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Chapter Text

All your life, you have known that because you were born a woman, you were demoted to a bargaining chip. Even if you have trained in hand-to-hand combat, even if you know how to speak the ancient languages, even if you know how to pilot some ships, it doesn't matter.

The fact that you read a lot and learn quickly doesn't matter either, what matters is whether you are fertile and obedient, that's what counts when you are chosen to become a lord's wife.

You weren't surprised when your father announced that you were getting married, an arranged marriage, but you were surprised when he told you the name of your new husband: Duke Leto Atreides of Caladan, future Duke of Arrakis.

After all, the purpose of arranged marriages was to produce heirs for the great houses, but Duke Leto already had an adult heir, his son Paul. And in addition, the duke had an official concubine, Paul's mother, Lady Jessica, a member of the Bene Gesserit.

Despite the confusion, you accepted willingly, knowing you really had no choice. So a week later you and some of your family members boarded a spacecraft and left for Caladan.

Upon landing, his family was met by the Duke's master-at-arms and warmaster, but he himself was not there. Not him, not his son, and much less his concubine.

Your family was installed and for the whole week you didn't see the Duke or his family. When the wedding day arrived, some maids entered her chambers to dress her in a simple, plain white wedding dress.

"What a beautiful dress, who chose it?" you asked one of the maids politely.

"Lady Jessica, milady."

You swallowed hard and remained silent while they finished getting you ready. When they finished, they guided you through the Atreides Palace to a large hall, the doors were opened and you took a deep breath, inside there were some soldiers from the Atreides troops, your family, and near the altar were what you assumed to be Paul and his mother by his side.

You looked away to the altar, seeing the Duke himself there. Your father positioned himself next to you and took your arm, starting to guide you there, it was a quick walk, but it seemed like it took forever.

Up close, you could see the Duke better, he was an attractive man, older, with slightly curly hair and a thick beard, both with a few gray spots. His skin tone was tan, as if he was already on Arrakis and had been walking in the hot sun.

Your father helped you up the short stairs to the altar and walked away, leaving you facing the Duke. You had a short veil covering your face, which the Duke took a few steps closer to lift. You swallowed hard at his movements, trying not to vomit right then and there.

He lifted the veil and gave you a quick look, you couldn't decipher what he was thinking, it made you feel butterflies in your stomach. The ceremony ended quickly after you swore allegiance to House Atreides and your surname was changed. There were no celebrations, your family left as soon as the ceremony was over, but one of the maids informed you that you would have dinner with the Duke and his family.

The removed veil was taken somewhere by the maids, so you remained in just your wedding dress. You were once again guided by the maids through some corridors until you reached the dining room, which seemed familiar, as the table wasn't that big. The Duke was sitting at the end of the table, Lady Jessica on the left side of the table, with Paul sitting opposite her, on the other side of the table. You assumed you should sit at the other end of the table, so you swallowed hard and saw the duke motioning for a guard to pull out the chair for you sit.

You thanked him in a low voice and sat down, Lady Jessica immediately gave you a smile and extended her hand across the table.

"I hope you liked the dress I chose, if you accept my opinion, you look very beautiful in it." she took a sip of water.

"Indeed." Paul's voice came before you could respond to the compliment.

"I thank you, milady, young master, the dress is beautiful." you replied cautiously.

The food was served and everyone began to eat, the only noises were that of cutlery and glasses landing on the table. The Duke had not said anything until then. Lady Jessica looked around and started the subject again.

"Are you enjoying Caladan? It's a shame that you don't have much more time to see the place." she looked at you.

"It's charming, for sure." you respond with a small smile.

"Arrakis must have its own charm too, our new home will be strange to us all. But we can make it cozy, you're the duchess now, you can decorate it however you want, right Leto?" she turned her face to the Duke, who raised his eyes and looked at both of us.

"Of course." he replied simply, and went back to chewing.

Jessica stood up and called Paul with her gaze, he stood up quickly and the two began to leave.

"It was a pleasant dinner, thank you for your kindness, Duchess." Lady Jessica said before leaving.

You stopped chewing and took a deep breath, watching the Duke shift in his seat.

"I know you and I didn't want to come together like that, but things work that way in politics." he began to speak. "I already have an heir, I don't need more, so we won't need to sleep together. You will have nothing from me other than the last name, just as I will have nothing from you, good night."

Then he got up and left too.

You felt your stomach turn and swallowed hard.

Chapter Text

The week before leaving for Arrakis dragged by slowly, you barely left your room. Today, the weather was more pleasant and you decided to leave your room to take a walk outside the Palace. You had already seen almost all the bibliofilms available to you, learned a little about Arrakis, about their spice and about the Fremen.

Sighing, you left the room and decided to guide yourself through the corridors, in order to spend as much time as possible outside your room. However, as you turned into a hallway you bumped into someone and fell. Before getting up, you looked up and saw an elderly man, chubby, with dark skin and completely gray curly hair.

"Oh! A thousand pardons, young duchess, a thousand pardons." he held out his hand and you graciously accepted it, standing up.

"I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention, sir…" you waited for him to introduce himself.

"Thufir Hawat, milady, master of assassins and head of security for House Atreides." he extended his hand and you placed yours over his, seeing him take your hand and touch his forehead, as a sign of respect.

