ASCENDANCY (Feyd-Rautha)

CHAPTER FOUR

The decision to take leave from my duties as a sister to go back to my home-planet, Caladan, was not an easy one. But my mother's desperation gave me a heavy heart I could not ignore. She had written me a letter where she admitted to her loneliness. How getting out of bed in the mornings did not feel necessary when she could not share her morning cup of tea on the porch with my father. How Tallulah, our chartreux cat, could not understand where father had gone, spending her days looking for him. It was unusual for her to write to me with such honesty. Last week a bird had flown through the window to the kitchen, scattering glass and feathers all over the floor. She had managed to sweep up the mess and place a plastic cover over the window, but she did not dare asking anyone for help fixing it, for then they would see what a wreck she had become. She asked for my help, my company, I could not deny her.

There was, as usual, a light rain engulfing the small town of Osorio. It was located in the area where ocean on the east side met the rainforest on the west. Although the inhabitants were a mere three thousand, most came from wealth. It was a beautiful place, with large wooden houses and tall, majestic trees. As I walk down the street where I grew up, I wonder why I have been so hesitant to return. I stick out like a sore thumb in this place now, wearing a black shroud covering me from head to toe. Upon entering the house I once called home, my mother grabs me and holds me in a warm, soft embrace. She looks different than when I last saw her. Her hair has started to grey, and her figure has grown frail, slightly wrinkled. I had been so angry at her when she had me shipped off to another planet, forcing me to become completely independent when I was still just a child. I am grateful now for the path she put me on, but traumas of childhood tend to stick like sickly syrup.

"You have turned into a beautiful young woman, my dear Abigail" She says, still holding me close.

The next day was a sunny one. After drinking tea on the porch with my mother, I got working on the window. She would not let me be seen outside the house in any of the dresses I had brought, for she found them too dark in colouring. Instead I got to borrow fathers old working clothes, which consisted of a far too large dungaree overall, and a white shirt to wear underneath. The clothes still smelled of his cigars. As I was removing the shattered window, my mother came to accompany me, holding Tallulah like a babe in her arms.

"So what have you been doing after you completed your schooling?" My mother asked.

"I have travelled a lot, for different reasons" I say, slightly out of breath from the physical labour. I reached out my hand and petted Tallulah's head.

"All with the Bene Gesserit, I assume?"

"Of course. I am committed to the cause. I have gained a position of respect within the Sisterhood" I say, a hint of brashness in my voice.

"How so?"

"I get appointed with consequential missions, such as analyzing important people, and reporting back to the Reverend Mother Gaius. I work alongside Princess Irulan. Just some weeks ago, I performed the Gom Jabbar test on a quite valuable person" I say. I am excited to finally be able to tell her this.

"That is impressive. I knew you would thrive as a Bene Gesserit. Who did you test?" She asks.

"You know I cannot tell you"

"Why? I am a fellow sister"

"Not a practicing one. Do you even use your powers at all?" I ask bluntly.

"I do, when necessary" She responds. There is a moment of silence.

"I ought to get back to fixing your window" I say. She turns and starts walking away.