deep within the sharp ridges of arrakis lies a sietch home to thousands of fremen. One being named Mili, meaning "of the sea". Unlike every other fremen, Mili is not affected by spice. this causing her to stand out not just to fremen, but to a speci...
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all the fremen sat in a tent, cheering to their victory against the harkonnens. lights were lit, and people clapped and chanted praises to eachother.
"you saw what he did!" stilgar speaks in fremen. "he saw it coming. and he saved her life." he continues.
"he saw it.. he can foresee.." stilgar whispers.
mili slowly claws her hand up paul's back, intimidating a small desert mouse saying "muad'dib likes him." she giggles. paul laughs in return, shaking his head.
"who taught you to fight like that?" chani butts in.
"my old masters." he says, sincerely before swapping tone. "they were massacred. alongside my father." he seriously says.
shishakli gives him a look of remorse. mili looks down in respect and places a hand on his thigh.
"you've been fighting the harkonnens for decades. my family has been fighting them for centuries. i know everything about them, their habits, their ways of thinking." he says.
"you know everything about the desert." he continues, "you harness the very power of it. we can stop them, together. bury them in the sand where they belong." he says, mili smiling at this.
"so that this planet can be yours once more." he finishes.
"what will you have us do?" stilgar asks. "well, what would you do, stilgar?" paul asks. "i? i would.." he huffs. "strike even further north." he says.
"then i will go further north." paul says.
"the further north you go the more likely it is you die." shishaskli says.
"then i'll die. maybe you will too. but the others will keep going. and they won't stop until the fremen are free." paul speaks in fremen causing everyone to pat their chests.
"he deserves to be fedaykin." mili says, smiling. everyone cheers and agrees at this.
"he needs names, stilgar." another fremen male speaks.
"he does! i see.. strength in you. like....usul. the base of a pillar!" stilgar speaks.
everyone cheers.
"come, come." he waves his hand at paul.
paul looks at mili for reassurance, and she nods him off toward stilgar, smiling wide.
paul crouches in front of stilgar. "you shall be known among us as..usul." stilgar says, everyone testing 'usul' on their tongues.
"and now, a fedaykin, is a fighter. and needs a war name." he says
"you must choose." stilgar speaks.
paul thinks for a second before snickering, "what's the name of that small desert mouse?" he asks turning around to look at mili. everyone laughs.
"muad'dib!" mili says giggling.
everyone laughs in return.
"no no no, shh!" stilgar shushes. "muad'dib is wise in the ways of the desert. muad'dib creates its own water. the constriction that points to the north, muad'dib. the one who points the way. that is a powerful name." stilgar says sincerely.
stilgar pulls paul up into a standing position. "now, you are our brother! hm? paul. muad'dib. usul." he says before yelping and pulling paul into a hug.
everyone cheers.
-
paul stands at the front of a line, every fremen waiting to hug him and say his new name. once mili was up, she walked up to paul, quickly kissed him and lowly whispered "usul.." causing shivers to rise up his back.
-
the sun had been setting, causing the sky to vary from oranges to yellow colors. paul sat on top of a dune watching stilgar ride a sandworm. he smiled, fascinated.
"hey! stilgar!" he waves like a little boy, smiling hard.
he looks down at his hand, noticing his fathers ring. he grabs it and whispers, "father i found my way." before stuffing it into his stillsuit pocket.
mili walk up behind him and surprises him with a kiss on the cheek. "hey." he smiles at her.
"hey!" she giggles sitting next to him.
"it's breathtaking." paul breaths in awe. mili sighs and rests her head against his shoulder. "look! right there's spice." mili says pointing to a rich spice bed. "arrakis is so beautiful when the sun is low." she says.
paul turns to look at her. "what was your homeworld like?" she asks. "does water truly fall from the sky?" she asks again.
"oh, yes. sometimes it rains for weeks on caladan." he speaks, smirking. mili smiles. "where you see sand, imagine water." he looks out to the endless horizon of sharp sandy ridges.
"our castle stands on cliffs, high above the sea. if you dive in, you can't reach the bottom." he says. "you dive in?" she asks distraught. "yes. it's called swimming." he says. "i dont- i don't believe you, usul." she stutters, giggling.
"usul." he breathes. "what's the meaning of your fremen name?" he asks. "mili. of the sea." she smiles. "i've always longed to see the oceans." she breathes. "somehow.. in some way.. i just.. feel connected to it." she says. "like i feel connected to the desert?" he asks. "yes. look at us. you were born by the sea and long for the sand, i was born by the sand and long for the sea." she giggles.
paul stares at her. "mili is beautiful. so is y/n." he says. mili looks at him "well i hate y/n." she says. paul furrows his eyebrows. "how? with a name as extravagant as yours-" he says but cuts himself off.
"i only let people i love call me that." she whispers fiddling with her hands. paul's cheeks go red. "so, you love me?" he teases.
"maybe." she seriously says.
paul's cheeks go brighter, thankfully the suns red hue would cover it up.
"y/n." he lowly says, holding her cheek. this time, her face goes red at their close proximity. "my father assigned you to protect me, but i will always protect you." he breathes leaning in.
their lips collide in a sensual kiss. slow, loving and passionate. the sun beats on the side of their faces as their tongues tangle together. paul moans as mili grabs his curls. he places his hand on her thigh and the other still holds their faces together. a gust of wind blows their hair around and they pull away.
"forever.." she breathes. "and always. you." she repeats, staring into his eyes.
"forever and always you." he says back, smiling before pulling her into another kiss.
