X: Governor

When morning finally touched my mind, I was surprised to sense Feyd in the bed. We never awoke together. Morning was a time that he used to train and ready and tend to other important matters. There was always an explanation as to why he refused to sleep late.

Seeing as I was in his chambers, it made sense why – if he was given a day off. I should've perhaps slipped out so he could wake on his own.

My eyes ventured a peek.

Feyd was right there. He was stretched out, half under the blankets, an arm laid back behind his head on the pillow. Our faces were closer than our bodies were. We'd curled closer to each other sometime in the night while keeping our limbs separate. His eyes were pressed together. A softness was at his jaw; it had his mouth fallen apart.

The hard lines of his face were softer now. There was no tension.

He looked peaceful…if a monster could own that description.

I moved to adjust better in the blankets and his eyes snapped open. They jumped around the room before they found my face.

"Uh- I didn't mean to wake you. Na-Baron."

"You didn't," he rasped. "I was up."

By the way he stretched, I didn't believe him.

"I'll let you sleep," I said. My feet kicked off the blankets. The cool air greeted my body like a stinging reminder. It fought against my comfort to lift me from his bed.

"No," he said suddenly. He rose on his elbows. "Stay."

I eased back down to the mattress.

"Of course, na-Baron."

"You called me by name last night," he stated evenly.

It fell on a silent air. He did not show anger or interest or hint of violence. Though he did not say it for nothing.

I swallowed. "Apologies, na-Baron. The wine." I deflected from the gross familiarity I'd used. "I don't drink much."

He smirked, apparently amused. "You should drink more."

He reclined. It was ragged – the way he forced his arm behind my back. I bounced against him as he finally settled me at his side.

I let my face fall into the crook of his neck. The chain around my neck irritated the front of my throat.

"Ugh." I pulled at the chain.

"What's this?" He blinked curiously as his fingers ran along the metal.

He lifted the chain. When his eyes caught sight of the ring I'd completely forgotten about, they dropped to my face with the demand of explanation.

"My ring."

"They said it was important, for the dance, that I have something of yours. For luck. It was not my idea. Here." I pulled the chain from my neck. "Take it, na-Baron."

The colored bands of the ring circled. It refracted in the whole black of his eyes.

"It is better with you," he said.

"But it is yours."

"I command you to take it. Wear it. Keep it. Whatever you want."

He pushed it back at me.

The weight of it hit my palm. It was undeniable. Feyd's ring was a heavy commitment.

"Should I keep it safe?" I ask quietly.

"It's safe if it's with you," he said.

The chain relatched around my neck.

I doubted it was safe with me seeing as my life could forfeit any day. At his own hand, especially.

"Na-Baron is too generous," I murmured.

"Yes." He nodded while his eyes swam in the distance. "I know."

Feyd dipped into the bathing room while I wandered around the large rooms of the main quarters. They were dark metal and encased everything in their cold sensation. The leather chairs were like the ones back in the Baron's castle. Tightened animal skin over metal frame. It was a Harkonnen signature style.

There was a set of doors at the back that opened to an office space. Items once on the shelves were strewn across the floor. Papers, too, were everywhere.

I escaped the chaotic space when a knock at the door hit my ears.

My body was devoid of clothing and entirely exposed.

It might not have bothered Feyd to have it out seeing as his harem boasted their intimate parts for all to see. I was different. I disliked being a spectacle for people to watch from their height. For amusement. For submission.

I halted the line of thinking: it did not matter.

It was not mine anymore. My comfort was a thing of the past.

That was a truth I knew well.

Feyd exited the bathing room. He laced up the waist of his pants.

"Get yourself dressed," he instructed. "I'll have breakfast served in my main room."

My clothes from the night before laid shredded on the floor. I did not give hint of my dislike of being paraded as a naked accessory. My skin became cold, numb to puncture, numb to feeling.

"Does na-Baron wish me to return for his meal?"

"Return?" He looked around. "Did I give you leave?"

"My clothes." My arms motioned around the room. "They are no longer."

