to see the grandfather's skull of Leto I.
"Have you ever ridden a worm?" Stil heard Farad'n ask Ghani.
"Oh many times! I could show you, although it might be a while before a worm comes," Ghani said, laughing.
"Why do you laugh at my curiosity?" Farad'n asked frowning and knitting his eyebrows together.
"Maybe because you're so eager to learn. I've never met anyone like you."
No! Stilgar would not let Leto's damn vision come to pass about Ghanima and Farad'n!
"We must hurry and get to the Attendant," Stilgar told them. They nodded and quickened their pace to match his.
In the Keep Irulan bowed to her stepson. The sand trout skin was spreading very fast over him. His face was not covered yet, only, one spot where it was starting to spread up his face. But you could still see his handsome Atreides features. He had that hawkish face common among the Atreides. His eyes were blue-within-blue and he walked with a grace that startled Irulan. Leto always said he was not the one who changed, but humanity was the one who was changing. Irulan herself hadn't changed since Leto became Emperor. Her hair was still cut short even after almost nine months since Leto became Emperor. She stood before Leto, her pride held fast.
"Please stepmother there is no need to bow," Leto said, laughing.
"Because everyone else bows to you right?" Irulan asked him.
"I'll be alone in the end anyways," Leto told her, walking towards one of the windows.
"Only because you push them away."
"My life is . . . difficult to understand. Yet I see it through the Golden Path."
"I want to feel sorry for you."
"Don't stepmother; it will only bring you sadness." Irulan nodded and once more she was back to putting up her shield which was usually there.
"Do you need me to do anything?" Irulan asked him.
"Not at the moment. Ave you kept an eye on Duncan? Has he met Elishin yet?" Leto asked her, facing towards her.
"he has met her. But I won't be watching him anymore Leto. I will not spy on him any longer," Irulan said, storming past the guards and out the door.
"Hmm . . . that is interesting. I may have to breed Elishin with Duncan . . . or Irulan with Duncan," Leto said to himself. A very tough decision. Everything concerning Sabiha would follow the way he'd seen it, without him even having to push it along.
Stilgar, Ghani, and Farad'n arrived at the Attendant. Stil's thoughts were still in turmoil at why Leto had wanted him to bring Ghani and Farad'n here.
"Will this place always remain here?" Farad'n asked Stil as they went inside the rocks.
"No, but the memory of the place will stay wit people I hope," Stilgar told him.
"Why are we here? Is this place important?" Farad'n kept asking.
There, that one question Stilgar had been anticipating.
"It's not important."
Farad'n kept quiet for the rest of the time. Ghani directed them to a sort of cave, but she explained that when the Laza tigers had attacked her and Leto they had tried to hide in the place to get away. Ghani looked around it. It wasn't big and memories came rushing back to her.
"We'll stay here then. In the morning . . . we'll make our journey back to Sietch Tabr," Stil said to them, keeping his pack on his back and then heading back out. Where he went was facing Sietch Tabr, where the desert ended and the green grass began. There Stilgar sat, right on the line where they intersected. Things with Ghani and Farad'n would play out the way Leto wanted them. Though Stil didn't wish it to but he couldn't argue wit Leto about it, especially since Leto expected this breeding program to last until he died. It just so happened that Ghanima and Farad'n were a part of that breeding program . . . .
Duncan, alone in his despair, felt cool water run across his body, down onto his clothes. What was this . . . this water that falls from the sky? What was it called? Ah yes, rain. Duncan's despair came back as he knew he was not whole. He was a ghola, therefore he knew [i]someone[/i] had to be before him! But the memories, the joys, the sadness, none of it was in his reach. It was as if a shield had been put up around those memories and he'd lost the controls to turn off the shield. What was he then? Could he ever be called human since those memories were gone?
The answer is yes, a voice seemed to say in his head. That voice . . . it sounded familiar. A female voice that sounded like he'd heard it in his first life as Duncan, his second and now this life as Duncan Idaho. But who was it?
"The rain is beautiful. I know that's not a Fremen thought but it's going to be staying," Elishin said from behind him.
