Secrets In The Shadows - Feyd Rautha X OC

Prologue - Late To Dinner

I sit at the table, eyes facing down, expressionless like the daughter of an Archduke should be in the presence of members from another house. Hands folded together neatly across my lap, my posture straight. The room was quiet except for the small quick footsteps of the servants rushing around to make everything perfect in fear they'd be punished for a slight mistake.....it was a special occasion after all. I could smell the fear on one of them as she leant over me to pour the red wine into my glass, hands shaking, not breathing - silent.

All important figures of house Harkonnes had made their presence at the table, sitting quietly and patiently like myself, however he wasn't here. The chair opposite me to the right stood empty, the blackness of the wall behind moulding into the shade of chair to look like a void of darkness where he'd soon be seated.

He was late.

I hadn't expected anything less from a man like Feyd Rautha, his own ego dismissing the duties of being on time to such formal events like this. It was a smart move on his part, no matter how annoying it was; he knew how to get underneath peoples skin, to control the dynamic of specific situations so he was in control. He wanted us to feel like we were wasting his time, like our presence, being on Geidi Primes was nothing but a chore. I had predicted he would keep these games up for the rest of our stay here, it was a typical strategy id seen before, from violent men like himself, to impose authority onto those he deemed pathetic and useless.

My eyes snapped up, looking through the lace of my vail as the Barons gurgling voice suddenly echoes through the room.

"Its nice of you to finally join us Feyd..."

He stands at the doorway, hands tucked behind his back, that same smug look on his face that I had seen when I first arrived on this godforsaken planet. His pale milky skin contrasting with the blackness that envelops the room. The heaviness of his brow ridge casting his eyes into darkness, further evoking the hollow shell of an exterior he portrayed to all. The already uncomfortable atmosphere of the room growing even stronger, hearing the fidgeting of my brothers hands underneath the table in apprehensiveness at the new situation that was about to unfold. I analysed his body language; the way he held himself, his posture strong and the way his body leaned slightly forward as if he was ready to face anybody that stood in his way.

He makes his way to the empty chair, his steps slow and calculated, prowling his way along the polished floors. I flick my gaze back to the table, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of me acknowledging his ever so dismaying presence.

"Excuse my informalities, I had other important business to attend to..." his patronizing voice declared hidden behind his now blank expression as he sat at the table.

The tapping of rapid footsteps broke the ever growing tension in the room as the frightened servants handed out plates of food across the table; scuttling away as quickly as they had arrived.

A plate of food is placed in front of me. I raise my hands in front of my neck, my fingertips brushing against the thin fabric of the vail that lays lightly against my skin, lifting it to fold behind my head neatly; revealing the face I had kept hidden.

Conversation started quickly at the table. Talk of business related issues on Arrakis that I had no interest in speaking about or even listening to. Their arrogance and testosterone filled opinions boring me in ways that nothing else ever could, so I decide to choose the safest and most appealing option - observe quietly. Its what I was good at, observing people. Picking apart their every word and every change in tone to catch a glimpse of who they really were, to predict what was to come of them. My mother had taught me how to do it well. How to analyse behaviours to benefit my own survival as a women in a world full egotistical men.

I listen to the many voices around the table, the clinking of glasses and the sounds of cutlery, held by gluttonous hands, desperately cutting into the food as if they were starving dogs; yet I am yet to hear his voice. Expecting to hear it gloat about his recent victories, triumphs and his power...

....But I never hear it.

I glance at him curiously, looking up through my eyelashes across the table at this unexpected behaviour, yet I am already met with the burning of his gaze. His expression unreadable as he stares at me intensely, seemingly also uninterested in the words spoken around us. I look back down at my place at the table, reaching for my glass carefully, taking a sip of the thick red wine provided, feeling slightly on edge at the fact I could still feel his stare, isolated on different areas of my face and watching my every move. Studying the way my fingers wrap around the glass and the way my lips fit around the thin edge as I take a sip.

The hairs on the back of my neck raise, uneasiness filling my head slowly as I shrivel slightly underneath his harsh eyes. The power dynamic which was once neutral now slowly switching to one that made me feel weak and unknowing of how to respond - just how he wanted it.

I could've wiped that infuriating look straight off of his face if I really wanted to; using the voice to whip his head to the other side, his reaction i imagine being anger. He would kill me and my family here right at the dinner table if i was to do so, pulling his blade out and sticking it into my trembling body, watching the blood spill out of me, pooling at his feet. The scenario alone was satisfying to think about, however it was one that would never be able to happen. The business my family were sorting out too serious to be jeopardized by a situation so petty.

Becoming frustrated by the turn of silent events, I meet his gaze once again, a sour expression lacing my face. He tilted his head slightly, reading the warning my scowl announced to him before I'm met with a small smirk and a squint of his eyes. He then turns his body towards the Baron, suddenly indulging himself in the political conversation that had arose.

I could've killed him.

I had played his game unknowingly and had lost. He had wanted to get that reaction out of me knowing i wouldn't have the nerve to do anything else and I had given it almost willingly. The amused smile he had mockingly given me, was embedded into my brain, haunting me. I ate my food quietly and drank my wine quickly, the embarrassment slipping away slowly; boring voices surrounding me echoing through my skull, fading into the background as I waited for the night to be over. I wouldn't let him win this little game he was playing, I'd show him what i was capable of next time, even if got my stubborn self in trouble.

He was playing a dangerous game.