"Hm."

The knock knocked again. Feyd's mouth half lifted in a snarl.

"Knock again and I will cut off your hand. Do not enter until I say." He called out loud enough for the whole castle to hear.

He marched over to his wardrobe. The metal doors slid up. They revealed a monochromatic palate of clothes.

"Take whatever you want." He marched into the next room. The doors vibrated on their hinges as he slammed them closed behind his back. "Enter."

I found a simple dark t-shirt that covered my shoulders and belly.

Bottoms were harder to find. He was a massive man. I would have to roll up half the length to not drag the fabric behind me.

What I decided to do was slip into another shirt of his and used the sleeves to tie around myself.

The bathing room mirror showed a disaster in my hair. I used body oils to tame it to something manageable. The ends were frazzled by a night of pulling and friction. There were smears of black paint against my chest. It was semi visible from the neckline of the shirt. I licked my fingers to rid the coloring, which only smeared it to a lighter grey.

The doors to the bed chambers were opened. I felt Feyd's solid feet connect to the floor as he marched through the room.

"Mintha."

"Yes?"

"Breakfast is here," he relayed. His presence lingered just on the other side of the door.

My eyes stared at the shadow beneath the door.

When I remained silent, he knocked on the door enough that it shook. "You will not bleed out, if that is what you're hoping. I can take down the door quicker."

I swallowed and stepped out of the room. He was there. His eyes roamed my length for a show of blood.

"I freshened up," I explained. "That's all."

"Show me your wrists."

I lifted my undamaged wrists for his approval.

"I had a place set for you." He moved out of the room. I padded behind him. "My lady should dine with me some of the time."

"Yes, na-Baron."

The place setting meant for me was surrounded by trays of fruit. All the favorites I had in the Baron's castle and the ones I'd tried in Arrakeen were there. The vibrant colors were perfect. Their bodies were ripe, the meat fresh. The skins smelled divine.

I had to contain myself as Feyd began to pick through his own display for his meal.

My selection was patient. I sniffed them long. Their beauty brought a smile to my face. My eyes drifted closed as I washed in the recesses of my mind where those smells lived.

"What are you thinking about?" Feyd questioned.

He slurped from a grey shell. The slimey meat was one I was well acquainted with.

I lowered the fruit to my plate. The noble women used their utensils to consume their fruits. Knives to slice it small. The activity was tedious, but I assumed it was manners.

My fingers grabbed ahold of the knife. "I don't know exactly. The smell. It reminds me of something. I don't know what."

His chewing slowed. "Rambutans. They grow on a planet across the Imperium. Very rare." He leaned back in his seat. "Where do you come from?"

"I don't remember."

"How were you involved in the invasion?"

The memories were not hazy. They were black. There was nothing but flashes of memories from a time so long ago happened. I only remembered being kept in a place on the planet before the Harkonnen's invaded.

"I don't recall," I answered.

"You lie."

"I do not, na-Baron." Thoughts became very hard, too difficult to touch. "I've tried to remember. It's all black. Nothing. No family, no lovers, no landscapes. Just, nothing. It is as if I came from darkness. All I see are shapes of times long ago, feelings."

Feyd watched me closely before he returned to his meal.

I, too, tried.

My mind was a place that held many truths I'd forgotten. I knew who I was. Somewhere. I remembered my name. That was not from my prison planet. It was no Harkonnen name. It was mine. How did I know that but nothing else?

"You needed a way to survive. Your mind cut away what wasn't needed," he said in a way that came off as reassuring? That could not be. "It became too painful to remember what was before. So, you made a choice: surrender or survive."

"Surviving is still surrender," I blurted.

We looked at each other with an intimate understanding. There were pieces deeper than the surface that lived that truth, every day. In our bodies and in our minds.

"Yes." He agreed softly. "It is."

Our meal was interrupted later by a report from Feyd's unit. They had invaded the city for information. Some had given vague recollections of Fremen sightings.

He gave instructions to have thopters made ready immediately.

