Dune Book 1: Sands of Arrakis

Chapter 4: The Attempted

Sands dancing in the wind, a face morphed from the sands had the blue eyes of the Fremen.

The voices calling out to him again, in that strange name.

Muad'Dib. Muad'Dib. Muad'Dib.

The sand ripples away into an ocean of red.

Stripping the face away

Tell me about the waters of your homeland, Muad'Dib.

Then something slowly submerges from the water.

A face.

A face of a man.

The face of...

Father?

His close as no expression was hinted on his face

and it was completely covered in...

Blood?

Gasping awake, Paul held his hands at his chest as he found himself in his room, but what he also found was one of the servants was standing in his room, right in front of his bed, holding sheets in her head.

She gasps softly as he sat up rather quickly and she immediately flicks her eyes down, "I'm sorry, my lord. Mapes didn't tell you were in here." she apologizes and turns to leave quickly. "No, wait!" he calls out, making her stop and look at him. Paul pulls himself from the bed "It's fine. I was tired." he assures her, standing up onto his feet. "I fell asleep." he states and looks away, "You can go on about your work," he tells her, the girl bows her head and carefully walks towards the bed. Paul walks towards the table, his eyes still on her as he sat down.

The girl's eyes flicker towards him as he finally looks at his food and the girl turns her attention back onto making the bed. Paul picks up one of his leftovers and looks at his, curious about the spice everyone is so fond over. "Tell me," he calls out, the girl spreads the sheets and shot a look over at him.

Paul stood up and look at her, "Do the cooks use much spice in our food?" he asks her. Needing her hands nervously into the sheets, she answers. "The spice is everywhere on Arrakis, my lord. Everywhere." then flicks the sheet out onto the bed, padding and smoothing down the sheets. Paul grips his arms, slowly walking past her as she quickly passes him, kneeling on the other side of the bed.

Paul against the pillar and just watches her, smiling to himself, but then a sound catches his attention, flicking his eyes towards him, he immediately went defensive. "Don't move," he calls out, holding his hand out to her. A Seeker slips through the device on the wall and slithers through the air, the girl looks over at Paul with worry, then went to turn, "Just do exactly as I say." he tells her as it turns towards her.

Shaking her in terror, she did exactly as Paul told her and remained completely still as it flew right in front of her face. "It's a hunter-seeker," he warns her. The girl whimpers as she shutters her eyes close for a moment and opens to the seeker. "It will kill you instantly if you move," he warns her.

Scared, terrified. The girl remained completely still. "The operator, wherever he is can only target movement. Stay perfectly still. Don't give in. Fear is the mind-killer." he whispers to her. The seeker then turns away from her, slither up in the air. The girl exhales to herself as she wasn't it's the target. It slithers up through the air and stops right in front of Paul's face. But he remained perfectly still, no sign of fear, no shaking or terror. Perfect calamity.