Chapter 22
IRULAN CORRINO
Irulan found herself sitting across her father in the royal garden, and for the last few days, it was as if a quiet chill had erupted all over the castle. There had been no festivities, no celebrations, no feasts. It was as if the castle was in mourning, and only she knew that it truly was.
Soon enough, the fateful day approached the fateful day when House Corrino would join House Harkonnen in their treachery and put an end to one of the most powerful Houses of the Landsraad. House Atreides,
Over the years, House Atreides gained much power, and their influence grew considerably until they became a threat to the Royal power.
"Was it truly necessary?" she asked her father, who simply sat there looking at the greenery all around him.
Unlike other Houses in the Imperium, House Atreides was special, boasting a direct connection to the Royal House. The Emperor and the Duke shared blood and had been dear friends in the past, though duties, jealousy, and other such things had caused a rift in their bond.
"It was," her father answered without looking at her.
"Leto and his House grew too powerful. They had begun overreaching, trying to grasp beyond their station," he answered sharply.
"If I do not deal with them today, soon enough, they shall have their hands around our own necks. And I will not stand for that. Never," he answered resolutely.
And she gulped down as she looked at the ground.
"There could have been other solutions," she added, and she saw him finally turn towards her with a raised brow.
"Marriage," she elaborated and saw him raise a brow.
"That would be akin to handing them the throne. No, the throne is House Corrino's, and it shall remain so," he said with finality before turning away from her.
"If only I had been blessed with a so..." and he cut himself off as he shook his head.
And her lips thinned at those words, that desire for a son. It had always overshadowed her own existence ever since she had first opened her eyes.
"But what of House Harkonnen? Doesn't this give them much leverage over us," she asked.
"House Harkonnen will be dealt with, their actions today will be deemed an overreach, and treason. I will make them pay a reparation that would put them in debt for half a century," he replied, and suddenly, they were disturbed as a Royal Messenger arrived in the garden, and her heart lurched as he bowed to herself and her father.
"I bring an emergency missive, your grace," and with that, a messenger scroll was passed to her father, who took it hesitantly, knowing already of the treachery that may be written in it.
As his heart thumped in her chest, she saw him unwind the scroll as his eyes scanned the message, and with every passing second, his face turned ashen until the messenger scroll fell out of his hand, and he was on his feet in an instant.
"Take me to Hasimir," he ordered, and she followed behind him as the garden cart was brought forward.
"What happened, father?"
"I do not know, but we may just have walked into a trap."
0000
SHISHAKLI
Shishakli whipped across the city and was immediately hit with the stench of blood. The air was heavy with the smell of blood, and the whole city was in ruin, and bodies littered the streets, which were literally dyed black.
"Gods!" Chani gasped behind her and was forced to halt their flight as her friend settled down on one of the rooftops before emptying her stomach, right there. It was a waste of water, but the sight here could make anyone puke.
"This....this...is..." Chani gasped as she wiped her mouth, and Shishakli nodded.
"How many of our men were in the city?" Chani asked her, and Shishaklu gulped down.
"Around ten thousand," she answered and saw Chani's eyes widen.
"Just that, but the enemy was much greater in number. Just until now, I have seen ten thousand corpses," and that was true, and they were still quite a distance from the city center.
"And we did not see anyone fly out of the city," Chani gasped out suddenly as her face turned ashen and Shishakli bit her lip.
"All of them knew what they were going into. Each and every one of them knew that," she said through gritted teeth as she turned away from her.
"But we had more men. We could have evened the number...."
"This was the most efficient way," she answered as she took to the skies once more, eyes scanning the streets vigilantly as she watched the thousands of dead, watching many of her own comrades dead in the rubble.
"You need to give me some answers. Shishakli," Chani asked as she whizzed to her side.
"What do you want me to tell you?" she roared back angrily.
"Do you even understand the severity of what we are about to do? As soon as that shield went up, we made an enemy out of every political entity outside of our planet, and though we are prepared, do you think we will stand a chance against the whole of the Landsraad if we sacrificed more of our trained men," she roared.
"That is why we should have sent more men..."
"The ten thousand men here were not here to fight," she cut in as they whipped towards the Ducal residence, the palace.
And immediately, she did not miss how the heaps of bodies became bigger and bigger until there was simply no pause in the heaps, which then turned into a massive mountain of dead bodies, atop of which she saw him.
"What do you mean they were not here for fighting?" Chani questioned.
"Their only job was to keep the enemy contained, to keep them in the city. Of course, they killed, but that was not their main purpose. To preserve our forces, we decided to take away the enemy's ability to see..."
That had been the purpose of the smoke grenades they had used all night; if one were to look closely, one would spot a thick layer of smoke covering the buildings from the sheer volume of smoke that had covered the city over the night.
"Why?" Chani questioned.
She did not answer her as she pulled on the triggers and felt her zoom past the buildings before she landed crudely at the top of the mountain of bodies, and there he sat, covered in blood from head to toe.
Only the small movements of his chest told her that he was not a part of the pile itself. His white hair was all covered in caked blood, and then she saw him turn his head up as he looked at her, his blue eyes bloodshot and tired.
"It is over," he said as she struggled to his feet. Using his blades to support himself back to his feet.
"This city is ours," he declared, and she had missed how many others had gathered beside them as a loud cheer erupted from all around.
"YEAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
"FREEEEEDOM!"
"INZAAAAAAAAAL"
"Monster...." she heard someone gasp and looked up and found the bloodied form of the Baron staring at Inzal, his body pinned to the wall with blades as he bled out.
"You are a damn Monster..." he gasped out.
Then she saw him falter, but she did not let his body fall. She was immediately beside him as she held him and supported him from the side.
"I am so..."he said, and she nodded.
"Rest. I will handle the rest," she assured him. She saw him nod as he closed his eyes.
And as they flew back, she turned towards her old friend.
"You asked me why we doused the city in darkness," she began and saw Chani nod.
"Because our best soldier does not need his sight to see."
0000
Back on Kaitain, the Padishah Emperor walked into the castle's war room with quick steps, his daughter and Princess following behind him worriedly.
"What is going on, Hasimir?" the Emperor questioned immediately as he stepped into the room.
His ever-loyal friend, the Count Hasimir Fenring, turned to look at him worriedly.
"It seems that we have been outsmarted," he replied, and the Emperor walked to his side and stared at the screen.
"What is it?" he asked as he looked at the massive dome covering Arrakis.
"A shield," Hasimir replied.
"A planetary shield. But I was told that such a thing was impossible to set up on Arrakis," he barked angrily.
"Indeed, and until today, it was believed so as well. Yet that is not the most worrying thing," and with that, the Count pressed a button, and the screen shifted as the face of the Duke Leto appeared on the screen.
"My name is Duke Leto of House Atreides, and using the powers vested in me as a Great Duke of the Imperium and the Landsraad, I call a congregation...." he declared, and the Emperor stilled at those words.
"...to discuss the alleged treachery committed against my House by House Harkonnen and many other accomplices in the Imperium."
And his eyes widened at the declaration, his heart hammering as he realized that all his plans had failed.
"And until terms are not made, not an ounce Spice shall leave the soil of Arrakis. I declare it so as Leto Atreides. The Duke of Arrakis."
0000
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