"Hate to cut this short, my sweetness." He leaned into a kiss before he left the table.

The armored suits were held in another wardrobe on the other side of the bed chamber. I watched him wretch open his equipment. He grabbed many blades from their resting places in the drawers.

Good to know where they were. I logged that information for later.

"Na-Baron."

He paused his actions.

"You aren't taking me with you?"

He tilted his head. The sword slid its large sheath. "Be ready in ten."

My mouth bit back its smile. "Of course, na-Baron."

I ran out of the room. It, to no surprise, was just down the hall from the chambers I'd been brought to when I first arrived. My queenly chambers just nearest the main ones.

My wardrobe showed a larger spread of dresses than I remembered.

Dresses did not work. I needed trousers. They had to look like I belonged there, not as a regal lady but an active member.

I assembled a look that was better than the frilly dresses I was always dressed in. These were thick and covered most of my body.

I did have to make concessions on what showed. It was not my plan to show my wounds from Feyd, but there was minimal choice. A black long-sleeved shirt was my best choice for top. Only it showed off my shoulders.

The deep bite bruised into my muscle showed bright in the light of day.

I wrapped a thin veil around my head and face before I rushed out of my chambers back to Feyd.

Vishti was in the corridor as I passed.

"My lady? My lady!" They called out.

"I've got to go," I said. My pace did not stop on the way to him. "See you later."

Feyd just stepped from his chamber door when I approached. He examined me up and down before he finally said, "Alright."

He took me out to the same spot I landed the day before. It was filled of thopters. There was action around the landing field. Soldiers of Feyd's moved around the thopters. They lined up, counted by another and then divided into their own flight groups.

My clothes were solid black. Same as theirs. I only stuck out because my eyes were visible and not covered by a bulbous helmet.

The sand was calm. Less wind stirred up the grit.

Warm light poured over the lands that surrounded Carthag. It was yellow and bright. Dry air fluttered my hair behind my back in a short gasp.

My legs were sore - as well as other parts - as I trudged through sand just beyond the retaining walls of the landing bay. The desert's heat showed a murky sky. It wobbled colors in the distance as a mirage of glittery gold.

"Let's go!" Feyd's voice rang out clear through the sands.

I slipped down the sand back onto the ground. The combat boots were way nicer than the ridiculous heels.

Noise of the air began to fill as more engines were turned over.

Feyd again had me in the co-pilot. This time I was given the chance to put my own body into it. I had the harness buckled when he slipped into his seat.

"Good girl."

He took us out over the desert. We went deeper into the worm lands than before.

It just went on and on. More desert. More nothing.

"This is the location. Look for signs of life," Feyd said into the headset.

The speaker of the radio rang through the empty belly of the thopter.

"Affirmative."

All of thopters broke formation to spread through the skies. They scanned the rocks below.

"I don't get it. It's just rock," I said.

"Fremen are crafty. They know how to hide in plain sight."

"Are you hunting for Maud'dib?"

"That is what we are here to do. The Imperium needs spice. We need to control the spice, so we need to control Maud'dib."

"Na-Baron." A voice rumbled through the speaker.

"Speak," Feyd said.

"We have what look like tracks. Should we pursue?"

He clicked buttons. A hologram of a square screen showed the feed from the other thopter. It showed disruptions in the sand.

They searched the area around but found nothing.

"The witch got it wrong," said one of the soldiers. "There is nothing here."

Witch? Not me! I did not say to go here.

I looked at Feyd.

"That witch is good for nothing. We have our own now."

The men voiced agreement. It calmed the tension I felt.

It was not my choice to be known as a witch.

"What do Bene Gesserit witches do?" I asked on the flight back.

"Do?"

"How can they know things? Or make you say things. How do they do that?"

"They are taught," he said. "The Bene Gesserit have a school that takes girls in. They teach them, train them in their witch ways, and send them back."

"I've only met one witch. She felt inhuman. I don't know how to imitate that."

"Witch." He smirked. "What witch?"