"It is a great pleasure to meet you, Thufir Hawat, although under these circumstances, I apologize again." you opened a small smile.

"Where was the young duchess going in such a hurry, if I may ask?"

"Oh, I just wanted to get out of my room for a bit..."

Thufir Hawat gave you a tender smile and nodded, extending his arm for you to take.

"Can I accompany you on your walk, your grace?" he asked.

Graciously accepting his arm, you walked at a leisurely pace through the castle until you reached the outside, where you sat on a stone bench facing the sea.

"Thufir Hawat, may I ask you a question?"

"I will answer everything you ask me, milady." he replied, turning his face towards you.

"You're a Mentat, right?" you swallowed hard.

"Yes, my lady, I was bestowed with this gift after years of training." he replied politely.

"Must be good." you replied absently, looking at the sea.

You and Thufir stayed for a while longer until he had to leave to fulfill his duty to House Atreides.

You spent the rest of the day in your room.

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You met Thufir Hawat on the other days too, but you didn't want to disturb him as he was very busy, but he came to you one day and invited you to walk along the coast again.

You talked a lot and it was good to have a friend at the Palace, since the maids barely looked at you, Lady Jessica was nowhere to be found, Paul preferred to be training, and your husband... anyway.

Encouraged by the way Thufir Hawat seemed to be a good friend, you took a deep breath and started to speak, turning to him.

"Thufir Hawat, if I say something, will you promise to keep it a secret?"

The old gentleman turned to you, his sparse eyebrows rising slightly.

"If it is something that puts House Atreides at risk, I must inform the Duke, my lady. But if it's something that isn't dangerous, then I'll keep your secret." he replied calmly.

"No, it won't put anyone at risk, it's one thing... you know, Thufir Hawat, all my life everything I do never matters, I want to do something important at least once."

"What are you trying to say, young duchess?"

"I learn quickly, I know how to pilot some ships, I know how to speak some of the ancient languages, and I know hand combat." you took a deep breath. "Thufir Hawat, if you could train me... to be a Mentat, I would never do anything to harm anyone, I just want to be of some value-"

"Duchess, I'm afraid that's not possible-"

"Please, I know how to calculate and solve some things, I just want-"

"Young lady, pay attention." he turned and held his arms, seeing that up close his eyes were about to leak. "You don't need any of these things to have value, we all have value, remember that. You are an honorable lady, you don't need to prove anything to anyone, understand?"

"I want to prove it to myself." the first tear fell. "My whole life they talk about me as if I were just a bargaining chip, I want to convince myself that I am more than that, please, master Thufir, please."

The old man sighed and rubbed your arms a little, looking at the grass.

"You know what that implies, right? Mentat are not prohibited from training, but it is dangerous due to politics, if I train you and you do something against this House, then we will both die, can you understand that, milady?"

"I would never do that, I swore allegiance to House Atreides and I will be loyal until my death, it is my House now."

Thufir Hawat sighed and gave a small smile.

"Alright then, but let's be cautious, shall we?"

There were only two days left before leaving for Arrakis, and in those two days Thufir Hawat gave you some old leather books, and when possible he would meet with you quickly to teach you before returning to his own duties.

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On the last night before leaving for Arrakis, your room was almost empty, you were reading one of Thufir's latest books when a maid informed you that the Duke wanted to have dinner with you.

The maids helped you get dressed and you calmly walked to the dining room, even though you were confused about the sudden invitation. Upon entering, you frowned when you only saw the Duke there.

"My lord duke." you bowed your head slightly and sat on the opposite side of him.

He just nodded and dinner was served, the two began to eat in silence, again the noise of cutlery filling the place.

You were distracted by the embroidery pattern on the napkin in front of you and only paid attention again when you heard the Duke's deep voice.

"I hear you've been spending a lot of time with my head of security." he said while cutting the meat with a knife.

You looked at him and blinked in confusion a few times.

"Ah, Thufir Hawat, yes, he is very kind, sir." you drank water.

"I hope you understand that Master Thufir has duties and cannot waste time like you." he replied, looking at you.

You felt butterflies in your stomach and looked away, swallowing hard.

"Yes, your grace is right, I will no longer bother Master Thufir."

The rest of the dinner passed in silence and when they finished, the Duke left and you waited a few minutes before you could leave too, going straight to your room.

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The arrival on Arrakis was the other day, Leto was wearing gray armor, Jessica was wearing a yellow silk dress with a veil of the same color and stones on her face, Paul was wearing formal attire and you were wearing a silk dress, but red, similar to Jessica's, she chose it. You wore stones on your bust and sleeves, like her, but without a veil or stones on your face.

Everyone was watching the ramp of the large ship descend, and during that, you saw Jessica stop next to Leto and put her hand on his, which he held and squeezed. You looked away and stayed a few steps behind with your maids.

Paul noticed your uneasiness and held out his arm for you to hold and you held it with a minimal smile on your face. The Duke turned his face to look at his son and saw the scene, but he showed no emotion.

When they started to leave, you and Paul were behind Leto and Jessica, when they arrived halfway you saw Thufir waiting for everyone. Paul let go of you and ran away.

"Thufir Hawat!" he exclaimed happily and hugged the old man.

