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

Part 30

Chapter 30

INZAL CORRINO

Deep under the castle at the center of Arrakeen was a prison, a place of sheer deprivation and cruelty. Before the 'independence,' it was known as Animal's Layer, for this was the place where Rabban, the Baron's nephew and governor of Arrakis, would bring the prisoners to be tortured for information or entertainment.

Inzal himself had broken out many a Fremen from this very place, had seen with his own eyes the depravation and cruelty carried out in these Halls, and yet no more.

Even now, as he walked through those very Halls, he could feel the sheer despondence of the place, could hear screams that no longer dominated the corridor, could feel the blood and depravity spread all over the Hall.

And yet there were no more screams, there were no more Fremen inside those prisons. Most of them were empty, with some filled with Harkonnen and Saradukar remnants, and there were few of both of those for various reasons.

Most of the Harkonnens had been killed during the assault; as for the Saradukar of the forces sent to attack the Atreides, he had killed most of them, with only a few units choosing to bend the knee as he revealed to them his true identity.

And yet they could not be trusted, so they were down here, and he could see their eyes following him as he walked past them, and he heard many of them salute to him as they recognized the most visible change in him.

For now, on his right hand was a ring carved out of white gold, embossed with a red jewel-shaped into the head of a lion. The sigil ring of House Corrino is worn by the Head of the House and the Emperor of the Imperium.

Though he was not here for them. No, he was here for someone else. He reached the largest cell in the prison, the only one with several guards around it, and as he gave them a nod, one of his men placed his hand on the pad beside it, and the glass covering the cell turned transparent to reveal a large white room with a single occupant.

Baron Vladimir Harkonnen was no longer dressed in his fine silks. His fingers had been cleared of all his ostentatious rings, and without his suspensers, the man could barely move and was confined to a single chair, on which he sat like an oversized whale.

His once clear face now had a massive scar running down on its side, and he had lost a couple of his teeth, making his smile crooked and broken.

"I was told that you wished to see me, Baron," he began. There was no need for greetings, for neither wished each other well.

Inzal saw his eyes scan him over, examining him before they landed on the ring on his hand.

"So, you were after the throne after all?" the Baron began and for all his faults he was a political animal, and being in solitude for so long, he must have made some conjectures about Inzal.

"Really to outsmart both me and the Emperor, playing one house against another. You truly are Shaddam's son," he added with a chuckle before his eyes narrowed.

"But do you really think that keeping the throne is as easy as winning it? You are wrong. You have no idea of the powers that surround the throne and the games they play. You are an outsider, one that will never be accepted. Your allies will soon turn against you. All of them, except one," and Inzal understood his offer.

He had to hand it to the man; he was smart, trying to offer his services, knowing that the very existence of his House now depended on him.

"I have no need of you, Baron. I understand plenty," he rebuffed his offer, for he truly had no need of it. His alliances with the Atreides were more stable and solid than the Baron realized.