back to you | paul atreides

thirty

My time spent with Chani was much more pleasant than I had imagined. I had expected her to be either cold or talk only of Paul, but to my surprise she did neither. Instead, she showed a lot of interested in getting to know me. I'm not sure why, but it was actually quite relieving to talk to someone new for once.

I gave her a brief rundown on the whole Feyd-Rautha situation and why I left. I expected some kind of judgement from her and, to be fair, I knew I would judge myself if I were in her place. Instead she seemed to be more understanding than anything which was a nice surprise. It felt good to talk about my problems without judgement.

Chani also revelead to me how the Duke Leto was killed during the Harkonnen invasion. This made my blood boil and I felt more anger towards Feyd than every before. How could he let this happen? And Paul, poor Paul... I wanted so badly to comfort but I knew he wouldn't let me. The most I could do was let time heal things.

Chani taught me how to weave, a skill not very big back on Caladan so I was unfamiliar with the practice. Weaving was tricky at first, but I quickly got the hang of it under Chani's guidance. I decided that I would enjoy weaving as a hobby if it weren't for the splinters that got stuck in your fingers.  

The evening came around much faster than I realized, and it was time for me to say goodbye to Shipo. Yuma amd I thanked her for her hospitality and kindness, hoping we might cross paths again eventually.

"We will meet again." Shipo told me as she left me to wonder. She was mysterious like that.

I nodded, going along with her. "Well, I can never thank you enough for taking us in."

"We owe you our safety," Yuma added. "Take care of yourself."

I joined the rest of Stilgar's group and was ready to get going when I spotted Zeina's small figure come running out of the shadows.

"Ophelia, wait!" She called to me.

I turned to face the teenager as she came to a stop in front of me. She held something out to me in her hands.

"This is for you," She told me as she tried to catch her breath.

I looked down and my eyes traced the outline of the leather sheath, along with its black handle with deep finger ridges separated from the blade by a slim round ring.

I narrowed my eyes at the object in her hands. "Is that..."

"A crysknife." She finished for me, pushing it into my hands. "Take it. It's yours now."

I made a face and shook my head, refusing her offer. "A crysknife? Zeina, I can't-"

"Yes you can," She grinned. "Take it. You'll need it."

She pressed it into my hands again and took a step back before I could protest again.

"Good luck," She nodded at me. "I hope to one day fight with you."