"Young master, I'm glad the trip was safe." he said, returning the hug and turning to the others. "My lord duke, my lady Jessica."

He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw you practically hidden, far behind where you should be. He took a few steps to the left so he could see you better.

"My young Duchess Atreides." he said with a tender smile that you returned.

Everyone walked towards the ornithopters, but you were guided to go with Leto, Paul and Jessica went in another with Thufir Hawat. As you entered and settled in, you saw that Gurney was also there, he was the master at arms of House Atreides.

Leto sat in the seat next to yours and Gurney sat in front. The ornithopter started to take off, soon you could see some people, the same ones who were shouting things to Paul. Turning your face to Gurney you ask:

"What were they shouting to Paul?"

"Lisan Al-Gaib. Is what the Fremen consider to be a messiah." your husband responded from beside you, before Gurney could say anything.

You just mumbled something in response and fell silent. That was none of your business, you didn't like to meddle in matters, but you knew that this was the work of the Bene Gesserit.

The rest of the flight was silent and the ornithopter landed at the new Atreides Palace. Leto got out first and you were surprised when he held out his hand to help you down.

Leto and Gurney started talking about Arrakis and you stayed close to them as they walked in, Gurney left to talk to someone and Leto turned to you.

"It's a beautiful dress."

You swallowed and nodded.

"Indeed."

A maid came and said that Thufir was calling you. You followed her and soon you were in a large room, Thufir waiting for you there, the maid leave.

"Milady, I must inform you that Lady Jessica has chosen a governess." you blinked at him in confusion. "The duchess must choose a governess, no?"

"Lady Jessica is used to this, I presume, she had better do it."

Chapter Text

The days on Arrakis seemed to pass more quickly than they had on Caladan. As you also settled into the new Atreides fortress, the room you were assigned was large and had a balcony that looked out over the rest of the city below.

You were assigned two maids, the one who assigned them was the housekeeper that Lady Jessica chose, you spoke to her quickly and she seemed friendly. She left as soon as she brought the two maids to be introduced to you. You turned to them with a subtle smile on your face and said your name.

"And what are your names, again?" you asked softly looking at the two women.

They were two women shorter than you, they had friendly expressions on their faces.

"I am Raja." said one of them, then gestured to the maid to her left. "And this is Dania, duchess."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." you said, crossing your hands in front of your body, and noticed their gaze moving down to your clothes. "There is something wrong?"

"If I may say so, Duchess, your clothes are not appropriate for the climate of Arrakis." Raja said. "Have you been wearing this kind of clothes since you got here?"

You had never stopped to think about it, actually, but now that she spoke you realized, all of your clothes were not suitable for Arrakis, the dresses were made of very thick and sophisticated fabric, they covered almost the entire body and were not ventilated.

"Yes, they are the only clothes I have, I didn't pay enough attention to getting ventilated clothing, I'm sorry." you said, smoothing the skirt of the dress you wore.

You saw the two women's eyes widening and you blinked in confusion.

"No, Duchess, don't apologize, we're just worried, it's very hot on Arrakis." Dania said. "We'll get you better dresses, don't worry."

They bowed and asked permission to leave, which you granted. Sighing, you decided to take a walk around the Palace, being alone was boring.

You wanted to talk to Thufir Hawat, but you didn't want to disobey Leto, so you preferred to just walk, stopping when you saw a room with a small fountain inside. You walked over and sat down near the fountain, enjoying the small cascades of water falling lightly.

"Hello."

You jumped a little in surprise and turned back, seeing Paul standing a few steps away from you, with a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." he approached and you stood up. "What were you doing?"

"Just... spending some free time." you looked at him better this time, the brown curls, the aquiline nose, he had a bit of his father and mother in equal measure.

"Want to go for a walk with me? I finished my training early, we have time before dinner." he offered his arm, which you accepted delicately.

You walked through the extensive corridors of the Palace and Paul asked you many questions, which you answered as best you could. You separated when it was almost time for dinner, Paul left you in front of your room and said goodbye.

Upon entering the room, you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, but soon smiled in surprise: on the bed there were some dresses made of light fabrics, which left your arms exposed, they were perfect for the heat. You walked over and smoothed the fabric of one of them.

You wore one of your new dresses, your maids came in and started combing your hair, just as you were about to sit at the dining table in your room, Raja said:

"Duchess, we have been informed that you need to dine with the Duke tonight."

You frowned but nodded. The maids opened the doors and you walked slowly to the dining room, when you entered you saw everyone sitting in the same arrangement as always: Leto sitting at the end, Jessica sitting on one side of the table, facing Paul, and the other chair at the other end of the empty table for you.

"Good evening, sorry for the delay." you sat down and smoothed the skirt of your dress under the table.

"What a beautiful dress you are wearing, it's adorable." Lady Jessica smiled. "Oh, I hope I didn't go overboard when I chose a housekeeper."

"Thank you, my lady, and your choice of housekeeper was wonderful."

Lady Jessica smiled and went back to eating. You looked back at your plate and picked up the cutlery, when you were chewing your eyes fell on Paul, who had a mischievous smile, you frowned at him.

"Father, will you give me permission to use one of the ornithopters tomorrow? I want to go see one of the harvesters." he turned his face to the duke, who looked up at him.