Duncan didn't move, although with his training he would've been on his feet instantly. He knew she wouldn't harm him. He didn't know how he knew that though. But he'd thought she had gone to a meeting with Leto.
"I suppose it is. You know this Sabiha . . . I sense something about her,: Duncan said, looking down at the grass.
"Yes, she is different. I plan to kill her you know. The baby is due in a week and if she dares to even think of leaving the children I'll take her water," Elishin said, her jaw set and her voice telling no mercy.
"Children?"
"She's carrying twins, like Ghanima and Leto. She doesn't know it yet. But I've seen it," Elishin said.
They continued to talk and Elishin told him everything he would've already known if he hadn't been killed. Their friendship was set in motion again . . . the wheel was forever spinning . . . only to be stopped again. . . .
Afterwards, Elishin took a thopter to Arrakeen to meet Leto. She would be late but he could forgive her. So minutes later when she arrived at Arrakeen she sighed and motioned her guards to stay behind some ways. She pulled her hood up more around her face. The she set out, weaving and dodging other people. She recalled Muad'dib doing the same one day on his walks through the city. Only now, Muad'dib was dead. The memories were inside of her, yet she couldn't place why. She had no Atreides genes at all that she knew of. No one in her family was Atreides. Unless years back, decades back an Atreides; maybe Duke Leto Atreides, or Paulus Atreides, had had a secret affair with one of her ancestors. She would have to try to go back in her memories and see just how far back she remembered. But first . . . she would have to face Leto. And she was ready.
She walked through the Keep, her eyes watching everything. Leto no longer allowed priests to roam these halls except for some of them. When she stood in front of the door, it opened and revealed the room of Muad'dib and Chani. Leto stood in the middle of the room. The room looked the same as when Muad'dib had been in the room. Leto's face was not totally covered but his body was almost consumed by the sandtrout. That face she remembered. The sandtrout had almost gotten to his feet. Leto turned around slowly. He stood there staring at her for a few moments as if he was remembering something from when they were children.
"You summoned me here," Elishin said, and her voice was hardened as if talking to someone she hated.
"You're late, as I expected. Did you comfort Duncan then? And taken care of your other business in your mind what with remembering things?" Leto asked her.
"Why not just call Duncan business? But then you're the only one who profits from him aren't you?" Elishin asked him, crossing the floor to him in five strides," And he's a link to your past. He's a living link you can toy with for amusement. You think you can just kill him when we're getting to be friend again and then bring him back? Do you know what it's like to see someone die only to have them back like nothing happened? He's your link to all those memories, he remembers Paul, he remembers the Harkonnens," Elishin went on not stopping.
Leto only smiled at her. Then he grabbed her wrist with those hands that were almost consumed by the sandtrout and said," You've finally gotten it. But the reason why I've always killed the Duncans is because I've been trying to delay what must happen."
"And what must happen that you need to delay?" Elishin asked, but she didn't draw her hand back.
"If I tell you, you must do it, for the sake of the Atreides and the heirs of Duncan. If you don't I will find someone else," Leto said, and then when seeing Elishin nod, he went on," You are to breed with Duncan. After the child is born you will kill Sabiha."
Elishin pulled back from his grip and stared at him wide-eyes. "I was going to kill her anyways. But I will not . . . breed with Duncan Leto! Find someone else I don't care! You plot and you scheme but all you do is lose people! Tell me have you lost Ghani yet?" Elishin exploded, waving her arms.
"No, and I won't. She won't find what I've planned. And I've planned for her to breed with Farad'N to keep the Atreides line going. She would have probably completed my plan last night. She will be on her way back to Sietch Tabr now" Leto whispered.
Elishin just stared at him. Then she gave up, what use was there trying to fight him?
"Am I Atreides Leto?" she asked him silently.
Leto lifted his eyes to look at her. "I've been wondering you'd ask that. The answer is yes. Paulus Atreides, once before he was married. Right before he was married actually, he had an affair with another. She would've been your great-grandmother I believe. She had a child, your grandfather, and then your mother and her brother, then you. You descend from Atreides," Leto explained to her.
Elishin nodded, and then she looked at her old friend. She really looked at him. "I should go if you wish of me to fulfill your plan," she said, and smiled at him. Then she departed, carrying regret and sadness with her.