"The night you told me you - we," I quickly caught myself, "were coming here."

Feyd's hands tensed against the controls. They cracked.

My stomach went sour and churned. I'd stepped into some territory I was unfamiliar with.

Quick. Fix, fix. "I can try. I'll practice my voice and throat grabbing. I'll learn how."

"What?"

Fix harder. "Books. I can read and figure it out."

Feyd was oddly silent. It was weird and tense. I thought I did something wrong, but there were no words to fix it.

What had made him so angry remained unclear.

Was it the witch, my interest at an inappropriate time, or my ignorance? He did not ask me to be smart. Nor had I proclaimed to be.

The disembarking of the thopter was quick. I jumped out. The boots did not bend my ankles when I collided with the ground.

He waited for me to round the thopter.

A hand reached out and grasped my hand. "Wait for me. I won't be long."

All at once, heat of living dropped away. I was cold and numb. Pieces of fear peeped their heads from the deep.

My lack of knowledge on witches must have stirred some revelation in him. It reminded him of my low status. How improper it was for us to be together.

He'd been educated well. There were tutors that used to demand his appearance when he'd visit me. He would be irritated by the interruption whereas I wondered what they taught him.

Now on Arrakis, I understood how extensive his education was. His combat training alone was vast. Every weapon was a skill he mastered. The act of commanding units of soldiers was no easy task either. His mind knew how to direct, anticipate, and coordinate people he did not see.

Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen was a monster. His skin was white and hard. The blood stained on his hands was bright and fresh.

The workings of his mind showed more than ruthless monster. There were thoughts inside. Blood, vengeance, yes, but schemes. The man was manipulative in a capacity I did not realize.

The thought occurred to me as I entered the regal opulent lavish chambers meant for a true princess - that my part was paramount in a way I did not expect. The depth of what he needed from me, too, I did not know.

I started to consider my part in his plans. And just what Feyd might come to need from me.

Vishti scowled the whole time they removed my self-made outfit. Their wrinkles deepened when I explained my intention was not to appear too self-important.

They shook their head and shuffled away to have my clothes cleaned.

Or burned, likely.

Feyd entered a short while after that. His lips pressed in a thin line when he saw me.

"I thought I said to wait for me," he said.

My book lowered to the table. "I am, na-Baron."

"I meant in our chambers."

How was I supposed to know that? Last night was the first I'd ever stayed in his chambers before.

We returned to his kingly quarters. The wardrobe doors remained open, with contents half spilled out onto the door and chairs. Weapons and gear. Many things I did not recognize.

He began to remove his gear with no qualm about my being present for it.

The weight of the entire suit was immense. He sometimes strained to pull the interlocking plates from his person.

I felt awkward watching him undress - I'd seen it so many times before. Instead, I approached the wardrobe fitted with his collection of weapons. The entire drawer was full of blades. Every shape and size. There were hilts of solid metal. Others had holes meant for his fingers. Their cold metal length slithered up my fingers as I ghosted my touch across the grey jagged edge.

There were large blades - swords. None were jagged edged. All their curves were smooth. It was difficult to imagine how sharp they truly were.

So sharp, they cut flesh like butter.

My finger ran along the edge of the sword, only to be suddenly sliced open by its blade.

At first I did not comprehend the blood that seeped up from the tip. It felt like a mirage of the desert. But as it continued to drip down my finger, my hand, down to the blade, did I realize what I'd done.

Feyd stacked pieces of his gear into the wardrobe. His eyes glanced at the drawer.

My blood all over his collection, stained.

He pulled my wounded finger to his lips. The crimson red swam amongst the warmth of his mouth as he fed on the blood of my body. It took a short minute for the bleeding to lessen.

Nothing was said about it.

He continued to dress in casual clothes as if it hadn't happened.

But I knew by his silence that he thought of it. He'd watch me with intensity as I neared the wardrobe again. I pretended to not be preoccupied with the contents. Distracted by a trinket on the table rather than the weapons I could use to end myself.