"As long as you have finished your classes and training, you can go, but accompanied by Gurney." the duke wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Perfect, the duchess will accompany me too." he turned his face to you, smiling.

You had your fork halfway to your mouth, but stopped, blinking at him. Jessica and Leto also stopped chewing to look from you to Paul.

Placing your fork back on your plate, you swallowed hard, you were about to ask what Paul was doing when Leto spoke again.

"What did you say?"

"The duchess will accompany me, father."

"I'm afraid that's not possible, the duchess has duties to fulfill."

"She is always alone, mother is the one who takes care of the duchess's duties in her place."

You felt your stomach turn into knots.

"Paul, don't be indiscreet." Lady Jessica spoke in a stern tone.

"You should be more careful with the things you say, boy." Leto said in an equally stern tone.

"Why are you making a storm out of a teapot? I just want to take her to see something interesting."

"Did you even ask her if she wants to go?" Jessica asked.

You've had dejavu. The same thing that had happened all your life was now happening again, right in front of you. People talking about you as if you weren't there, as if you were a doll with no opinion.

The three continued arguing without looking at you.

You took a deep breath, feeling sick, and stood up from your chair, making all three faces turn to you.

"I will take my leave early, with your permission." you bowed slightly to the duke and hurriedly left the room.

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You stayed in your room for a few hours, staring at a spot in the landscape below your balcony. After a few hours, you decided to leave to go back to the fountain you had seen earlier. Walking with cautious steps, you turned into the hallway and got close when you heard voices coming from there, you quickly recognized them as Jessica and Leto's.

You shouldn't hear other people's conversations, but you put your face close to the entrance of the room, seeing them standing in front of the fountain, Jessica had her hands on Leto's chest, and he was holding her face in his hands.

You moved away so they wouldn't see you and started to listen.

"He's young and impulsive, I'll talk to him." Jessica said.

"All this mess going on, I should have denied this union."

You frowned.

"Deny a political union? The emperor would not have liked it." Jessica replied.

A moment of silence followed before the Duke's voice was heard again.

"I should have married you, I regret not doing that."

Your stomach knotted so violently that you felt like you were going to vomit right there. Instead, you just walked quickly away as quietly as you could and entered your room, breathing heavily.

You closed the door and walked quickly to the bed, if you stayed standing for a second longer you could fall. Your chest felt heavy, you felt difficulty breathing and you only realized you were crying when you saw the tears falling on the fabric of your dress.

You ran your hands over your head, tugging violently at the pins that held your hairstyle. You were sad, confused, angry. But wasn't mad at Leto, you was mad at your father for putting you in this situation, for ignoring you your whole life, for not sending you any letters to see how you were since you got married.

You felt angry at having your life degraded like this because you was a woman. If you were born a man, you could easily live like Leto, with a concubine who was the mother of your child and a wife years younger than you.

You calmed down and finished taking off the pins, quickly taking off your dress and getting into your nightwear, you went back to bed and covered yourself up, hiding under the covers.

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You woke up to someone shaking your shoulders lightly, when you opened your eyes you saw Raja and Dania's worried expressions.

"Duchess! We were worried, you have a fever and wasn't waking up." she supported your back so you could sit down.

"I don't feel well, I'm sorry." you closed your eyes due to the brightness of the balcony.

"What happened, Duchess?" Raja placed her hand on your forehead to check your temperature again.

You didn't respond and closed your eyes, you had just woken up but you felt very tired, you lay down on the bed again and pulled the covers over you.

You managed to hear Dania saying something before falling asleep again.

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You woke up again when you felt a cold hand on your forehead, when you opened your eyes you saw Lady Jessica sitting in a chair next to the bed and stuck in your hand was a large needle with a liquid inside.

"How do you feel?" she caressed your forehead. You shifted uncomfortably around the needle in your hand and let out a groan. "Paul came to see you, he was disappointed that he couldn't take you to see the harvesters."

"What is that in my hand?" you asked weakly.

"A capsule with medicine is entering your veins slowly, it will take time to empty." she brushed a strand of hair out of your eye. "The doctor said your body couldn't handle the temperature changes very well, you came from your planet to Caladan, so you came from Caladan to Arrakis, in a very short space of time."

You just sighed and groaned then, as you felt a stab of pain in your head.

"I'll stay here until you get better, don't worry." she leaned over and placed a kiss on your forehead.

She tried to make you eat, you tried, but you only managed to eat two spoonfuls and said you didn't want any more.

You thought it wasn't possible, but you fell asleep again.

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You woke up with a start, letting out a soft sound of fright. It was at the same time that the door to his room opened and Paul entered cautiously.

He smiled shyly when he saw you awake.

"Hello." he sat in the chair next to the bed.

"Hello, Paul."

"I'm sorry you're sick... I came to see you, I couldn't talk to you before because you were sleeping. I came to apologize."

"To apologize? Why?" you frowned.

"I was disrespectful to you at the dinner table yesterday, so I apologize."

"No problem, everything is fine."

"I apologize, this will not happen again." he crossed his hands.

You shifted uncomfortably under the covers, the needle still stuck in your left hand. Paul stayed a few more minutes and then left.

When you were about to fall asleep again you realized something, Leto was the only one who didn't come to see you.

