Khala's eyelids fluttered open slowly, her senses dulled by the fog of unconsciousness. The chill in the air seeped into her bones, sending shivers down her spine. Disoriented and groggy, she struggled to make sense of her surroundings.
Her skin was coated with sweat from a dream she did not remember. There were tears staining her cheeks.
Though from what?
"Chani?" Her voice was weak and raspy as she called out, her head throbbing with pain. But there was no familiar presence to comfort her, only the cold silence that enveloped the room.
A deep chuckle echoed through the chamber, sending a shiver of dread down Khala's spine. She turned to see him—Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen—his presence casting a shadow over her already troubled mind. He was different now, colder, and more menacing than she remembered.
"Quite the dream you seemed to have. I heard you moaning my name, Leonara."
Khala's limbs felt heavy, as if weighed down by invisible chains, and she could do nothing but watch as Feyd approached her with an object in his hand, its purpose unknown to her.
"Did you drug me?" she managed to croak, her voice barely audible above the pounding in her ears.
Feyd said nothing as he circled behind her, his movements deliberate and calculated.
A metallic coldness settled against her neck, sending a wave of panic coursing through her veins as it clicked. She strained against her invisible restraints, but it was futile.
He then sat down and watched her, not saying a word.
"What did you do to me? What did you put on me?" She demanded, unable to move anything but her face.
He stood up, his hand now brandishing a new item.
A dagger. Her dagger. The dagger she had pressed against his throat nearly six years ago. It's amethyst jewels were dulled, a few missing from their sockets, though the metal still glinted as if it were newly polished, well kempt.
He had kept it all these years.
He stalked close and pointed the knife tip on her nose bridge, so close she could almost feel it's cold touch. It's contact sent shivers down her spine.
"Look at your eyes," he said, his voice full of disdain, "they're blue." His voice had gotten deeper; creamier.
He traced the dagger down, tutting as he went, "look how much you've changed since you left me. One may even think you were waiting for the oppurtunity."
Khala shivered. She tried to lift her hand up, but she couldn't.
"Tell me what you did to me," she ordered. Her heart stopped as a smile spread across his face.
The voice hadn't worked.
Feyd's smile sent a chill down her spine, his demeanor mocking and cruel. He pushed her chair with ease in front of a mirror, revealing a collar, its black metallic surface gleaming ominously in the dim light of the chamber.
"Special technology made by Piter de Vries. I commissioned it just for you, Leonara."
"Khala," she corrected, anger flaring at his words despite her fear.
He merely smiled. It was not the smile she knew. It felt wrong, a cruel quirk of the sides of his lips forming a mockery of a real smile.
Khala's heart raced with fear as she realized the extent of her vulnerability. Trapped in Feyd's grasp, she had no means of escape, no way to fight back against the darkness that threatened to consume her. Her eyes darted around, trying to find an exit. But the only one was blocked by him.
Khala's lower lip quivered in fear. She had brought this on herself by leaving him.
"Where are we?"
"Arrakeen. My quarters."
He turned her away from the mirror to face him once more, his face cruelly different than what she remembered.
I made him like this. This is my fault.
"Why are you doing this?" she pleaded, her voice trembling with emotion. Her angry facade had dissolved in a matter of seconds at the face of her lover from the past.
"Why did you leave?" Feyd countered, his tone laced with bitterness and resentment, "you broke your promise."
"I did."
He stood, waiting.
Khala hesitated, torn between the desire to protect herself and the need to confront the truth. In the end, she chose honesty, her confession a whisper of regret in the silence of the chamber.
If I tell him, it could solve everything... he wouldn't kill Fremen anymore, everything would be solved.
"The Reverend Mother wanted me to kill you," she confessed, her words heavy with sorrow. "I couldn't. So I left. I'm sorry—I should've told you the truth, I... I was selfish, and I have not spent a moment of my life not regretting what I did to you."
For a fleeting moment, Khala allowed herself to hope—to believe that Feyd might understand, might forgive her for the pain she had caused.
She looked up, hoping to find a trace of the Feyd she knew. Her heart leapt as she saw a glimmer of softness in his eyes. A minute action that was visible only to trained eyes.
But his response shattered her fragile illusion, leaving her heartbroken and alone once more.
"I'm glad you did," he declared, his words a dagger to her already wounded soul.
"What?" Khala stammered, her voice trembling with disbelief.
"I was becoming weak, Leonara," Feyd continued, his tone devoid of remorse. "I'm glad you left and reminded me of who I was; a Na-Baron."
Tears welled up in Khala's eyes, blurring her vision as she struggled to comprehend the depth of Feyd's betrayal.
It was losing him all over again, possibly worse seeing his change right in front of her eyes. When she was in sietch tabr, she had always held hope that Feyd was still who he was, even when Lady Jessica had confirmed the opposite.
But there was no solace to be found in his cold, emotionless gaze, only the cruel reality of her own shattered dreams.
Maybe in another universe things could've been different. Maybe he would've been kissing her under the pouring rain of Caladan, not staring at her with such indifference in his eyes.
"What are you going to do to me?" she whispered, her voice barely a whisper in the oppressive silence of the chamber. Feyd's touch was like ice against her skin, a stark reminder of the love they had lost and the darkness that now consumed them both.
"I'll take care of you, Leonara," he said, his words a mockery of their once tender affection. He placed a cold hand on her cheek, almost like the first time they had met, when he had done the same action. But his hands were not warm or comforting. He grinned, his smile a savage slash across his ethereal face, "Don't you worry."
AN: sorry abt the last chapter .. april fools i guess !!
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Promise //Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen// Dune
Fanfiction"Promise you'll stay?" "I promise." or She offered her heart to him. Onto his shaky hands, she gave her full trust, and she let him consume it entirely. And when the time finally came when he offered her the tattered pieces left of his, she glued th...
