❝we have different destinies, paul.❞
❝bullshit. we choose our own destinies, and i choose you. over and over again. always.❞
When House Atreides must uproot itself and move to Arrakis, Lia finds herself worrying more and more about Paul and the dema...
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"Your daddy's left for a trip," I whispered against Leto's head as I held him close, "he'll be back soon, though. Don't worry."
I rocked him in my arms while I watched my dad train group of Fremen a few ways away from me. Paul felt it necessary to to travel to a new sietch to make alliances with as many Fremen possible. Though I didn't disagree with his plan, it worried me to be without him for a few days. Every time the two of us had managed to separate, it wasn't by choice.
Paul's survival was no longer a secret, though his identity was known by the Fremen as Muad'dib. If the name of this great soldier somehow made it back to the Harkonnens, they would have no idea he was actually the Atreides heir.
"How's this little man?" My dad cooed as he held his arms up to take Leto from my grasp. There was a bead of sweat that had collected on his forehead from his training and he took my baby with sticky hands.
"Don't get your sweat on him," I warned, "he smells nice right now and I'd like to keep it that way."
Ignoring me, my dad held Leto close to his chest to rock him. It was always an odd sight to see the big Warmaster Gurney Halleck holding his grandson with a silk touch. As odd as it felt to see, my heart warmed to see Leto be loved so hard by his family.
My dad looked over his shoulder to see the next set of Fremen arriving to go through training. "Here," he offered my child back to me, "I'll see more of my little boy later."
I resumed rocking Leto and allowed my eyes to travel across the room. I watched the dozens of Fremen going about their days and wondered what Paul was doing at the moment. Was he meeting with a new Naib? In the middle of travel? He could been sleeping right now for all I knew.
The sound of a familiar voice caught my attention and I turned my head to see Shipo, the female Naib whose sietch we stumbled across after fleeing Giedi Prime.
"Shipo!" I exclaimed in surprise and moved to greet her.
The older woman looked away from Stilgar to face me, her eyes widening in sight at the child in my arms.
"Ophelia," she greeted warmly, "how are you? Is this who I think it is?" She asked as she eyed Leto with a smile.
I nodded. "His name is Leto, after his Grace."
She nodded knowingly, offering her finger to my baby. Instinctively, he gripped the finger tightly in his palm.
"What a beautiful young boy." She cooed, admiring my child.
Another familiar voice echoed against the stone wall just a few ways away from me. I turned my head, Leto still in my arms to see Zeina making her way over. She looked just a bit taller now, her youthful features having matured since the last time I saw her.
"Zeina," I smiled, "you're here too."
The girl's eyes widened at the sight of me with a child, but she quickly recovered. "Yeah, I came along with Shipo. The baby- is it yours?"
