Shadow of the Sands

Feyd Rautha's POV

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He entered the training room, passing by the swords on the wall to grab his favored daggers. Testing their sharpness with a practiced eye, he relished the satisfaction of a keen blade.
As he swayed the dagger in his hand, his thoughts drifted to his Uncle Baron Vladimir Harkonnen's recent words: promises of a grander gift than the usual arena sequences for his birthday. It reminded him of life before Zurayeh's arrival.

"𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨." his uncle's voice echoed in his mind. "𝙏𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙠𝙞𝙨. 𝙄 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙧."

He needed to tame Arrakis, it was a burning desire within him. And as he moved the blade.

"Fremen are savages," he muttered, recalling the warnings. "They will manipulate you when they get the chance."

But Zurayeh was different. Despite her attempt on his life, he couldn't shake the feeling that she was unlike the others.
"Are Fremen like this?" he mused aloud.

"Y̴e̴s̴,̴ ̴t̴h̴e̴y̴ ̴a̴r̴e̴ ̴a̴l̴l̴ ̴r̴a̴t̴s̴.

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He twirled his blade absentmindedly until thoughts of Zurayeh intruded, causing him to pause. Irritated yet strangely intrigued by her presence in his mind, he reluctantly set the dagger aside and left the room.

As he strode through the halls, he found himself wondering about Zurayeh's whereabouts. Despite attempting to dismiss the thought, he found himself drawn to her quarters. Knocking on her door, he was met with her piercing gaze, tempting him to move closer, though he resisted.

"What?" she inquired, her tone guarded.

"Dinner's in an hour. You'll be escorted by the guards," he informed her, hoping for compliance.

"I'm not hungry," she countered, a hint of avoidance in her demeanor.

"𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚."

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"You have to it's an order." He glared down at her as he said this strictly

There was silence for a moment.

"One hour, you say?" she queried, her small stature suddenly striking him as endearing. He nodded, seeing how tiny her room was, just right for her small size.

"Yes, the guards outside will walk you there. And they won't touch you, so don't hesitate." He assured her, a flicker of concern crossing his mind. And deep down, he swore to himself that if anyone dared to come close as laying a finger on her, they would face swift and merciless punishment.