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There was a bandage on your left hand the next morning, the needle was gone. You felt better but not fully recovered. Paul came to you and you spent the whole afternoon together walking around the Palace.

When dinner time approached you got ready and were informed again that you would have dinner with the Duke, but when you got there, you were surprised when you saw that only he was at the table.

"My lord duke." you bowed and sat on the chair facing him.

"My lady duchess." he replied and you were surprised, he had never responded.

You noticed that Leto was drinking a lot, one glass of wine after another. You were halfway through your meal when Leto cleared his throat and began to speak.

"One of my men informed me that you spent the entire afternoon in Paul's company."

"Yes." you swallowed hard.

"You must not disturb Paul's classes, he is my heir and must be prepared."

"But I didn't disturbed, he was the one who came to me."

"Doesn't matter, I don't want you bothering people here." he took a sip of wine.

"I'm not bothering anyone!" you raised your voice. "I can't talk to Thufir, I can't talk to Paul, am I going to be banned from talking to Lady Jessica too?"

"Lower your voice, girl." he warned in a serious voice.

"I have no one to talk to and you want to ban me from talking to people."

"You must focus on your duties as a duchess." he said while cutting a piece of meat.

"What duties?! You have already assigned Lady Jessica to fulfill these duties." you banged your fists on the table.

"I already warned you to lower your voice, I won't accept disrespect."

You got up from the table and started to walk towards the door, but stopped when he started talking again.

"I will inform your father about your behavior."

"I don't mind."

"You also won't mind if I ask for an annulment of our marriage?"

You felt your stomach close again.

"What are you talking about?" you asked in a weak voice, turning to look at him.

"You will bring dishonor to your family, do you want that?" he spoke in a slurred voice.

You took a deep breath and straightened your posture.

"You are drunk, my lord. We can talk in the morning when you're sober."

You turned and left the room.

Chapter Text

Moving your toes uneasily, you continued your reading attentively, even forgetting to keep your back straight. Since the heated argument with Leto during the last dinner, you hadn't left your quarters, you preferred to stay quiet and away from the eyes of the duke's servants and men.

The only people you spoke to more often now were Raja and Dania, your servants, since they had to attend to you and were in your quarters almost always. You didn't give Jessica and Paul any opportunity to talk to you, even though you now actually had some duties as duchess.

Your duties as duchess were limited to speaking and taking charge of the governess and servants and answering some letters. The letters that did not contain very important matters, of course, you had to answer them and they were then taken to the duke to be analyzed and if they were satisfactory then they would be sent. Well, at least you kept busy.

Your plans to be mentat with Thufir Hawat were also put aside, you didn't want to get in the poor man's way and he didn't want to risk being discovered.

As the days went by you became more and more quiet, speaking only as necessary to your maids and nothing more. It felt good to keep your thoughts to yourself, like you did on your home planet. You hadn't spoken to Leto in a few days, but his words were still present in your mind, you still felt bad.

Sighing, you looked up and looked around the room, your rooms were sophisticated without a doubt. Everything was very asymmetrical, the walls, the bed built into a small platform that rose a few inches from the floor, the thick carpet on the floor. There were several elements that you liked about Arrakeen Palace: the neutral colors of the plain walls, the well-carved works of art on the walls, the way everything seemed to fit well in this environment. It gave a certain feeling of comfort, somehow.

You placed the book on the gray stone table and leaned back in the upholstered chair, before you could get up a knock was heard on the door.

"Come in."

You automatically broke into a wide smile when you saw that it was Thufir Hawat. Quickly standing up and approaching him in long strides, you wrapped the short man in a tight hug. He had the same friendly features as always.

"Thufir Hawat, good to see you again."

"I say the same, Duchess." He smiled, stretching his sappho-stained lips. "The Duke sent me here to summon you for today's council."

Your smile gradually faded and your face formed a confused expression.

"The counsil? But I've never participated before." you questioned.

"Apparently the Duke wants you to fully occupy your position as Duchess." he stated.

You were still unsure about leaving the safety of your quarters, but you knew you couldn't get away from it any longer.

"Well, to the council then.”

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The council room wasn't that big, but it had a long dark stone table, with a few chairs arranged around it. Like the rest of the Palace, the room was asymmetrical and minimalist, with few details, but it had a rectangular window that gave a view of the city outside on one of the walls.

Thufir guided you to a chair near the head and pulled it for you to sit down, you thanked him quietly and he walked around the table to sit facing you. You knew it was indiscreet to stare at people blatantly, so you turned your head slightly and quickly looked around the room. Sitting at the table were also Duncan Idaho, the master swordsman, Gurney Halleck, the warmaster, and a few other men you didn't know.

You turned your head when you heard the doors opening again, seeing Paul and Leto walk in together, exchanging soft smiles with each other. Everyone stood up formally and you did the same, waiting for the Duke's signal to sit down again.

A shiver came over you when you realized that Leto was going to sit at the end of the table, next to you. He walked over and signaled everyone to sit down again.

Your mental confusion increased with every minute of that meeting, Leto and his men talked about politics, the spice, the Fremen and relations with other great houses, but you had no opportunity to speak or give your opinion at any time. The time you wasted here could have been used to continue your duties or to read a book.

