Thread: Student of Dune (DarkAngel & Sync)

Why wouldn't he move? Why? Helene was frantic, her thoughts reciting the litany over and over just as her mother had told her time and again. Fear is the mind killer... But still, this Fremen seemed determined to hold his ground. He was waiting for a signal. Only, she knew there was no time. Death waited for them if they remained. Just then, she heard a shout, the ground rumbling beneath her feet. Helene twisted her head and saw a movement of shadow and knew this man would no longer stay frozen to the ground. In an instant, his legs were moving, his grip on her elbow strong as he began to move them both through the courtyard and to safety. Helene knew what was coming. She'd dreamed this. So many times she'd felt the heat and had heard the screams, but she did not remember the weight of his body as he shielded her from the worst. As the loud rush of wildfire flooded the marketplace, thundering against her ears and drumming inside her head, she felt a sense of calm. There was his breath against her neck, tickling the sensitive flesh and beckoning it shiver and give way to goose bumps. She could feel the tingling prickle as he held her, the warmth somehow familiar and confusing. Without thinking, she let her tiny hands clutch onto his cloak, pressing herself into the planes of his body. When all finally went quiet, she dared to pull away and look up into that face that haunted her dreams. His eyes glowed much like her mother's and Helene felt a strange ripple run along her skin. Somehow his voice seemed familiar as he spoke to her, yet she'd never heard him speak before this moment let alone had never even met him. Not even in her dreams when his face looked down upon her own could she recall him speaking to her. Yet, right then, she knew it so perfectlyeach inflection, the pitch and timbre. It was strange how she seemed to know it, how it seemed to soothe during this time of tension and fear. But she didn't have time to dwell on such coincidences. The desert heat often played tricks on the mind and fear was often times powerful as well. No doubt they were playing with her senses and the lingering cries of those mourning in the streets now turned to rubble and ash didn't help matters. It seemed like time had stood still as Helene gazed up into the Fremen's face. But she was soon brought back into the moment when he turned and called out to the man who'd clearly been accompanying him earlier...before the marketplace had been rendered nothing but an empty space of ruin. The man seemed older than he had only moments ago, his face scorched, his eyes blinded. She felt her heart twist. This devastation was her fault, her families. This was a result of Atreides blood coming to a place as pure as Arrakis! Helene felt a lump form in her throat, her mind reaching out to her uncle, her mother. Why? She thought on the Fremen who'd escorted her through the Keep. Where was he? Did he...? But she already knew the answer, just as she did with decoys. Blood spilled in the name of Atreides. Blood spilled for her. The Fremen named Talgar, the one from her dreams, slowly led the way through Arrakeen. Helene kept silent, not wanting to speak, ashamed of both who and what she was. How could these people be so loyal when all her family had done was being destruction upon them all. Death. Rebirth... The word echoed in Helene's mind as quickly as the former. She shivered and watched the older Fremen take his leave into the deserta noble Fremen. She wished things had gone differently, that she might have gotten to know this man that this Talgar clearly held in high regard. May Shai-Hulud clear the path before you, she whispered, her voice barely audible. Helene looked at Talgar and nodded, though her blue-in-blue eyes did not quite reach his. The sun overhead was hot and they had a lot of ground to cover. Turning, she began to walk out into the sands, the desert her uncle roamed and her mother loved. Thank you, Talgar, she said, a softness in her voice. His name sounded nice as she tested it out on her tongue. I'm Helene, daughter of Ghanima Atreides. Ghanima just stared at Farad'n. She was in desperate need of consoling now that her daughter was lost. She felt a tug at her heart and knew that she'd find no comfort with her consort. Only Leto understood her, knew her mind as well as her heart. They were pre-born, twins. They were Atreides. She turned from Farad'n, her heart breaking. Foresight was lost. Her daughter was truly gone. As panic swept over her, Ghani knew this was part of the inevitable. This was as Leto had wanted it. He would be proud of what she'd just done and that was what mattered. Only it didn't make things any easier. It never did. Filled with terror, she hurried toward a back staircase. The decoys were gone. It was up to the Fremen now. Letting out a resigned sigh, she took a step up the stone stairs and glanced over her shoulder at her consort. Did the Corrino prince truly know what love was, the sacrifices it entailed? Turning away, she could feel that unnatural sting in her eyes. They were tearing. Quickly, she rushed up the rest of the stairs. No. She'd find no comfort with Farad'n. She never did and she knew she never would.