A whole arsenal of endings that would do the job well enough that I wouldn't need to worry about repercussions.

Feyd set a large kit down on a low sat table. It held a large plus sign. He made a point to make eye contact with me as he did so.

"What is that?" I asked, as I thought I should.

"A med kit," he said, "should you choose to have another incident." The monstrous tone of his voice emerged. "Recall what I said on the heighliner, Mintha. Only I shall choose when you die. No other."

"Yes, na-Baron."

"There is nothing to hurt us here. We are the strongest force on Arrakis. Soon to be in the Imperium."

I swallowed. "Yes, na-Baron."

His frown deepened.

"And call me Feyd," he snipped.

That instruction lodged in my throat. I did to want to.

He slipped shirt over his head. "Now, come. I need to get some work done."

I obliged. Silently.

There did not need to be reason to expose a refusal from my lips.

I would not say his name.

The night prior was the first its sound came from my mouth under the guise of his full title, but that was the wine. It was overconfidence.

I knew better.

Feyd held my wrist in his hand as we traversed the castle. He turned his head at an intersection of halls. They were identical, like the one we just came from.

"Fuckin' place," he said under his breath.

"Are we meant to stay here?" My small voice asked.

"Do you wish to?"

I swallowed. "I like both. They are very nice accommodations."

"Arrakeen was not a maze," he stated as he regained his bearings. We turned left. The hall was long before our feet. "If you wish to return, tell me so."

"Na-Baron -."

"You know my name, Mintha." Our pace stopped. "Say it."

"It's not my place."

"Your place?" He slipped his hand against my face. "You're the Lady of House Harkonnen. Your place is at my side."

The place he gave me. It was not a guarantee.

Any day he tired of me would be my last day as lady.

We arrived at the committee meeting with the advisors of Harkonnen House. Many more were there. Their faces were unknown to me.

It was less formal than in Arrakeen. They stood in a circle of holograms of different lights. There was no sitting, no presentation, nothing.

I leaned against the outer wall. There was very little of interest to me. It was all strategy talk. Plus, the addition of spice harvesting concerns from broken equipment, worker conditions and complaints, the lack of provisions to protect their staff out in the desert and Fremen attack.

They spoke on end about ways to cure the rebellious attitudes spreading through their own imported workers as well as the other locals they recruited to help with the harvest.

"There needs to be stronger punishment for words spoken against the work," an advisor said. "It will slow the word of morale ideals."

Another adviser leaned forward. "Along that line of thought should be an example. One of the workers. I think public execution. Na-Baron could deliver it personally."

More death. It carried to every edge of the Imperium.

"There is written word that says rewards reap some benefits when dealing with workers."

"Rewards for turning in the rebels?"

The adviser shrugged. "I don't see what else could be meant."

Feyd placed a palm flat against the table in front of him. The flesh tensed. The rivers of his bloodstream cut upward.

"Give them what they want," he said.

An adviser snorted in disbelief. "Na-Baron?"

"Water. Food. Whatever. Just make sure we don't lose them."

"Feeding them will only encourage the spread of these ideas."

"I need them," Feyd shouted. "We cannot harvest without workers in the machines. The Baron needs his spice. I will deliver it."

It was enough to convince the advisers to drop the subject.

They bowed their heads and continued through their lists of objectives.

The conversation passed by me as the time bled on. I'd started making tunes in my head to distract from the total boredom.

A body moved along the outer wall. Its movement caught the corner of my eye. Its approach was slow, almost too much so.

"Captain Rurik," I greeted quietly.

The discussion center room was important. It did not need competition.

The captain did not bow nor greet me as he did when Feyd was around. We were out of na-Baron's gaze, which I believed was apart of his plot.

I kept that information to myself. "How is your shoulder?"

The big man scowled. It fell deeper through the ragged edges of his scarred cheek up to the damaged eye.

Said shoulder remained in a sling. It probably ached from the order of carrying Glossu Rabban's body from the Great Hall. Alone.

