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 nine: she who walks the desert
~
Beneath the light of the sun they stood. Her eyes were closed and arms outstretched before him as she basked in its rays. Soft lips pressed into the skin on the back of her shoulder, hands roaming up her back and sliding down to take her hands. She smiled, leaning into the affection of the boy behind her as he whispered words of worship into her skin.
"I'll follow you anywhere, my sun."
"As I will you, my miracle."
Aphra gasped awake, her head pounding as she ripped the seat belt off her body and clambered from the chair. Hands grabbed at her arms, leading her out of the ornithopter and onto the sand below. She stumbled and fell into the body of the one helping her, her knees weak from the impact of the crash.
"We have to head to the rocks," Paul's voice sounded close to her ear as he pulled her back on her feet.
Aphra tried to choke out words of acknowledgement, but they were caught in her throat. Her feet slid over the sand. She had never been so ungraceful in her element before, but the dizziness of the fall made her feel uncoordinated as she ran behind Paul and Jessica. She nearly tumbled as she climbed up the small mountain of rocks that jutted out from the ground in the sea of sand.
"Are you ok?" Paul asked as he helped her up to the top.
"I'm fine," her words slurred slightly as she blinked away the shakiness in her vision, "I just hit my head."
Paul reached forward, moving her head to the side to inspect her, "You're bleeding."
"It's ok," Aphra grabbed his hand, pulling it away from her face, "I'm fine. You need to put your stillsuits on. The sun is too high. You'll die without it."
Paul looked like he wanted to argue with her, to force her to sit down and let either himself or his mother take a look at her, but there was nothing he could do. He couldn't break through her stubbornness, and he didn't have anything but the cloth he wore to help her.
"The bleeding has already stopped. We Fremen have evolved with the needs arisen by our environment. Our blood thickens quickly to conserve the water of our body."
Jessica's eyes bore into the injury on the side of Aphra's head, "I noticed that. Shadout Mapes was cut above her breast. The blood stopped almost immediately."
"Yes," Aphra nodded, "Now put on your suits."
Paul turned to face the other way as he quickly began to undress. Jessica followed his lead and faced opposite as Aphra began to assist her in putting on her stillsuit. She adjusted the straps accordingly and pushed the tube by her mouth in place.
"You can lead us to the Fremen," Jessica stated as Aphra strapped her boots.
"Yes, of course. I could walk you there blind, Lady Jessica. These deserts are my home. Even if I may become lost, they will show me the way," Aphra stood up, "Have you learned the sandwalk? Paul, you remember what I showed you?"