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"Remain seated, I want to talk to you." Leto said in a low voice at the end of the meeting, when everyone else was leaving.

You remained sitting upright, chin slightly raised and features neutral as you waited patiently for you two to be alone. Leto turned to you, still sitting in the chair, and sighed. It was the first time since the wedding ceremony that you were so close to him, he seemed more tired now.

"I want to apologize to you most sincerely." he began in a calm voice. "I let my problems get bigger and took them out on alcohol, and consequently, on you."

Remaining silent, you chose to just nod, which gave him the opportunity to continue talking.

"Jessica advised me to try to make our coexistence more pleasant, for you and me. She said we should spend more time together, but I hope you understand that I don't have much free time." he continued.

Just as quickly as you cheered up, you withered again. He was apologizing because Jessica had told him to, he was telling you to spend more time together because Jessica had suggested it. You twisted your fingers under the table.

"Yes, sir, I understand that."

Leto nodded and cleared his throat.

"I hope we have dinner together tonight then.”

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As much as Leto was willing to apologize to you and spend more time with you influenced by Lady Jessica, you were satisfied in a way, he now acted more leniently, even though he couldn't spend much time with you through occupations as duke.

You started leaving your quarters more and went back to seeing Paul and Lady Jessica, your relationship with both of them also improved, you sometimes welcomed Jessica into your rooms after dinner, she would comb your hair for you to sleep.

"I think you're getting along well with your husband now." she said cautiously as she ran the brush repeatedly through the length of your hair.

"I think so, he said he wants to make our relationship better for both of us." you replied as you kept your gaze on your hands resting in your lap.

She stopped brushing and you frowned, turning to her.

"Everything is fine?"

"Yes, yes, all right." she nodded and placed the brush on the dresser again. "I must go, good night, my dear."

-------------

Dinners with everyone present were also held again. Tonight everyone was around the table eating in silence, the atmosphere seemed strange so you preferred to remain silent.

You didn't exactly know the reason for the strange atmosphere, but Leto distanced himself again a few days ago, but not as much as before, so you also kept yourself busy with other things. Lady Jessica was acting strangely lately, she practically ran away from your presence, always ignoring you when you tried to call her to your quarters after dinner and other things.

Clearing your throat, you decided to break the silence.

"Paul, how's your training going?"

"It's going very well, but it's more difficult because of the heat." he smiled widely. "I've been to the desert a few times, to see the harvesters, I wanted you to go with me but mom says you're busy with your chores."

"I've been a little busy, yes, but I'd love to go with you sometime." you replied and the boy seemed to light up.

"That's great, I asked mom to go but the doctor said it's not recommended for her to expose herself to heat because of her pregnancy."

Your spine froze and you turned your head to the other two occupants of the table, seeing them as frozen as you were.

"Are you pregnant?" you ask in a low voice to Jessica.

Chapter Text

Leaning further over the dark stone railing of your bedroom balcony, you rubbed your face with your hands in a frustrated movement. When you looked up, you stared at the large rugged stones that formed the shield wall.

You didn't know why you were so angry, it shouldn't surprise you, Jessica's pregnancy, after all, that's her purpose inside the castle, to sleep with him. But it didn't matter, you were very upset, furious, so before she could answer your question you continued chewing and the rest of the meal passed in silence. When you were done, you quietly left the table.

This happened a few days ago and you once again trapped yourself in the comfort of your quarters, not wanting to interact with anyone. You knew you might be acting childish, but you were too angry to even think straight. To make your mood even worse, you remembered your father and let out a disgruntled groan, hiding your face in your hands again.

Your father would make your life hell, through letters, when he found out that the duke's concubine was pregnant and you weren't, even though you explained a thousand times before you got married that the possibility of having an heir with him was minimal, since he already had one as an adult. Your father didn't care. 'It is a woman's duty to give children to her lord husband' was what he said.

You didn't really have any opinion to give, Leto was in charge of the castle, and he could do whatever he wanted. You were nothing compared to him. A soft knock sounded on the thick door of your quarters and you let yourself in without looking back, a huge danger, Thufir would kill you if he saw that.

"Milady Duchess, you must prepare for dinner with the Duke." Raja's serious voice spoke from behind you and you looked over your shoulder.

"Did he demand my presence?"

"The duke says it's your obligation as a wife, my lady." she replied and you had to remember all the etiquette lessons you had to not frown and send Raja away.

"Right." you replied and left the porch, walking in measured steps to the bed. "Help me, yes?"

"What dress would you like, my lady?" she asked.

"Choose it yourself." you replied in a tired voice.

"But, duchess–"

She stopped talking at the tired and serious look you gave her, turned and walked to the closet. It took a few minutes until she returned with a burgundy dress, made of soft material and with sleeves glued to the arms, gathered at the bust and near the skirts.

---------------

Raja dressed you and fixed your hair, she also ran a soft cloth over your face to improve the exhausted look, you hoped it worked. Holding back your sighs of irritation and discontent, you walked to the dining room and the guards opened the large doors, you walked through them and entered the large room.

"My lord." you greeted Leto, who was sitting at the end of the table, before starting to walk to the other end, but he cleared his throat.

"Not today, I want you to sit here next to me." he said, in a way that you couldn't decipher what he felt.

