ASCENDANCY (Feyd-Rautha)

CHAPTER THREE

The question of why Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen slit his own mothers throat is one I continuously come back to. Every telling I hear is obscener than the last. Still, I was careful to not strut around on Giedi Prime uttering questions that could be perceived as critical of their beloved na-Baron.

The banquet hall was made to feel oppressive, with black stone walls and flooring, even the ceiling absorbing what little light could penetrate through the narrow window slits. The room was cold to the touch, no life could breed here. Female slaves with blackened eyes and lowered heads drifted among the guests, offering beverages in silence.

There were many people of importance I ought to have spoken with, yet my attention remained fixed to Feyd-Rautha. I did not approach him, I stayed back and observed. His presence dominated the room. He moved through the crowd akin to a shark – lean, honed, untouchable. The scent of danger clung to him like a second skin. The room was bent around him, people either shrank from his path or sought to catch his eye with fawning smiles. When he slipped through a side door, vanishing into the dark corridors beyond, I grasped the opportunity of having him on my own. I followed, slipping toward the exit. 

As I neared the guard, I leaned in close, letting my breath touch his ear."Let me pass," I murmured, layering the words with the manipulation of my Voice. He stepped aside instantaneously, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

As Feyd-Rautha walked down the desolate, dimly lit hallway, I followed at a safe distance. My footsteps were lost beneath the crackle of black fireworks hammering against the palaces' forcefield. Though as if sensing my presence, he turned to look at me, and in the blink of an eye he held a dagger at my throat. He was more skilled than I had presumed him to be. His eyes, cold and calculating, bore into mine. A smirk played on his lips, revealing a cruel amusement for having caught me so easily.

"You are following me," he said in a low, predatory voice. I could feel the cold, sharp edge of the blade pressing against the delicate skin of my throat.

"Am I?" I asked, playing coy. "I may have gotten lost. Will you show me the way out of this maze, my Lord na-Baron?"

Slowly, he withdrew the dagger, but not his eyes.

"We have met before." He stated.

"I do not think so. I am Lady Abigail Osorio. I am here to honour your twentieth name day," I replied, bowing my head slightly. I offered him my mother's maiden name, keeping my Atreides blood carefully hidden.

"You are not allowed in this section. How did you get past the guards?" He demanded, believing himself the predator.

"The guards?" I echoed. Slowly, I began to manipulate his perceptions. A slight blurring of the vision, a gentle ringing in his ears. "May I ask why you are not taking part in your own celebrations?" I asked, letting my voice seep into his head like warm oil, as if coming from his own mind. 

He swayed, blinking, turning his head as if the walls themselves shifted around him. "You are Bene Gesserit." He muttered, struggling to find his words.

"And what makes you say that?" I asked, my voice rippling like slow waves.

"I remember now. I dreamed about you last night." He said, sounding like a drugged man.

I began to walk towards the guest-wing. He followed, blindly tethered to me.

"A pleasant dream, I hope" I said, implying depravity.

"Do not mock me, woman." He snapped, though there was little bite in it.

"I would not dare." I said sweetly.

He groaned, as if in pain from the disconnect I had caused to his body and mind. His focus narrowed, until I suspected he saw nothing in the world but me.