Our Secret

The Garden

Disclaimer: don't own any characters from dune.

Authors note: If you hadn't realized yet this is set when they are still on caladan.

Y/n's POV:

The rest of the day I had a permanent air of happiness often beginning to hum during a task and not even speaking a word of complaint about my long job list for the day. I knew it was nothing and it shouldn't make me happy but it did just seeing him smile made me glow inside. 

I only had one job left to do and it was bound to take hours, I had to weed the garden and, seeing the tiny invasions in each flowerbed certainly put a slight damper on my spirits. I had changed from my uniform into some black skin tight trousers and a red loose cotton top as I knew that matron would throw a fit if she found any mud on my formal cloths.  I sat down next to the first bed of flowers and began to work teasing each weed gently out of the soil careful not to disturb any of the flowers around them then places each in turn in a small basket which I would  tip out later into the compost. 

I had been working for almost an hour and a half when a shadow alerted me  to the presence of someone else in the garden, standing behind me. 

It was Paul, he was staring at me with a strange look in his eyes. I stared back, not entirely sure what to do but convinced that turning my back on a Nobel would be a high insult. We stared at each-other a second longer before he spoke.

"you're working very hard" He said and it almost sounded like a rebuke

"I know, it's my job, and I'm nearly done, is there something that you need me to do?"

"No"

"Then if you don't mind me asking, why are you here?" I said it shyly not wanting to aggravate him he looked almost sad now and my heart ached. Every fiber of my being wanted to take him in my arms and tell him that everything will be okay. But I can't I am a servant and he is a noble. He still hasn't answered my first question so I pose another " Are you okay? You seem sad"

"Yes" he said "I'm just thinking" 

He stopped talking so I prompted "About what?"

"About doing something very stupid, something that I have wanted to do for a wile, but was never brave enough" he smiled slightly.

"what?" I asked genuine confusion in my voice. Why was he telling this to me. Suddenly he snapped at me.

"Why should I tell you, your just a serving girl looking for idol gossip but if you- if you breath a word of this to anyone else I will have you fired do you understand?" His face was contorted in rage and very suddenly I realized that in this moment I should terrified of this man, a trained soldier who could loose me everything that I had. But I wasn't I was sad, sad that he wouldn't let me in and would never trust me because, I am just a serving girl. 

"I'm sorry" I managed at last biting back tears. "I think I should go" I whispered my voice somehow constricted by my throat  before picking  us the basket on the ground and dashing back towards the dorm where it would be safe to cry. 

What I missed through my tears as I ran away was the expression of absolute misery on Paul's face a single tear tracking down his perfect face and hitting the ground. 

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It had began to rain and I was sitting on my bed taking out my braid when Camilla found me. 

"Y/n I've been looking for you all afternoon" she started but stopped as soon as she saw my face. "Fuck, Y/n what happened" she waited a second but I stayed quiet Paul's words wringing in my ears "Y/n talk to me" I didn't "TALK TO ME" I shook my head she lowered her voice to a whisper "Talk to me Y/n Y/l/n or I swear to god I will call matron and have her get it out of you"

"No" I said "I can't tell" 

"Y/n" what happened "I don't see you for half a day and then I find you in hear balling your fucking eyes out so unless you what the whole world to know your here tell me who did this to you."

"Paul" I said and then sobbed harder into my hands 

"What? What do you mean Paul"

"I can't say" Something in her face hardened.

"I'm bringing him his dinner tonight, he's requested it be in his room.  I will get to the bottom of this I promise" She said 

I knew I couldn't argue with her "Be careful"

"I will be"

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Camilla's POV

I marched up to Paul's door fury burning through my vain, I don't care who he is he hurt my best friend and I was going to make sure that he knew it.  I hammered on the door and heard a muffled "come in" from the other side.  I stepped in. It took me a second to fully comprehend what I saw before me. 

The room was a mess, books and blankets had been thrown everywhere, the bin had been knocked over and its contents had spilled all over the floor and sitting in the middle of this chaos was Paul. He looked like shit, there were tear tracks down his face he had surrounded himself in a blanket and he in his hand was a tattered muslin that resembled the one he had as a  child. Maybe it was. 

Then he spoke and his voice was rasped like he had swallowed gravel earlier in the day.

"I've fucked up" It was barely a whisper but I heard him

"I presume this has something to do with Y/n" I said in a sharp voice, I was still angry. I placed the tray down on the only clean surface I could find, his bed side table before walking to stand in front of him.

"How did you Know?" he asked 

"She's my best friend and right now she's crying her eyes out on her bunk down stares refusing to tell me anything. The only thing that I could get out of her was your name, so go on, tell me what you did!" I said my voice rising Y/n was practically my sister and I refused to allow this hypocrite to treat her with anything but respect. 

He started to cry again at my words, they seemed to have caused him physical pain and in that moment I understood. I sat down next to him and changed my tone of voice to one that was truly comforting. "You like her, don't you?"

He breathed out slowly then said "yes"