back to you | paul atreides

ten

I'd never been to Giedi Prime before. Paul and I had learned about the planet before, but seeing it in person was a whole other thing. The sky was dark, the buildings grey and scary. It felt as though the entire planet was meant to scare you away.

I stared at the large palace ahead of us from the safety of our ornithopter. Within the next few minutes I'd be stepping outside onto the dark planet to meet someone I might marry. I shivered.

"You ready to go, Lia?" Duncan asked me, standing him from the pilot's seat.

I didn't answer. I took a moment as I continued to analyze the mysterious environment that surrounded us.

Noticing my hesitancy, I could hear him grumble under his breath. "This is so stupid."

"Don't tell Paul, please." I asked him, pleading.

I could hear Duncan sigh from beside me, not answering my question. I took his silence as a reluctant yes.

Of course Hawat would assign Duncan Idaho to bring me to Giedi Prime, it's not like he had anything important to do back on Arrakis. No, not at all. I'm sure marrying off Paul's friend was a more valuable way to put his combat skills to work.

But then again, for such a sensitive and intimate type of mission I was glad it was him. I knew Duncan wasn't here to judge me, as weird as he found the whole situation to be.

"You don't have to agree to any of this by the way." He added as he opened the door to help me out. "I can't believe Hawat even suggested this to you..."

"I know," I whined. "I just want to do something, okay? I don't want to sit back and let everyone else do the fighting."

He threw is head back and laughed. "Marrying a Harkonnen is not fighting. Just... go easy on yourself, okay?"

I nodded and he led me in the direction of the main entrance. I squeezed my nails into my palms as we got closer.

One of their guards opened the door for us without acknowledgement. I realized he had a strange and sickly appearance. It made my skin crawl.

The inside of the palace was not as empty as I had expected. Despite the grey theme, the room was filled with small pieces of art and furniture to fill the spaces. It was clear there was some sort of in-ground lighting system that lined the side of the walls, the light traveling up towards the ceiling to give it a brighter look.

I felt a slight twinge of comfort knowing the interior wasn't as sullen as one would expect from the Harkonnens. In fact, it was almost beautiful. In its own dark and minimalist way, of course.

There was another strange looking man at the centre of the room. He held his hands behind his back and proceeded to greet us with a small nod, clearly expecting us.

"If you'll follow me, Na-Baron is expecting you in his waiting chambers."

He began down the hall to our left. I followed after him with slight hesitancy, exchanging an odd look with Duncan.