"Have you ever ridden a worm?" Stil heard Farad'n ask Ghani.
"Oh many times! I could show you, although it might be a while before a worm comes," Ghani said, laughing.
"Why do you laugh at my curiosity?" Farad'n asked frowning and knitting his eyebrows together.
"Maybe because you're so eager to learn. I've never met anyone like you."
No! Stilgar would not let Leto's damn vision come to pass about Ghanima and Farad'n!
"We must hurry and get to the Attendant," Stilgar told them. They nodded and quickened their pace to match his.
In the Keep Irulan bowed to her stepson. The sand trout skin was spreading very fast over him. His face was not covered yet, only, one spot where it was starting to spread up his face. But you could still see his handsome Atreides features. He had that hawkish face common among the Atreides. His eyes were blue-within-blue and he walked with a grace that startled Irulan. Leto always said he was not the one who changed, but humanity was the one who was changing. Irulan herself hadn't changed since Leto became Emperor. Her hair was still cut short even after almost nine months since Leto became Emperor. She stood before Leto, her pride held fast.
"Please stepmother there is no need to bow," Leto said, laughing.
"Because everyone else bows to you right?" Irulan asked him.
"I'll be alone in the end anyways," Leto told her, walking towards one of the windows.
"Only because you push them away."
"My life is . . . difficult to understand. Yet I see it through the Golden Path."
"I want to feel sorry for you."
"Don't stepmother; it will only bring you sadness." Irulan nodded and once more she was back to putting up her shield which was usually there.
"Do you need me to do anything?" Irulan asked him.
"Not at the moment. Ave you kept an eye on Duncan? Has he met Elishin yet?" Leto asked her, facing towards her.
"he has met her. But I won't be watching him anymore Leto. I will not spy on him any longer," Irulan said, storming past the guards and out the door.
"Hmm . . . that is interesting. I may have to breed Elishin with Duncan . . . or Irulan with Duncan," Leto said to himself. A very tough decision. Everything concerning Sabiha would follow the way he'd seen it, without him even having to push it along.
Stilgar, Ghani, and Farad'n arrived at the Attendant. Stil's thoughts were still in turmoil at why Leto had wanted him to bring Ghani and Farad'n here.
"Will this place always remain here?" Farad'n asked Stil as they went inside the rocks.
"No, but the memory of the place will stay wit people I hope," Stilgar told him.
"Why are we here? Is this place important?" Farad'n kept asking.
There, that one question Stilgar had been anticipating.
"It's not important."
Farad'n kept quiet for the rest of the time. Ghani directed them to a sort of cave, but she explained that when the Laza tigers had attacked her and Leto they had tried to hide in the place to get away. Ghani looked around it. It wasn't big and memories came rushing back to her.
"We'll stay here then. In the morning . . . we'll make our journey back to Sietch Tabr," Stil said to them, keeping his pack on his back and then heading back out. Where he went was facing Sietch Tabr, where the desert ended and the green grass began. There Stilgar sat, right on the line where they intersected. Things with Ghani and Farad'n would play out the way Leto wanted them. Though Stil didn't wish it to but he couldn't argue wit Leto about it, especially since Leto expected this breeding program to last until he died. It just so happened that Ghanima and Farad'n were a part of that breeding program . . . .
Duncan, alone in his despair, felt cool water run across his body, down onto his clothes. What was this . . . this water that falls from the sky? What was it called? Ah yes, rain. Duncan's despair came back as he knew he was not whole. He was a ghola, therefore he knew [i]someone[/i] had to be before him! But the memories, the joys, the sadness, none of it was in his reach. It was as if a shield had been put up around those memories and he'd lost the controls to turn off the shield. What was he then? Could he ever be called human since those memories were gone?
The answer is yes, a voice seemed to say in his head. That voice . . . it sounded familiar. A female voice that sounded like he'd heard it in his first life as Duncan, his second and now this life as Duncan Idaho. But who was it?
"The rain is beautiful. I know that's not a Fremen thought but it's going to be staying," Elishin said from behind him.
Duncan didn't move, although with his training he would've been on his feet instantly. He knew she wouldn't harm him. He didn't know how he knew that though. But he'd thought she had gone to a meeting with Leto.
