DUNE-A False Haderach-(SI into brother of Irulan)

Chapter 28

SHISHAKLI

Shishakli had grown up beside Inzal, watched him grow from a little toddler to the man he was today, and in that time she had heard many a tales about the sister he had never met, a mysterious figure shrouded in the mists of the unknown.

A sister who she pitied after learning of her circumstances, a person reduced to only ever be used as a tool by the Emperor and the people whom she cared about.

When he mentioned the plot of someone from the King's retinue trying to assassinate the Princess, she laughed it off, thinking it was all too cruel an act even for the throne.

And yet Inzal had never been wrong, and though she believed that this might be the time. He was right, and indeed, an assassin had been sent hidden within the retinue, ready to strike down the Princess.

And he had foiled that plan, and now the congregation was set to begin, and in a day, the Emperor himself was set to arrive on Arrakis to set into motion the greatest change in the history of Imperium.

"I never thought that life on Arrakis was so tough," the Princess replied as she looked around the Sietch clad in a Fremen stillsuit, she had wished to see the place where Inzal had grown up and so she had come with her to Tabr, the place where all of it had begun.

The planet was tense and on edge as they all felt nervous about their future, a future few of them had ever imagined they would see in their lifetimes. Much had begun to change already, the lifting of the embargo had allowed them to exchange the spice for provisions, and finally the true wealth from the Spice trade began to flow into their coffers.

"We lived like slaves, any who the Harkonnen captured they tortured and killed for amusement. We lived on our planet like slaves, hiding away in these sietches, many dying of hunger and thirst," she told her as she sat down and watched the children of the sietch play infront of her. There was joy on their faces as they tumbled and tossed in the sand, unaware of the upheaval that was set to change their lives.

"Inzal grew up here," she asked, and she nodded.

"He did. We found him in a broken pod in the dunes an hour from here," she corrected herself. as she pointed out and shook her head.

"He was but a babe, and had we not found him, he would have died in an hour from the heat if not earlier had a Sand Worm caught his scent," she added, still vividly recalling the day she had first met him.

"And then we took him in, even though many spoke against it, citing the water it would require to rear a child not their own," she mentioned.

"And yet all of us today are in his debt. For the first time in thousands of years, we walk free on our own land, and we owe it all to him, your brother," she said and looked at the Princess who had a dazed look on her face as she looked around the sietch.

"He never forgot about you, you know," she added, startling the Princess, who frowned.

"He was a jolly kid, and in Fremen culture, we do not waste water in tears, yet he did cry. I never figured out the reason until a few years ago myself," she mentioned, having only recently made the connection.

"It was the day your mother died. And he cried not just for her but for you as well, knowing that you would only ever be thought of as a pawn by those around you. Even half a galaxy away, he cared for you, more than he would ever admit," she told her.

She was trained in the Bene Gesserit ways and would know that she was telling the truth, for she had no reason to lie. Inzal would always be on the lookout for news about Irulan, often bribing the smugglers to fetch news about her specifically.

Initially, it had hurt her to see him concern himself over a sister he had never met, yet she would only ever learn that, in a way, he was beside her, and yet she would never learn of his presence. That he shared her sufferings and doubts and yet was helpless to do anything, and then that jealousy became a thing of the past.

"He may have not been there by your side. But he was there in spirit," she added. She saw the Princess look down, sniffing as she closed her eyes, trying to hold back her tears.

"I always thought I was delusional that this presence around me that I felt often was but a figment of my imagination. I felt so alone, so alone after my mother's death, and yet he was there, he was always there beside me," the Princess sobbed, and Shishakli sighed as she let her process all this in peace, knowing that the last weeks had been a rollercoaster for the Princess.

"Thank you for this, Shishakli," the Princess said after minutes, and she nodded.

"It was nothing Princess," she said as she stood up.

"Come let me show you where he built his first Omni Direction..."

"My brother is very lucky to have someone like you beside him, someone who cherishes him, who loves him," and those words still her and she turned towards the Princess who was looking at her with a complicated expression and she shook her head.

"You do not understand Princess," she corrected.

"It is me, and all of us who are lucky that he cares so much for us."

0000

INZAL KAZAB ATREIDES

Inzal closed his eyes as he placed his hand atop Lady Jessica's swollen belly, concentrating as he talked with the child.

"That is it. Focus on my voice. Ignore the voices, use me as a medium to focus yourself," he whispered yet his lips did not move as he felt his consciousness try and take form struggling under massive storm of all the other consciouses buried inside the little being that was Alia Atreides.

"Thank you for helping me, cousin Inzal."

And with that, Inzal pulled himself back, his consciousness turning back to his own body as he opened his eyes and pulled back his hand from Lady Jessica's belly.

"She was able to push back the voices herself," he informed her and saw her take a sigh of relief as she smiled.

"Thank you for this," she said, and he shook his head.

"There is no need for that. She is family in a way, and that is all that matters," he said as he pulled back, and using his consciousness like that took a toll on him, and the pain he had gotten so used to ignoring reared back its ugly head, as he raised his shields once more, allowing him to ignore it as he had been doing for months now.

"The Bene Gesserit are wrong about many things but the tribulations faced by one such as me and Alia are something they are correct about. It is not easy the path that you have chosen for her, Lady Jessica, but with help from me and you it need not be as perilous as it is thought to be," and she nodded.

"Are you still set in your decision?" she asked, his gaze narrowing.

"I am. Do not bring this up again Lady Jessica. My mind is already made," he replied knowing full well what she was referring to.

"How is the Duke?" he asked.

"He is recovering. The Imperial physician was able to speed things along, and is recommending me to call forth the Tleila..."

"NO!" he cut in before she could finish.

"The Bene Tleilaxu are dangerous and the most conniving of all creatures. Trusting them in a matter like this would be the highest form of stupidity," he added and she nodded, yet her face grew grim.

"I know it," and her fists balled up.

"But I cannot watch him suffer, I cannot," she added, and he shook his head.

"It took too many sacrifices to bring us to this juncture, and I understand the love you hold for the Duke, but you cannot put everything in jeopardy because of that. You have a son and a daughter as well, think of them, of what will happen to them if you take one wrong step," he added and she bit her lip knowing full well that he was speaking the truth.

0000

As the Emperor's ship descended down the skies of Arrakis, he found himself preferring the solitude of his solar his eyes closed as his hand continued to play the very recording that Hasimir had scrubbed out from Irulan's ships.

"My...shhhh...ame...s....Inza....Kaza....orrino..."

00000

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