Using more of your etiquette training, you suppressed the urge to distort your face into an expression of disgust and gracefully walked to the seat next to his, sat down, and dinner began to be served. You ate silently, you had already learned to keep your mouth closed during dinners, just the soft noise of the cutlery.

"You locked yo in his quarters again, from what I've been told." his voice cut through the silence.

Feeling your brow furrow in irritation, you couldn't help yourself:

"You are constantly informed about my every step, you never see it with your own eyes.”

The Duke looked up, but you kept your eyes on the wine glass that was next to your plate.

"I have to spend more time in the landing pad tower, I moved the staff meetings there." he said after clearing his throat. "I wish I could spend more time here."

It seems to me that you had plenty of time to put a baby in Lady Jessica, you thought venomously, but remained silent.

"I don't like that, our coexistence was better." he started again. "Tell me your thoughts, regarding my concubine's pregnancy."

"I have no opinion to express, sire." you replied, lowering your face.

"Don't call me sire, I'm your husband." his tone sounded slightly irritated. "I'm trying hard to treat you properly but you don't cooperate with me."

"My opinion is that the fact that she is pregnant is a huge disrespect to me, I know that our union is political but you must respect me at least in public." you spat, feeling the back of your neck heat up.

"A disrespect? I respect you, I have respected you since the day we got married." he replied, his brow furrowing slightly.

"It's not exactly an act of respect to impregnate your bedmate while I still have no heirs." you blurted out.

"I don't accept you talking about my lifemate like that." he scolded and you closed your hands into fists under the table. "And I made it very clear that I wouldn't have any children with you the first time we had dinner together."

"Is that why you started the conversation? To mistreat me like you always do?”

"I didn't mistreat you, I'm making your place in this union and in this castle very clear. Jessica has been my partner for sixteen years and is the mother of my son. You are nothing more than title and obligation." he finished speaking and took a deep breath, he seemed tired from the effort of saying everything in one breath.

His words carried so much truth that you raised your face and stared at the duke's troubled expression for a few minutes, before wiping your mouth with your napkin and asking for permission to leave.

---------

Your stomach dropped as you walked into the hallway of your quarters and saw Lady Jessica standing near the door, her hands braided in front of her, her body draped in a simple black dress, her hair tied up in a bun, not a single strand of hair outside the top. place. Leto was right, you weren't even close to her.

"Lady Jessica, what are you doing here?" you asked when you got close to her. She swallowed hard and bowed to you.

"I was hoping to speak to you for a moment, Duchess." she replied softly.

"It's too late, we can talk tomorrow." you replied and surprisingly you weren't being venomous, it was really too late and you were exhausted.

"I do not wish to disturb you, my lady, I just want to clarify–"

"Tomorrow, Lady Jessica." you replied, feeling your head throbbing. "You should go and keep my husband company, he should already be in his quarters."

Passing by the catatonic figure, you entered your room and closed the door, leaning against it for a moment, closing your eyes and sighing heavily.

Leto's words wouldn't leave your mind anytime soon.

Chapter Text

You heard Jessica's soft knock on the door before you even finished fixing your hair, but you let her wait until you were completely ready, only then told her to come in.The heavy door opened and her thin figure stepped through the door before closing it again, this time she wore a light blue dress that was not form-fitting, her copper colored hair once again tied into a tight bun at the top of the head. You were already sitting at the table you used to read and work, you glanced at her and saw her bow.

"Good morning, Jessica." you greeted her and saw a slight change in her expressions at your lack of formalities in not using her title.

"Good morning, Duchess." she said in the same soft tone as always. "I must apologize for disturbing you so early and thank you for your generosity in receiving me."

"Stop, I hate it, you know." you frowned in annoyance.

You hated all this formality and this way of deifying the well-born. Of course, formality and respect were necessary, but it bothered you that it was Jessica who was directing this to you, you considered her your friend.

"What do you want to talk about?" you asked, running your palm over the details of a book cover.

"Milady is already aware of my pregnancy, my eldest son commented in a moment of indiscretion." she clasped her hands in front of her. "I would inform the lady about it, but in due time."

"And when would that be due?" you looked up at her. "At the time of birth?"

"I understand your annoyance, my lady–"

"I understand your position here, I really do, and I respect you for all the time you spent in the service of this family." you sighed. "But what I think is the worst thing is that you pretend to be a conciliator and a friend, trying to improve my relationship and living with my husband, but behind his back you continues to sleep with him."

"Milady Duchess must understand that this is my duty here, I am a concubine." she said. "And I feel honored that my lady considers me her friend."

You mentally bit your tongue, you were getting stressed very easily lately.

"Thank you for your visit, Jessica, I hope the child is healthy. Please, withdraw."

---------------

Reading in the greenhouse of Arrakeen Castle was your new favorite pastime. You felt bad being in the middle of all those plants and all that water and outside there were people dying of thirst, but the place was a great escape. It was in a place further away from the castle and you arranged for Thufir to teach you how to open the palm lock.

You looked up when you heard the doorknob clicking, only to see Paul walking through the oval door with a shy smile on his face.

"I hope I'm not in the way." he said as he took uncertain steps to sit next to you on the stone bench near the central fountain.

"Never."

