Kala Wukar.
She who walks the desert.
She who is one with the sand.
She who is one with Arrakis.
The girl who he dreamed of long before she came to him in reality.
Aphra of Arrakis. The Desert Walker.
(Dune; Paul Atreides)
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chapter thirteen: by the light of the sun
Saddened eyes watched the Fremen stand on opposite sides, screaming rage at one another that echoed in Aphra's ears. Jessica lay unconscious in the sand, tucked in Paul's arms as he wiped the blood from her face.
"It's a miracle!" Stilgar exclaimed.
Chani was the first to argue, "That was no miracle!"
"You saw it with your own eyes! The mother of the Lisan al-Gaib shall survive the Holy Poison! And she did! As written!"
Aphra sighed, running her hand back through her hair as the other side yelled at him. She didn't know whether to jump between them or just walk away with her disappointment. None of the fighting was necessary. No matter what anyone did or didn't want to accept, Jessica had passed the test. She was their Reverend Mother. The elders had agreed to it, the leader of their sietch had agreed, the old Reverend Mother had agreed, and the woman herself had accepted it. Nothing could be done about it now.
"Her people wrote that!" Chani yelled.
"Blasphemy. The prophecy has been accomplished. The Kala Wukar herself brought him here. As was written."
Paul looked up at Aphra curiously, seeing she had now turned her back on the Fremen and was muttering her annoyances under her breath. He could understand just well enough what they were saying, even if he wasn't fluent in the Chakobsa language.
"The Mahdi must be Fremen!" Shishakli screamed.
"Arrakis must be freed by its own people!"
Paul stood up, placing his hand on Aphra's shoulder as he finally interjected, "She's right. She's right!"
The yelling stopped as they all turned to stare at the outsider that had spoken.
Paul continued, "It's no miracle. My mother was trained to do that. Poison transmutation is something advanced Bene Gesserit can do. I'm not the Mahdi. I'm not here to lead. I'm here to learn your ways. Let me fight beside you. That's all I'm asking."
Aphra sighed and turned her attention to the Reverend Mother's assistants, "Take Jessica inside. She need not wake with the heat. Let her cool off. Her son will join you."
One of the assistants moved close to Aphra, speaking lowly for her to hear, "The woman is with child, Kala Wukar. The Reverend Mother said so. What do we do?"
Aphra dared not tell her that she knew of Jessica's state before, "Nothing. If she passed the test with her unborn child, then it was meant to be. We cannot argue with the fates. Her child will be born as is."
The woman seemed hesitant, but bowed her head, "Yes, Kala Wukar. So it shall be."
Aphra glanced to the side at Paul when she felt his presence in her mind, 'What is it?'
