MERCURIAL ( paul atreides.. )

015. If Only Walls Could Talk..

If only walls could talk.

Had they gained the ability to conceive sounds, Sietch Tabr would have turned into the opposite of what had managed to remind both Paul and Mercury of how much they missed the comfort of a bed. Alluring silence of the illusion of night would have turned into a dive into darkness birthed in the hallowed ground; cavernous echoed would have moaned disputes, sorrow, it would perhaps have even told the newcomers that their rest would happen in the heart of the living quarters otherwise allocated to Jamis' family, without mentioning however that it was tradition for Fremen which did not shy away from cruelty and barbarism still. The walls did not see the Tahaddi Challenge, they only saw the consequences of Jamis' defeat and handshake with death, taking away the yali from his mourning family aware their reckless man had finally died by the hands of his stubbornness. 

If the walls of the yali could talk, Mercury would have been drowning in memories long before the stone would inevitably fall quiet and accept new masters whose history, inhaled, would start with a much needed slumber. It was the way they had collapsed together on the bed, shattered into pieces by the efforts and tension of survival. There was tightness in their muscles and too little strength left in their hands to do more than hold onto each other. A hug was the last pinch of energy Mercury and Paul spared, and into each other's arms, using the other for blanket, was how sleep had finally shivered their eyelashes closed, tremored their breath to calm and their mind away from the irony of sleeping while far above, the surface of Arrakis was scorched by its sun star, Canopus. 

Walls forgive so easily, but they never truly forget, which is why they guide drafts through hallways from memory and instinct; that's why marking stone is permanent, why these rocks cannot heal up the parts of the Sietch that exceed nature's kindness, and exist by man-made paths. The walls are sturdy and they do not crumble, but they remember which halls have been dug and carved and chopped; those rooms are usually colder, because they are claimed without consent. 

That did not stop stone from knowing that within its protection flourished a tight community; stone remembered each name, as well as it recalled the usage to each chamber, from school to market places, from ceremonial chambers to assembly points, from vaults to tunnels so narrow they were called roads. Though most people would call a Sietch a village whenever the primitive life of the Fremen stumbled an appearance in the quotidian entertainment of Great Houses, lightyears away, Gurney Halleck was amongst the people who had been granted illumination to realize that a Sietch was more like city, running underground. 

Much time had been to his disposal as they were led towards Sietch Tabr, enough to realize his gratefulness was misplaced and he should now assume, without a single breath of hesitation, the role of a guard. There was sanctity and prophecy wrapped around his duke and his liege, and though he had no clue of what grandeur laid itself for the two, he could almost smell the danger. How would they ever reach the bright future ahead of them if they are not protected? His duty had cleared before his eyes. 

A small inconvenience was how all weaponry all of them carried has been confiscated upon entrance in the Sietch. Halleck felt naked without his blades, but he wasn't exactly concerned of his bare hands' capacity of protecting his sires, not until he sat down, at the entrance of the yali, filled to the brim with the intention of keeping watch while all candles were blown and Paul and Mercury claimed the rest for themselves first. He had not realized how tired he became from so many sleepless nights and instinctive battles; a yawn became a threat from the alluring darkness, from the invitation of silence. Soon, he began snoring ever so lightly, head bowed, arms crossed over his chest. A simple trap, whose right leg would have been a stumbling point to anyone stupid enough to try and come in without first having taken full advantage of a human eye's ability to adapt to darkness, given time.