"I suppose it is. You know this Sabiha . . . I sense something about her,: Duncan said, looking down at the grass.
"Yes, she is different. I plan to kill her you know. The baby is due in a week and if she dares to even think of leaving the children I'll take her water," Elishin said, her jaw set and her voice telling no mercy.
"Children?"
"She's carrying twins, like Ghanima and Leto. She doesn't know it yet. But I've seen it," Elishin said.
They continued to talk and Elishin told him everything he would've already known if he hadn't been killed. Their friendship was set in motion again . . . the wheel was forever spinning . . . only to be stopped again. . . .
Afterwards, Elishin took a thopter to Arrakeen to meet Leto. She would be late but he could forgive her. So minutes later when she arrived at Arrakeen she sighed and motioned her guards to stay behind some ways. She pulled her hood up more around her face. The she set out, weaving and dodging other people. She recalled Muad'dib doing the same one day on his walks through the city. Only now, Muad'dib was dead. The memories were inside of her, yet she couldn't place why. She had no Atreides genes at all that she knew of. No one in her family was Atreides. Unless years back, decades back an Atreides; maybe Duke Leto Atreides, or Paulus Atreides, had had a secret affair with one of her ancestors. She would have to try to go back in her memories and see just how far back she remembered. But first . . . she would have to face Leto. And she was ready.
She walked through the Keep, her eyes watching everything. Leto no longer allowed priests to roam these halls except for some of them. When she stood in front of the door, it opened and revealed the room of Muad'dib and Chani. Leto stood in the middle of the room. The room looked the same as when Muad'dib had been in the room. Leto's face was not totally covered but his body was almost consumed by the sandtrout. That face she remembered. The sandtrout had almost gotten to his feet. Leto turned around slowly. He stood there staring at her for a few moments as if he was remembering something from when they were children.
"You summoned me here," Elishin said, and her voice was hardened as if talking to someone she hated.
"You're late, as I expected. Did you comfort Duncan then? And taken care of your other business in your mind what with remembering things?" Leto asked her.
"Why not just call Duncan business? But then you're the only one who profits from him aren't you?" Elishin asked him, crossing the floor to him in five strides," And he's a link to your past. He's a living link you can toy with for amusement. You think you can just kill him when we're getting to be friend again and then bring him back? Do you know what it's like to see someone die only to have them back like nothing happened? He's your link to all those memories, he remembers Paul, he remembers the Harkonnens," Elishin went on not stopping.
Leto only smiled at her. Then he grabbed her wrist with those hands that were almost consumed by the sandtrout and said," You've finally gotten it. But the reason why I've always killed the Duncans is because I've been trying to delay what must happen."
"And what must happen that you need to delay?" Elishin asked, but she didn't draw her hand back.
"If I tell you, you must do it, for the sake of the Atreides and the heirs of Duncan. If you don't I will find someone else," Leto said, and then when seeing Elishin nod, he went on," You are to breed with Duncan. After the child is born you will kill Sabiha."
Elishin pulled back from his grip and stared at him wide-eyes. "I was going to kill her anyways. But I will not . . . breed with Duncan Leto! Find someone else I don't care! You plot and you scheme but all you do is lose people! Tell me have you lost Ghani yet?" Elishin exploded, waving her arms.
"No, and I won't. She won't find what I've planned. And I've planned for her to breed with Farad'N to keep the Atreides line going. She would have probably completed my plan last night. She will be on her way back to Sietch Tabr now" Leto whispered.
Elishin just stared at him. Then she gave up, what use was there trying to fight him?
"Am I Atreides Leto?" she asked him silently.
Leto lifted his eyes to look at her. "I've been wondering you'd ask that. The answer is yes. Paulus Atreides, once before he was married. Right before he was married actually, he had an affair with another. She would've been your great-grandmother I believe. She had a child, your grandfather, and then your mother and her brother, then you. You descend from Atreides," Leto explained to her.
Elishin nodded, and then she looked at her old friend. She really looked at him. "I should go if you wish of me to fulfill your plan," she said, and smiled at him. Then she departed, carrying regret and sadness with her.