[ The short and sweet beginning to a story I've been working on. Longer and more robust chapters to come 3 ]
Ayleah's heart swells with joy as her ship lands on her home planet of Caladan, her family waiting for her arrival. She disembarks, pausing only momentarily to feel the sun and breeze on her skin. She closes the space between them quickly.
Her mother, Lady Jessica, grasps her face in her hands, smiling back, "It is so good to have you home Ayleah." Her mother embraced her tightly, proud of her recent graduation, "We have so much to discuss."
She melts into her mother's arms, savouring the warmth of her touch and her comforting smell, "It is so good to see you all, I hope you've been well in my absence." Her brother hugs her next, having missed his sister the most while she was away training under the Bene Gesserit.
Her father ushers them inside, "I'm sure you're tired and starving from your travels, why don't you get some rest, and we can discuss your trip over dinner" she senses the tension in his words and knows something is wrong.
"Geidi Prime?" Paul repeats in disbelief at what his mother has just sprung on them. Since they were young, they had known of the ancient feud between House Atreides and House Harkonnen. Their animosity toward one another knew no bounds.
"This is as it was always destined to be," Their mother spoke matter of fact, "This is what you've worked so hard for Ayleah."
Ayleah looked at her hands in her lap. She knew she would one day leave her family to make alliances elsewhere. She had worked hard for this, to be a wife, or to be a concubine, to proudly follow in her mothers' footsteps. She didn't know what kind of man her father was when he first met her mother, but she felt deep in her gut that he was more noble and kind than any Harkonnen.
She breathed deeply, dispelling the anxiety which had weaved its way into the pit of her stomach. In the end Feyd-Rautha was like any man. He may resist her charms at first, but she would tunnel her way into his soul and captivate it.
"When do I leave?" Ayleah locked eyes with her mother, emboldened by some force inside her, "How long before I have to say goodbye?"
"You'll leave in a days' time, enough for you to say your goodbyes, all the arrangements have been made." Jessica spoke calmly, "Your engagement is not yet secured but I do not doubt your capabilities."
Paul stood suddenly, excusing himself from the table exiting the room quickly. Her father was all but silent throughout the whole exchange. It was clear from their reactions that the whole scheme was hatched by the Bene Gesserit. They didn't understand like she did, the sacrifice she had to make for the greater good of the world.