Kala Wukar.
She who walks the desert.
She who is one with the sand.
She who is one with Arrakis.
The girl who he dreamed of long before she came to him in reality.
Aphra of Arrakis. The Desert Walker.
(Dune; Paul Atreides)
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
chapter 8: the path of the storm
~
Aphra's eyes were heavy with tiredness and the aftereffects of emotional turmoil as Duncan's swift flying of the ornithopter created the lightest of sways in her body. Paul sat right next to her, his hand tight on her wrist, thumb rubbing lightly over her pulse to feel her heart's rhythm. A sense of calm had laid over the two teenagers since finding each other. The warmth of the sun and the gentle ebb and flow of the water meeting once more on the horizon.
Aphra could see the stars sprinkled over the night sky, bearing down on the cold blue-hued sands below. The hills rose and dipped and lines ran over them like snakes. The aftertrails of a sandworm were imprinted in some places and Aphra wondered if the Fremen had been there. She wondered if it may have been Chani, or even Stilgar. Or maybe it was Jamis or Shishakli. Perhaps one of them was sandriding.
She missed the Sietch Tabr. She missed her family and the way things had been in the comfort of their home, out of sight of the Outworlders that sought to annihilate them. She missed the journey's she would take, leading groups of people through the desert for whatever they may have wanted to do. She missed being a small child, hiding in the rocks with Chani and looking for the little kangaroo mice and kit foxes that hid in the shadows. She missed lying out in the sun's rays, feeling the sand cascading smoothly over her skin.
"Here. Drink this," Liet's voice cut through the silence as she handed Jessica a small flask of water.
Jessica drank from the flask, taking only a small sip before handing it to Paul to drink as well. They were both still panting and ragged from their day in the desert.
"Harkonnens hit every population center on the planet at once. There must have been 10 legions, hundreds of ships. There were Sardaukar with them. At least two battalions," Duncan reported softly.
Jessica's brows furrowed in worry as she jerked forward in her seat, "What? Are you sure?"
The Sardaukar. The elite military force of the Emperor himself. They were formidable fighters, trained to be fierce and ruthless.
"You cross swords with a Sardaukar, you know it."
Aphra unconsciously brought her free hand to the now bandaged cut on the side of her abdomen. It still stung and rippled with pain whenever she moved a certain way. It would likely scar, but it would serve as an important reminder. She could never get distracted again, she could not let emotion cloud her mind.
Jessica sighed, "So, the Emperor's taken a side. What says the Judge of the Change?"
Liet shifted uncomfortably in her seat, avoiding eye contact with the others, "The Emperor forbids me from saying anything at all."
"And yet you risk your life to help us," Paul pointed out, his eyes unforgiving and harsh.
"Will you say nothing to me?" Aphra asked, her jaw set tight.
