rolling in the deep

11

"We'll be safe here," Kynes says as we walk into a large building. "Do you know what this place is? It's an old ecological testing station." We walk into a large area with openings on the ceiling. "They were meant to tame the planet. Free the water locked beneath the sands."

After we've made our way across the large area, a door opens and we walk into a small hallway. "Arrakis could have been a paradise," Kynes goes on. "The work had begun, but then spice was discovered. And suddenly no one wanted the desert to go away."

I fix my hood from my spot walking next to Dad. "Tanat," Kynes says to someone, "will you find stillsuits to fit our visitors?"

"Yes, Liet," Tanat says, walking away.

"Shamir, a coffee service, please," Kynes says to the other person.

"Of course, Liet," he says, also walking away.

Kynes unlocks the door. "Who are you to the Fremen?" Paul asks her. She looks back at him and smiles before opening the door and walking into the room. We follow after her.

Dad and I backtrack, walking into a room full of plants. We smile to each other, then start observing all the different types.

-

"You know what the Great Houses fear most, Dr. Kynes?" Paul asks her, letting sand run through his hands. "Exactly what has happened to us here. The Sardaukar coming and picking them off one by one." He stands up. I mess with an object I found on the table that I'm leaning against. "Only together can they stand a chance against the Imperium. Would you bear witness? Testify that the Emperor has moved against us here?"

"If they believe me, there would be general warfare between the Great Houses and the Emperor," Kynes says.

"Chaos," Jessica puts in, "across the Imperium."

"Suppose I present the Emperor with an alternative to chaos," Paul says, glancing at me as I continue to boredly mess with the object in my hand. "The Emperor has no sons. And his daughters have yet to marry."

I look up at him through my brows. Jessica snaps her head towards him.

The fuck did he just say?

"You'd make a play for the throne?" Kynes asks. "The Emperor feared the Atreides. He brought you here to kill you. What don't you understand?"

"Personal sanity," I say, setting the object down on the table before walking out of the room. Jessica goes to say something to me, but I'm already in the hallway and walking towards Dad.

When Dad sees me, he hands me a belt and body belts to hold blades, then he hands me a blade. I put everything on and shove the blade into my belt. I lean against the wall and we make small conversation.

"So, what's wrong," he says after a moment, bending to the ground.

"Paul wants to make a play for the throne," I mutter. He stops what he's doing and looks up at me. I shrug. "Whatever, I guess. He can do whatever he wants. That would just be a really shitty way to break up with someone."

He sighs and takes a deep breath. "Look, Rowan, you're an amazing girl. I've never seen you care for someone as much as I've seen you care for Paul. You two fit together like you were meant to be together, however cliché that sounds. You are one of the best people that I have ever met, and I'm glad that you're my daughter. But if he can't see how amazing you are, even after all these years, then he's a dumbass. You deserve the world, all right? I love you more than anything."

I smile down at him. "I love you too, Dad. You're the best."

He smirks. "I know."

I roll my eyes and laugh as he puts his hand down and a bug crawls onto his finger.