Our Secret

Where is she?

Disclaimer: I don't own Dune 

Y/n's POV:

My whole body ached and the dirt and shattered glass on the floor clung to me infesting my various cuts and scratches. My head felt as if it was drifting away and I was sick to my stomach. I was not sure how long I had been down there, time seemed to warp itself in the dark thoughts replaying themselves relentlessly in my head. 

There were three intact glasses in the corner of the room each now empty, non of them had ever really been full, my tongue was a piece of leather flopping around uselessly in my mouth and my stomach was attempting to rip it's was our of my body due to lack of food. (I had only received a single husk of  bread and I hadn't been able to finish it as my stomach seemed to be rejecting food). 

To distract myself from my now seemingly futile existence I had began to listen to the kitchen above me every time a table scraped loudly on someone dropped something or Matron began to yell the sound would just about force it's way down into the room that I was inhabiting and I would build up a scene in my head. The scenes were nice they helped me cope right now I could hear yelling again, the stone removed any tone or meaning but the pattern of the noise indicated words, she must be furious the noise has never been this loud. 

Something sounded different but the stone muffled the sound too much for me to tell what it was and my head was floating further and further away, I had to focus on keeping my eyes open, if I passed out down here I wouldn't be found for hours.

Ben's POV: 

Jessica and I dashed down the corridors following Paul, though neither of us were truly able to match his frantic pace. 

One serving girl, who had been busy filling a pot with fresh flowers joined us asking me "What's going on?"  

I recognized the girl vaguely her name was Aimee, Mia had introduced to me once and she seemed nice then, "We are chasing after Paul Atreides to offer him any help we can in getting his girlfriend out of the basement" I said huffing and puffing as I attempted to maintain my pace.

Her eyes grew round as saucers and she abruptly stopped, then chased back to catch up to me breathing heavily "They were telling the truth?" She asked

"If by they you mean: Y/n, Mia, Camilla and Mary. Then yes 'they' were telling the truth" she turned white as a sheet at my statement and dashed away presumably to the flower arrangement she had left behind.

Paul had already turned the corner into the corridor of the servants quarters before we rounded the last bend but it mattered very little as we both knew where he was going. I glanced at Jessica who nodded and the pair of us dashed down the corridor. 

We heard Paul before we saw him he was bellowing at the top of his lungs "Where is she?" as we rounded the corner into the kitchen and saw him at last. He resembled an enraged bull both in how he spoke and also his temperament. 

"Who?" asked Matron who seemed determined to be oblivious until the end.

"My fucking girlfriend" he bellowed

Mary's POV:

 I had never seen Paul that angry before, sure I had seen him loose his temper even shout but never with such intensity, never with so much fury burning in his eyes. He was terrifying. I glanced over at Beth and was pleased to see that she was about the colour of aged parchment and she was shrinking back in on herself like a deflating souffle. 

Ben and Lady Jessica ran into the kitchen behind Paul as he bellowed "My fucking girlfriend"

The silence hung in the air for a second, fragile and yet thick with tension. I broke it "Down that passage, I don't know exactly where though, only Beth and Matron go down there" I managed to keep my voice from shaking. 

He nodded "Thanks Mary" was all  he said before dashing down the passageway leaving the kitchen clearly divided and unsettled. Camilla, Mia moved to stand beside Ben and Lady Jessica. I stood at the front and Duncan, who had marched down the passageway instructed to check on the cause of the noise, stood behind us all. Ben and Mia had their hands clasped together comforting each other, so did Camilla and Duncan. I smiled slightly it made sense but neither of them were particularly public people and I had no intention of prying.

"I am so sorry, for all that has been done" said Matron and I believed her. So, it seemed, did Jessica.

"Don't worry accidents happen, we all make mistakes there will be no punishment" she said

"I sent her a little for every meal, Beth took it down, she should be fine. A little shaken but fine, and I am so sorry again" Said Matron in the same sincere tone. 

Beth finally found her voice "She won't be okay, I-I didn't give her most of the food. And I did some other things I now regret" She sounded concerned but not sincere clearly still trying to save her own skin. Jessica stared at her for a long moment but said nothing, I found myself liking Paul's mother, she seemed an excellent judge of character.

Y/n's POV: 

I heard someone dash down the stairs, the shouting had stopped and I could no longer hear what was going on upstairs. I was having trouble stringing together thoughts as the door swung open and a male voice gasped and dashed over to me cradling me in his arms. "P-Pau-Paul" I said screwing up my face at the effort it took to form words. "I'm so, s-so tir-tired" my eyelids were heavy and pulling down like shutters over my eyes. 

"I know baby, I know. But you can't sleep yet, just a it longer then you can sleep. I will never let anyone hurt you again okay"He whispered before gently kissing my head and still cradling me picking me up and beginning to carry me up the stairs constantly murmuring soft words of comfort the whole time and assuring me that everything would be okay, I just had to keep my eyes open, and I did. I felt groggy, dizzy and sick to my stomach. All I wanted to do was fall asleep in his arms, but I couldn't not yet. 

He carried me through the kitchen and straight to doctor Wellington Yueh's quarters assuring me that everything would be alright. As I lay down on the doctors table I could no longer force my eyes open and I fell asleep, now confident that if anything were to happen at least someone would know.