The Death of Duty

Chapter 2 - This Moment

The next day, I didn't see Paul at all. Whatever he had seen had him and Stilgar speaking all day.

Word of a Harkonnen spice harvester en route to the bled arrived at some point, and with Paul still preoccupied, our unit prepared for the trip, along with two others.

It was a day and a half of travel, so we called a worm to ride and arrive before the harvester.

I spoke to Chani of my encounter with Paul, and she just laughed, muttering something about "finally manning up."

Our mission to take out the Harkonnens and their harvester ended up splitting into three different missions, with two more harvesters landing in the bled. We spent four days out there, setting up camp and ambushing the Harkonnens when they finally landed. All three were successful, only suffering the loss of two within the accompanying units.

We brought their bodies back to the sietch late on the fourth day, and their water was reclaimed in the deathstill. There was no sign of Paul, but there were whispers of the emperor and the baron meeting tomorrow, according to our spies. Paul was no doubt busy planning last minute details, so I retired early to my quarters, accepting that I would not see him until after the battle.

It wasn't long after I'd changed into my light robe that I heard a knock on the door. I opened it, expecting Chani, or even Stilgar, come to discuss the upcoming battle with me, but it was Paul who stood before me.

I opened the door wider, but he hovered at the threshold, as if weighing his options. Though, I wasn't quite sure what they were. Moments later, he stepped fully into the room,

instantly filling the space the way a messiah did in whatever room they were in.

"I missed you," was the first thing he said. I didn't miss the way his eyes roamed down my body, and I had the sudden urge to drop the light cloth from my body; allow him to see me fully.

"I missed you too."

Paul's lips quirked into a half smile, and he took a step closer, not quite closing the distance. There was still an internal war being fought.

"Did you work everything out with your vision from the other day?" I asked, curious.

Paul cocked his head to the side, his dark curls swaying. "Not entirely," he said. He must have read the confusion on my face, especially given that he'd had four entire days to decipher it. "Stilgar isn't being helpful," he elaborated with a roll of his eyes.

"Odd," I mused. "Stilgar would lay down his life for the Lisan al Gaib, and now he refuses to be helpful?"

Paul didn't comment on it, as he usually never did when his messiah status was mentioned. Instead, he said, "Tomorrow the Emperor Shaddam and the Baron Harkonnen meet, and we are going to war."

I nodded, having already heard the news.

"And I decided," he continued, "that I wanted to spend my last night before war with you rather than pressing Stilgar for answers he won't give."

Desire sliced through my veins, and I wanted my mouth on his again, I needed to taste him, feel him.

I slowly pulled the robe and it unraveled, dropping to the floor and exposing my skin. Paul's eyes were instantly on mine, as if denying himself what I was offering.

I took a step forward, then another, closing the distance between us. His eyes remained fixed on mine, but his chest was rising and falling at a rate far faster than usual.