Chapter 21: Reunions
As the Ornithopter landed in the middle of the Yard, many Atreides soldiers were silent and waiting. They all had their hands on their blades, ready for battle; Lady Jessica remembered the Blade she had left in her Bodice and felt its missing presence where it should have been by her side.
" Gurney Halleck, instruct your men to stand down. These are not your ordinary Fremen. They are the Reds, and I assure you, any plan you've devised in your mind will not suffice." Kynes' words hung in the air as he stared at the opaque black glass window of the Ornithopter, concealing its occupants.
Gurney Halleck turned to his Duke, who met his gaze with a silent nod. "What's our next move, Dr. Kynes?" Duke Leto's voice was steady, but his eyes betrayed his anticipation. His gaze shifted past Kynes, and there stood Paul, his son.
Kynes was about to answer when the door of the Ornithopter opened. Duncan Idaho stepped out with his black hair tied up in the back. He was wearing a red Stillsuit, confusing Dr.Kynes and the Duke.
Seeing his instructor, who had left weeks before them, Paul came and hugged the Man, " Duncan." Paul called out in excitement. " Ahh, young pup, you have gotten big," Duncan said. Paul separated from him, checked himself up and down, and asked, "Really?" a chuckle escaped his mouth. " No," Duncan answered.
Behind Duncan, a Fremen man came out wearing the normal Stillsuit with a robe covering it. He had a beard full of sand, and his eyes were blue within blue. This was Stillgar, the man who was the co-leader of sietch Tabr of the north. He was a Southerner, and the religion of the Lisan Al Gaib was practiced day in and day out.
Duncan, who had lost focus when talking to Paul and his duke, brought out the crysknife, which upset Stillgar, for a blade such as that to be seen meant death to everyone who laid their eyes upon it.
" You will do well to hide that knife; it is not something to be shown, Duncan Idaho," Stillgar said as he made eye contact with the man, and then he looked to Leit Kynes, the true leader of Sietch tabr, the one who spoke for all Fremen.
Some may ask why the emperor had Kynes as his eyes and ears on Arrakis. The true reason lies in the fact that Leit Kynes was the one who spoke for all Fremen. And he was the one who knew how strong they were.
"it is better to have a friend than an enemy." The words of the emperor.
In the Ornithopter, Jamis placed his hand on the shoulder of his longtime friend. " I know, Jamis. The time I have been waiting and dreading for is here," Damon said.
" I am with you, old friend; don't forget that," Jamis said as he walked out of the ornithopter.
Damon opened a small bag on the left of his seat and out came a transparent glove. He quickly fitted it on his hand, and the glove became invisible to the naked eye. Normal eyes could no longer see it; it could only be seen by the mask which his comrades wore.
As the Red Fremen walked out with their Masks on, it sent chills down the spines of Atreides soldiers; anyone experienced in battle could tell these men were killers, and they were the best to do it.
Duncan, who stood next to his Duke, walked forward to his new comrades and yelled out, " My Duke Leto and Lady Jessica." This grabbed both their attention and Paul's, as Duncan was not the type of man to do this.
" I present to you, the King of the Red Sietch, the King of the Mountain. The one they call bloodworm. The one who is named Krelln, the moon of Arrakis, I Present to you Damon of House Atreides,"
There was instant silence when Duncan Idaho said those words, and Rage took hold of Duke Leto; he wanted to kill Duncan immediately. How dare he make him relive that same grief? How dare he make his Duke remember the pain and sorrow of losing a child.
Duke Leto moved to Attack, but the Passenger door to the ornithopter Opened. Out came a man with long hair braided in the back, running long behind his back. Lady Jessica and Paul looked towards the man in red and saw a spitting image of the Duke.
Duke Leto looked at the sound of a thud as the man stepped out of the bird. " It's funny how destiny works, is it not? " said Damon as he walked closer. " An Atreides born but sent to Arrakis for a greater mission. A child of another world but raised in another. A child of a bene gesserit."
Duke Leto walked closer to the man, and so did Lady Jessica. " How? " he said, his hands shaking as he touched the man's face. Lady Jessica looked at the face and analyzed everything there was to analyze; yes, this was her Damon, this was an Atreides.
She could feel it. This was her son. Paul walked behind his father, " All this time, it was you I should have known, brother."
" Yes, yes, this is my son," the duke said as a tear ran down his face. Damon rubbed his father's face, removing the lone tear.
The Duke, reminding himself to preserve his image, looked back to his man and yelled. " Atreides, Atreides, Atreides. " Gurney Halleck had, for the first time, a smile plastered on his face.
Lady Jessica, who was behind Paul and Duke Leto, was fidgeting her hands, trying to stay calm, but nothing worked. One look from Damon, and she looked down. Then, surely, but slowly, she looked at her son.
" Mother, it is alright. It's me, your Damon." As he called her 'Mother,' she recalled a moment back in time, in Caladan, when she heard a whisper in the wind call her mother in the same voice.
At once, she came and Hugged her son.
Gurney Halleck, at once, boomed his voice in the yard. " let it be known, through all of Arrakis and all the families that traveled with us, Prince Damon of House Atreides is alive,"
Once more, the soldier boomed their voice to the sky: " ATREIDES, ATREIDES, ATREIDES."