It was like a punishment to the man.

"You must be proud of yourself," he said quietly. His gaze jumped to the na-Baron, who was lost in the conversation of running the planet to be concerned with his captain being annoying to his lady. "A lady such as yourself. You probably offered yourself up to see me punished. What did you have to do? Your ass looks big enough. Is that what you offered him?"

I blinked hard. Excuse me?

"I don't know what you mean, Captain."

"Sure, you don't." He stepped closer and spoke lower, "I hope it hurt when he fucked your ass. Ripped and tore like my arm."

It was unfounded that I would support the suffering of another person just because he injured my pride. What little pride I had was not so important compared to actual torture.

"If you were punished, it was not my doing." I eased back against the wall. "Perhaps you should watch your tongue, Captain Rurik. Seems to me that you piss off more than your fair share."

"Whore."

"See? Your tongue can't help itself. Any other lady would have been pissed off by that name."

"I don't give a damn. Anyone can see that you are not what you seem."

Right. I am nothing.

Worthless. Prisoner. Nothing.

"If that is the concern, captain, it is your duty to report it to your commanding officer." I lifted my brow in challenge.

Fine by me. Let him take his anger out on me.

I did not have it out for him.

I'd forgotten about our rift.

"If he's not torn through you, I'll do it myself."

His threat was not frightening in the least. Did he not know what kind of monster I laid under? Being torn at my sensitive parts was not my biggest concern. It was likely enough with how hard he used my body. I'd have little left when Feyd finally ended this charade.

Captain Rurik fled the wall. He no longer lurked on the edges of the room but entered the main space.

He waited his turn to address the na-Baron.

I was impressed with the patience built inside his rage. At me.

A part of me would have been hurt, long ago, by his accusation.

That was long dead by now. My care for what was thought of me was depleted.

The burly man let himself slip into an excited frustration. "Na-Baron. We concern ourselves with the rats outside these walls when we should look to the insides of our operation. There is explanation on how to stop the attacks."

Feyd quirked the corner of his upper lip. "By all means, captain."

The captain looked at the others of the adviser committee. "We all saw it. The celebration." He turned to me. "The lady witch is a spy. She is one of them. I advise she be locked in confinement. Lest we lose more to her deviancy."

The amusement deepened. A slight slip of dark teeth showed as Feyd regained his power of speech.

The na-Baron casually stepped away from the work that blared in bright red upon their gadgets. "Is that so, captain?"

"Her origins are unknown. She's a witch. And a crafty one. She's shown that she knows intimate knowledge of the planet and its people."

"That is of concern," Feyd mused.

I kept my two palms flat against the wall behind my back. My face trained motionless.

The thought was ridiculous, as was being upset by it.

"We must neutralize her, na-Baron." The captain bowed.

"Is that right?"

Feyd approached me. His sharp stare on me now.

I went unfazed. He toyed with the captain - not me.

He knew the truth; he made me.

"Are you a spy, my lady? Do you have Fremen masters out in the desert, far from these walls?"

I turned my head away from the wall now. Our eyes met. It taunted at my own humor.

He shared his bemused attitude with me in front of them all, without their knowledge just how foolish it was. "Do you plot our demise?"

I glanced over at the captain as I replied, "No, na-Baron."

He grinned. "Do you sneak out at night to make signals across the desert?"

How would that be possible? The man awoke with every move I made.

"I sleep in na-Baron's bed… they should ask you."

"Good point, my lady witch. That they should." He turned back to Captain Rurik. "Any more concerns about her, captain? No? Then get back out there and find Muad'dib!"

After the captain huffed out of the room, the advisers tread lightly with Feyd's temper. They agreed to everything he said.

No one dared cross the animal when it came out from inside Feyd. They embraced the monster he was, yet quivered in the face of his true demented form beneath. A creature of rage, of recklessness, of instinct.

It was becoming clearer that the animal riled when I was insulted in front of him. When someone overstepped a line he kept outlined around me, he put them back in their place.

Only he could govern over me.