DUNE-A False Haderach (OC X Shishakli) (OC x Alia)

Part 35

Chapter 25

LADY JESSICA

The parlay day was fast approaching, and Lady Jessica knew she had to act. Her decision was made-she would undergo the ritual to become a Reverend Mother, all in a desperate bid to save Leto.

The very Leto lay there on the medical bed, unmoving, hooked to various machines, his body sealed inside a glass pod that kept him alive.

"Forgive me, for what I am about to do," she said, and with a heavy heart moved out of the medical bay, and as soon as she did she found an all too familiar face standing outside waiting for her.

"Paul," she called out, and her son looked up at her. He had changed much ever since they had stepped foot on this planet. Gone was the young ducal heir, the boy adored by many, and in his place had emerged the young Duke Atreides, the boy who had and was leading House Atreides through one of the most trying times in a century.

"I knew I would find you here," he said, and his eyes had gotten ever bluer, a consequence of the thick spice-laden air. Yet that was not the only thing that had changed about him. His gaze had changed as well, and so had he, and now, often, as she stared into his eyes, it reminded her of times when she would stare into the eye of her teacher, Reverend Mother Gaius Helem Mohaim.

"Have you come to stop me?" she asked, and he shook his head.

"I did, but a part of me tells me that it will be futile," he said, his tone soft and tired.

"Good, because I will not stop," she added, and Paul nodded and she moved past him, her transport was waiting for her.

"It is a mistake. I can see it," he added, and the words shook her. She looked back at him.

"The visions," he began as he looked down.

"They now plague my days, just like they did my nights. They are obscure and difficult to understand, but I can see why the Reverend Mother put me through that test about what you and your order were trying to create," he said as he looked her in the eye.

"I can see it. You will regret it," he said, and she felt her heart still at those words.

"Even so, I will not give up on him. If it is regret that is written in my future, then it is a regret I shall have," and with that, she walked away and began to walk out of the sketch, her heart racing with doubt and worry but her mindset.

She walked out of the sketch and found an ornithopter waiting for her, with Gurney and Inzal standing there.

Inza, Gurney," she greeted them both.

"The preparations for your journey have been made. The ritual preparations are underway. If everything goes according to plan, you will be here around the same time, Irulan arrives for the parlay," Inzal said as he handed her a messenger scroll.

"I will keep an eye on you, but in case of an emergency use this, it will send a beacon with your location. I will have aid there within an hour, no matter where you are on this planet," he assured, and she took it.

"Thanks," she said as she walked towards the Ornithopter. Gurney would be joining her on this expedition.

"Are you excited to see her, your sister Irulan?" she asked, and Inzal's lips turned up slightly.

"I am. I have heard rumors of how she looks quite like our mother," he finished.

"She does," she agreed. She had seen the Princess many times, and she closely resembled her old friend.