ASCENDANCY (Feyd-Rautha)

CHAPTER SEVEN

I awoke by my room being flooded by Harkonnen servants. They brought in a variety of supplies, and a long black dress. Some went into the bathroom, likely to prepare a bath. They worked silently, but efficiently. Amma approached me.

"Forgive me my Lady, but you have to rise. We do not have much time" She said to me in her usual meek voice, though with a hint of urgency. The sun was not even up yet, we had many hours before the ceremony would start, but I followed her lead none the less. 

She led me to the bathroom where two servants simultaneously stripped me of my clothes. I sat down in the bath, and the same two servants immediately started scrubbing me with soap. Another lady placed a glass board atop the bath with a plate of food, so that I could eat whilst they worked.

After they had patted me dry and placed my in a robe, they sat me in a chair and brought out the same pistol Amma had used on me some days ago to burn away my hair. Two ladies crouched down and held a foot each, placing their pistols against my skin. They started all the way down at my toes and worked their way up my body. When I felt them press the pistol a bit too high up my neck, I had to intervene.

"Not that hair" I said abruptly. The ladies looked at me puzzled.

"It is custom for Harkonnen brides to take the Harkonnen look" One of them said, she held a thick accent.

"I do not care" I said to her, sourly for arguing against me.

"Of course, my Lady" She responded. They seemed to disapprove of me. Could they be upset an outsider was marrying their na-Baron? They moved over to my face and removed all my vellus hair.

"And the eyebrows, my Lady?" The same servant asked.

"Do not touch them" I replied.

Four servants helped me dress. I almost felt claustrophobic. They placed a corset on me, tightening it harshly. Most of the girls on Giedi Prime were sickly thin. I had asked Mother Gaius some time ago why the Harkonnen women, even the wealthy ones, were depriving themselves of food. She told me that inhuman thinness was the standard of beauty here. I could feel them silently judging my figure as they tightened my corset. It made me want to break their fragile bones. 

They pulled the dress over my head. It was black silk, traditional on Giedi Prime. The sleeves were so long they reached the floor. It also had a short train. They brushed my hair in a clumsy manner, before handing me a headpiece. It was black and jewelled with tiny diamonds. It held a curved branch on each side about twenty centimetres long. I placed it on my head, and the servants fastened it. The branches resembled the horns of a bull.

"Who decided on this?" I asked the servants, attempting to contain my temper. They all went quiet for a moment.

"The Baron requested it" One of them eventually said. He was mocking me, it made me feel choked by rage. One of the servant girls hesitantly approached, before hooking a veil onto the tips of the horns, letting it fall in front of my face. The door opened abruptly.

"Are you ready, then?" Mother Gaius said, standing in the doorway. I did not respond, though I did walk over to her. She and two guards walked me to a room that led to the gladiator arena where the ceremony would be held.

"Are you certain he has not abandoned the arrangement?" I asked her as we stood waiting.

"I saw him entering the arena some while ago, so yes" Mother Gaius responded.

"How will we know when it is time?" I asked, attempting to kill my nervousness and anger.

"The doors will open" She replied.