COLLISION || DUNE

Chapter Two: First Encounter

By the time Nadira was excused, the night had fully cloaked the setting sky, leaving all rooms in the castle eerily dark and still.

Outside of Nadira's room, maids shuffled in the hallways, readying the castle for the next morning. Her accommodations were lavish, her sheets a thick silk and blankets a soft wool, yet she couldn't sleep. After the duke mentioned the emperor, Nadira was excused to her room, leaving her parents to discuss the details of her pending marriage. She wondered what would become of it now. She hadn't even seen the face of her supposed fiancé and come the rise of the next sun, she wasn't even sure she'd be a bride. The newfound hope that had fueled her earlier was completely gone.

Across from the bed, there was a small, uncovered window that filtered moonlight across the floor and over the side of her face. Her mind teased at the thought of returning to Dinu. Propping her arms over her stomach, Nadira toyed with the bracelet around her wrist before tapping it twice. A holographic image erupted from one of the beads, a bright eclipsing sun playing out in front of her face. She allowed herself a small but thankful smile. Her father was right in thinking she'd want a piece of home. Once again she tried to fall asleep, but found herself wide awake and wanting to see him.

After a while, the bracelet shut off, leaving her in darkness. Within that time she'd managed to work herself out of the comfort of the bed and over to her bedroom door. Slipping out into the hallway, she was met with emptiness. The maids seemed to have finished their business and retired for the night, leaving her to navigate her path with the help of the walls. At first, she inched forward. Her feet carefully traveled one in front of the other until her confidence replaced her caution and she picked up her pace, going faster and faster until she found herself pressed up against a door. Before she could balance herself, it slid open.

She went down with a small scream. As she rose to her feet, she eyed the room. The layout was nearly identical to the room she'd been given, yet the furnishing was undeniably refined. Even though she had almost no light, she could make out the intricate patterns on the sofa, the statues over the fireplace, and the gold that lined the window sill. All of it was carefully embellished. This wasn't a room that housed guests, it was a room that housed members of the family. Suddenly, Nadira became hyper-aware of the volume of her breathing and the sound of her bare feet against the floor. Terror squeezed at her chest as she glanced over at the bed, and noticed one sleeping figure, not two.

Quietly backing away, she pressed her hand against the door. Once it was open she turned around quickly, taking all of two steps into the hall before being yanked back by her neck. Within a second, a hand crushed the back of head and hair, snapping her vision up to the ceiling. Her hands shot up, trying to claw at anything she could grasp, anything she could tear but was quickly disarmed by another hard pull.

"What are you doing here?" The voice from behind her was a boy's. While his tone was neutral, his grip served as a warning of its own, nails burrowing into her scalp. Hot tears burned in Nadira's eyes. Her spine felt like it was going to snap from the pressure, and when she spoke she found herself trembling.

"...I'm a visitor,"

"Who sent you?"

"What?"

"The Harkonnens?"

The Harkonnens? Despite being held stiff, she almost wanted to laugh. Her family wasn't so low in stature that they'd be coerced into executing a murder, much less kill for a house that was notorious for handling such matters on their own. It was a disgrace.

"I am Nadira of House Occari. I have no relation to the Harkonnens" The boy behind her took a moment to process what she'd said before dropping his grip from her neck and stepping back. Upon release, Nadira immediately went to her knees, smearing her tears away with the back of her hands as she leveled out her breathing and calmed her heart. In place of her fear, anger housed itself in her tongue.

"Do you frequently pray upon unassuming girls in the dead of night, sir?" The words shot out of her with the force of a missile, fueled by nothing but remaining adrenaline and spite.

"Only when they appear in my room unannounced"

An extended hand came into her line of vision. Ignoring the offer of help, she rose to her feet and straightened her spine, readying herself to insult him further but upon looking at his face, she found herself speechless. He was pretty- Not quite having grown into being handsome yet, but pretty nonetheless. His hair was dark and cropped to curl around his ears, narrowed blue eyes teasing a hint of gray in the moonlight. Though he seemed to be around her age, his aura was heavy. Nadira could tell he'd been trained to lead, feeling it simply from the manner in how he stood.

The two started each other down for another moment before he broke the silence.

"Paul of House Atreides" A small gasp escaped her. She'd suspected it, connecting the resemblance between the two from the moment she'd seen his face and the lavish state of his room. Yet, she still tensed.

This was the moment her mother prepared her for, the moment she'd mentally drilled over and over until inner workings of her imagination could barely forumate anything else. They were supposed to meet in the presence of the duke, where she'd smile, speak when spoken to, and diligently follow the rubric of elegance she'd been taught. Instead, not even five minutes into their first encounter, he'd been ready to kill her. Nadira figured they were past formalities.

Paul gave a small bow but she didn't return it.

"I thought you were trying to kill me," He started to explain, but was furiously interrupted.

"Then I'd be a very incapable assassin. They normally wear shoes, do they not?" Nadira crossed her arms, making a show of sticking one of her feet out from beneath her nightgown for him to see. He sighed heavily, poorly hidden amusement evident on his face.

"If a threat enters my quarters, you truly believe the first thing I'm looking at is their feet?"

A pause.

"Well?"

"What?"

"Am I a threat?" She stepped closer to him defiantly, trying her best to at least from a small crack in his disposition. Cold and unwavering, he held her gaze, a smile no longer hinting at his eyes. Without entertaining her question, Paul turned his back to her and sat on the edge of his bed and readied himself for sleep again. Nadira watched him aggravated and appalled as he began to settle under the covers. He hadn't even offered her an apology.

"Don't come back here"

"I wasn't planning to" She retorted back, turning to the door and storming out of the room, letting her feet guide her anywhere away from Paul Atreides.