DUNE ONESHOTS | PAUL ATREIDES X READER

obar mangani - paul atreides

WARNINGS: major character death, mentions of violence

The blazing sun hit your face as you stepped out of the starship, the strong wind blowing your cape as you followed Paul down the hatch towards the endless masses of sand.

The desert was beautiful, especially to you, who had never really seen it before. At least not this vast area, with spice harvesters roaming around, collecting the melange while airborne spotters scanned the ocean of sand.

Paul went ahead, stepping onto the sand. Worm territory. You had seen many documentaries about the sand worms ever since you'd arrived on Arrakis eight months ago.

They terrified you. You didn't believe in the spotters' ability to locate a worm early enough before it would devour an entire harvester and everything around it. You remembered the story of how Paul almost got sucked into that monster's mouth, and the thought of losing him still scared you to death. He was your everything.

Still remaining on the ship's hatch, you hesitated but it didn't take long until Paul noticed you were not by his side. Turning around, he held out his hand.

"Don't be scared, I ordered more spotters than usual for today. You'll be safe with me, Y/N." His voice was so incredibly soothing it sent a sense of calmness through your entire body.

You smiled at him and he reciprocated it, leading you down the hatch safely.

He put his arm around your waist and pulled you closer to his side before he walked towards the harvester. "You're gonna be okay, baby. Trust me," he said as you continued your journey through the sand dunes of Arrakis.

The special rock formation to which Paul lead you could only be reached by foot, but your boyfriend was determined to show it to you anyways.

"The worms would rather hunt the harvester. But before they even reach it — or us — we'll be long gone. I'm not gonna let anything or anyone hurt you."

He wouldn't tell you why you were visiting the great rocks, only that he had a great surprise for you.

"For the only girl in this universe that holds more value than all the spice on this planet. That's what he'd told you.

You had just passed the harvester when you could see the rock formation in the distance. "See that?" Paul asked as he pointed towards the grey-brown landscape. You gaped as you saw more of it. "It's huge. And so beautiful," you said.

He chuckled at the way you were so absolutely mesmerized by the great rocks.

But it really was out-of-this-world-beautiful. The shape of it was astonishing, with all its different dents and little hills. Yet, the very top of it was flat, the platform so wide you could walk around it for hours.

"The Fremen have told me about these rocks. They call it the Obar Mangani. They offered it to me as a sign of their gratitude. When I saw it for the first time, I couldn't help but imagine it to be our new home. We could build a castle on the top, with stone walls surrounding it to keep the worms away. It would be a place just for us, away from all the political chaos."

...

"It is beautiful," you whispered as you walked around the newly built castle for the first time. "Thank you for everything, Maeena."

Your servant could only agree. "I am sure the Lord would have loved it just as much."

"He would," you smile, a tear falling from your eye as you thought back to the ambush.

The Harkonnens.

You climbed onto the rock formation for the first time. Then the images of Paul stepping in front of you, shielding you from the attackers, flashed in front of your eyes again.

The incessant shooting. The sound of gunfires that just didn't stop. Until he fell. And they left.

You had tried to avoid these memories for so long, but eventually his last words rang in your ears once again.

"It's okay," he looked up at you. "Maeena and Kabir... they know... Nothing else matters... except... for... you."

Then he closed his eyes for the last time.