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forty-one
'For a star to be born, there is one thing that must happen: a gaseous nebula must collapse.
So collapse. Crumble. This is not your destruction.
This is your birth.'
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Once everyone is outside in the scorching heat, Paul and (Y/N) watch the entrance to the cave where Jessica was led, seeing nothing but pitch darkness.
Stilgar sits with Jessica as two of the other women inside, likely prophets or some kind of seer for the Fremen, lift up the Reverend Mother.
She is an old woman, and yet it is a miracle she has not passed away in such an environment, considering the harsh conditions of the desert.
The woman's eyes open to reveal she is blind, and her hands are guided towards Jessica's face as she remains still, on her knees in front of the revered and powerful woman.
Her face is examined by touch, and the Reverend Mother's expression grows into a smile at the thought of someone worthy taking her place.
Outside, the couple glances around to find some of the Fremen looking at them, presumably trying to decipher these "outsiders."
Somewhere on the other side, safely in the shade by a makeshift tarp, Chani and Shishakli talk to each other and laugh at something someone else says, bringing Paul and (Y/N)'s attention to them.
(Y/N)'s hand shifts, intertwining with her husband as he looks down, his attention brought back to her with a small smile.
Paul gestures his head to the tarp, and the two head over to the laughing group.
"What are you guys laughing about?" Paul asks, a smile on his face.
"Don't bother," Chani replies, a grin evident in her features.
The couple look back, and Paul glances at his wife. "You don't believe in all this?" he asks the ladies.
"No, we don't."
"These are old Southern beliefs," Shishakli adds.
"Southern beliefs?" (Y/N) asks.
"Southern tribes believe a messiah will come to deliver us from evil," the woman explains.
"You don't believe in the Lisan al-Gaib?" Paul murmurs.
"We believe in Fremen." Chani rebutts.
"Amen," Shishakli says, prompting the others to repeat the same thing.
"You want to control people, you tell them a messiah will come," Chani explains, her distaste for this nonsense evident in her tone. "Then they'll wait for centuries."
Stilgar says something in Chakobsa as he steps out of the cavern, leaving the Reverend Mother to do her work as he gains the attention of others.
"Now, we must pray," he says.
One of the Fremen lays down a cushion, and as the others do the same, they fall to their knees. Only a select group chooses to follow Stilgar because, after all, they are Southern.
Paul and (Y/N) watch, both intrigued and confused.
"What about him?" (Y/N) murmurs, looking back at the Fremen women.
"Stilgar?" Chani asks.
"Mm-hmm." Paul hums.
"He's from the South," she smirks. "What, you didn't notice his accent?"
(Y/N)'s ears perk as she and her husband exchange a glance, clearly thinking the same thing.
Stilgar has an accent? Since when?!
The group giggles as the couple look back as Stilgar prays, a few doing the same.
"What'll happen to my mother?" Paul asks after a moment.
"She'll drink worm piss," Shishakli says as the others snicker.
"Not funny," Chani says. "He's about to lose her."
"If she's stupid enough to drink poison."
Everyone laughs, except for the couple.
"Shut up! Shut up!" Stilgar calmly says, barely sparing a glance at the younger Fremen. "We are praying."
Inside the cavern, tattered cloths are placed over the Reverend Mother's shoulders as voices whisper around the rocky walls.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer." Jessica whispers to herself as cloths are placed over her. "Fear, the little death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will..."
Her eyes close as the women move away, and the three in front of her watch her carefully. Well, the two women who are the Reverend Mother's "eyes," that is.
"Here is the Water of Life," a masked Fremen woman says as she holds up a large vial filled with blue liquid as it swirls and glints in the light, a large, thin tub grown from inside like a tube. "It frees the soul. If you drink, you shall die."
Jessica backs up, clearly not understanding what this liquid is, assuming its poison as the small tube comes closer to her.
The woman advances, and Jessica holds up a hand to move it away.
"If you drink... you may see..."
"Drink!" one of the women by the Mother's side says.
"What is it?" Jessica asks.
"Drink!" the Reverend Mother commands, and the liquid trickles down the woman's throat.
It starts to burn, and something quickly feels wrong, causing her to gag—like everything inside is being ripped apart. She starts convulsing as the Water seeps into her system. It reaches the baby, swirling around the unborn child.
The Reverend Mother lies back, finally at peace that someone else will be able to take her place.
Jessica's eyes open, and what was once a deep, oak-wood color has now become a melange-drugged blue.
The Reverend Mother's smile fades and she gasps. "What have we done?" she asks. "She is pregnant!"
The others gasp, quickly growing fearful for the life they have just potentially killed.
The life they might have just enhanced beyond their comprehension.
YOU ARE READING
𝐲𝐮𝐚𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐧 ⁀➴ paul atreides
Fanfiction(n.) - two people meant to be together; destiny ↳ ❝ [ Yuanfen ] ❞ ━ paul atreides x fem! reader ┕ 𝐈𝐧 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡, (y/n) is in an arranged marriage with a man she doesn't...
