The Cruel

24

Mara had finally arrived to the castle. She looked everywhere as saw bloodshed. She hopped off her horse. As she entered the castle. The battle had to have finished. She knows her men had won. But at a cost.

She walked through hallways as she saw men dead. Some of them being her best men. She huffed as she walked down more hallways. She wanted to see if her mother was okay. Not out of fear but more of amusement.

She looked fearless as her mask covered the look on her face. She never took it off. She saw servants on their knees before her. Pathetic.

She rolled her eyes as she stood before her mother's room. She opened the door and saw her mother with a bit of scratches. Her mother's tattooed face looked the same. Just her arms had a few cuts. She saw Gurney in the corner getting healed by a doctor. She looked at them both before her mother spoke.

"Where were you."

It sounded more of a demand. Like when a child goes off where they shouldn't had. But Mara knew that she didn't have to tell her mother anything. She owed her nothing yet her mother owed her everything.

"I was busy doing something. What happened."

Mara demanded back as she stood before her mother now. Her mother could smell the ocean on her.

"Some soldiers from different Great Houses came here and declared war."

Mara's eyes got angry. Those leaders declared war on Caladan? When the real war was on Arrakis?! She felt anger boil inside of her.

"How many soldiers do you have in questioning."

She turned to Gurney. She saw his hesitation. His fear of what she would do to these men that followed orders.

"They are simple soldiers who are only doing what they are told-"

"THEY KILLED MY BEST MEN AND HARMED MY MOTHER! YOU WILL TELL ME NOW! I DEMAND IT!"

Mara had yelled at the man. Her mother had flinched at her sudden outburst. Gurney only looked at her with shock before nodding.

"18 soldiers, my lady."

Gurney spoke to her softly as he didn't want to anger her more. Mara just looked at him before walking out the room with her mask being seen. But Gurney knew that underneath that mask was anger.

———

Mara stood before the soldiers in their cells. She stared at them but they couldn't see her face for her mask was covering it. A mask that those men feared. She sighed as she looked at them.

"I will let one of you go. The rest will be punished and killed. Hanged. Beaten to death."

The men looked horrified and quickly started to try persuade the other men that they once knew. It was all men for themselves. Mara watched with glee as she saw some men get physically assaulted by other men.

Men were always brutes. Woman were always manipulative. That's how Mara saw the world. She wasn't wrong. Yet it was a harsh way of thinking.

She saw all of those men start to attack each other, beat it other to death for who got to go home. Some had wives while others had children. Some even had both.

Mara smiled underneath her mask as she saw the weak get taken out first. She saw only two men left. They were brothers. Identical twins. She felt her eye twitch in anticipation. Who would survive?

The two twins were brutally beaten by those other men. They got in a fighting position with their hands up. Mara looked at them with rising curiosity.

She saw one of the twins beat the other. He must have been the oldest. He looked more mature. He knew how much this should be taken seriously. While the other twin just let himself get beaten, for he knew that he stood no chance against his brother.

Once the older brother killed his younger brother, he looked at Mara for recognition. Mara dragged out her sword out.

"I would had let you live. Had. But I know you're the one that hurt my mother. I asked the guards who failed to protect her. They said they looked like you. Or perhaps it was your brother. Doesn't matter. You'll die for it. The oldest always does get punished don't they?"

Mara said as she giggled. The older twin let out a wail. He had killed his brother for nothing and now he would pay the price.

He begged as he was defenseless. He wanted a sword to have a fair fight. But Mara shook her head.

"Was my mother given a sword when you attacked her?"

"I DIDNT DO IT! I WOULD NEVER-"

"SHUT UP."

Mara had used the voice on the poor man. He bit his tongue off when he shut his mouth. He didn't speak a word anymore as he looked down at his tongue lying on the concrete floor.

He looked in pain but couldn't speak. Mara cleared her throat with a cough. It always hurt her throat when she used the voice. She never got used to it. She never had to use it but she was thinking of how now she uses it often.

She walked up to the man who had just killed his brother in the thought of him being free. Mara felt it funny. He thought he would leave? Why would she let him leave? What made him so special?

She had her sword in her hand tightly gripped. She was made for her mother being so defenseless and Gurney being to unsure if her doing this was right. She grew cold to Gurney after finding out that he slept with her mother.

She cut the man's head off in a swift fashion. Blood was splattered everywhere including her face. She felt powerful in that moment. And she felt nothing at the same time.

She walked out the room as she wiped her sword clean with that man's shirt. She hummed a melody that her father used to hum to her. She missed him more than she could handle. She often thought about him after she did something wrong.

Would he be mad at her? Would he understand? He always was understanding. She was told that she would be a great leader like him when she was younger. But now she knows that those people that told her that were wrong. She could never be her father. She would always be the bad guy for that's all she knew.

She walked down the hallways as she saw servants bow at her. Servants had bowed at her father but they did it with happiness, the servants did it in fear of Mara.

Mara kept on walking towards her room. She would stay one more night. One more night away from her duties from everyone. She didn't want to be on Arrakis tonight.

She wanted to think about something else. Not a woman that she grew to be near her brother. To see them kiss made her sick. She felt sick even thinking of it. She knew she never had a shot with the older woman. But she didn't think her brother did either.

Irulan.

How sweet that name came off her tongue. How she would say it when she would try to fall asleep. How she would say it when she would fight for Hohse Corrino. She did everything for that woman. And now she can't even look at her.

Jealousy and pride took over Mara. She knew that Irulan and her would never be close again. Even if they were, they would never be able to get to the closeness they once had.

Mara got to her room and shut the door behind her. She made all of the servants in her room leave. She didn't need them. They quickly left as Mara waved her hand. Once they were gone Mara took off her mask. She made sure that all of the mirrors in her room were gone. She didn't want to stare at her reflection anymore.

She didn't want to see her horrendous face in the reflection. Her half scarred face that was spreading. She hated it. Hated the way that it looked.

She laid in her bed still in her bloody uniform. She would clean it tomorrow. She was too tired to think of anything. She let her eyes drift to darkness.