Paul sighed and looked around for a moment, quickly admiring the stillness of the place.

"You look tormented." you observed as you turned to face him.

"I'm a little restless." he admitted.

"Why?"

"I didn't want to be rude, much less cause intrigue with my indiscretions."

"You weren't rude and you didn't cause intrigue, Paul. I would know at some point."

He turned his face to look at you and you pressed your lips into a thin line, trying to curl the corners up.

"How did you know I was here?" you asked softly.

"Thufir told me."

You just nodded and ran your fingertips along the spine of the book you were holding.

"Are you mad at my mom?" Paul asked uncertainly, making you swallow hard.

I'm mad at myself, you thought, for being so naive.

"No, I'm not."

Paul nodded and the two of you turned forward, facing the path that led to the door, in silence.

"Didn't you have to be in class?" you asked, still looking straight ahead.

"I'm done. Don't you have duties to do too?" he asked boldly and made you let out a giggle.

"I'm done."

You sighed and closed your eyes, you felt so tired lately. Much more than he felt on his home planet. Then an idea suddenly occurred to you and you opened your eyes, turning to Paul.

"What if we go see the spice harvest?"

Paul smiled mischievously.

--------------

You were excited and euphoric when the shai-hulud appeared in the sand, it was a huge and wonderful creature.

"It's wonderful." you said looking at the creature below you.

One of the duke's men accompanied you and Paul into the desert. You wore the stillsuit that Paul gave you and adjusted it to your body so that it was comfortable. The carriage responsible for taking the crawler away was already flying out of the desert.

"The first time we came the carriage didn't respond, my father made all the men leave the crawler and took them back himself in one of the ornithopters." Paul said beside you, his eyes also glued to the monster below you. "The worm swallowed the harvester in one mouthful."

"What a heroic act." you muttered.

As soon as the creature returned to the depths of the sand, Paul directed the pilot to return to the landing control tower, the sun was already setting and it was very likely that the duke was restless. One of the Duke's men walked up to the two of you the moment you got off the ornithopter, informing you that the Duke wished to see you both immediately. With heavy feet, you followed Paul through the corridors and stairs until you reached one of the top floors, where the meeting room was located.

Paul opened the door and let you in first, like the polite gentleman he was. You walked through the door and saw your husband sitting at the end of the long table.

"My lord." you greeted him in a low voice.

"Father." Paul did the same behind you.

"It's already getting dark, I was very clear when I said I wanted you back before dark." Leto said looking directly at Paul.

"I'm sorry sir, we had a worm sighting and I wanted the duchess to see it." Paul replied in a serious tone.

Leto directed his gaze to you and you saw the serious look fall for a moment before he cleared his throat.

"May this not happen again." he replied to Paul.

"Yes, sir."

"Find a free room to rest, you won't go back to the castle today, it's dangerous." he leaned back in his chair. "The same goes for you." he said looking at you.

"My lord." you nodded and left the room accompanied by your stepson.

------------

You said goodbye to Paul as he found a room to sleep in and pointed in the direction of one you could stay in. Tired of waiting for sleep to come, you walked out the metal door and looked around, listening to the noise of the duke's men talking on the floors below.

Turning your face to the right you saw a small staircase and walked there, opening another metal door, seeing that it was a terrace, the top floor of the tower. You stepped through the door and walked across the noisy metal floor to the guardrail, leaning against it and taking a deep breath. The landing pad below was silent, the last dunemen had arrived less than an hour ago, noisy and rowdy.

You moved your face up, looking at the expanse of sand ahead, silent and frightening. Full of secrets and wealth. The night wind tickled his face, a pleasant sensation after all the heat during the day. The metal door made a noise and you turned your head back abruptly, if you were attacked you would have no way to defend yourself, you were alone in a place full of strangers.

But it was only the Duke that had passed through the door.

"You shouldn't be here alone." he said in a deep voice, not as serious as usual.

"I didn't feel sleepy." you replied, turning back to face the desert.

"Did you enjoy your visit to the desert today?" he walked over and leaned back next to you, on the guardrail.

"Yes."

You heard him breathe loudly and rub his face with one hand, a frustrated movement.

"You don't know how deeply I regret the way I behaved last time." he said, his voice no more than a whisper, his gaze staring at you hard.

You just nodded and remained silent, trying to keep your expressions neutral.

"I'm really sorry." he continued speaking.

"My lord says that but I know you will do it again at some point." you said in a weak voice, your gaze opaque on the sand.

You sighed loudly and finally turned your face to look at him.

"Everyone talks about your honor, about what a good and fair man you are, but I can't see any of that." you said softly. "You are nothing like that to me, husband."

"I let my frustrations get the best of me." he replied.

"I'm not to blame for this, I'm sorry, but I'm not." you said. "I didn't ask for any of this."

"I know."

"It doesn't seem like you know, you continue to mistreat me." you replied, feeling your stomach turn into knots. "I know you don't love me, but can't you even treat me as your partner, at least in front of others?"

You sighed and stood up straight, moving away from the railing.

"I'm going back to the room, excuse me."

Chapter Text

Jessica's belly seemed to bulge out more and more everyday. Despite all the differences, you were happy to notice that the child was growing healthy inside her. She looked more serene and stunning too, Leto was a more constant presence at Arrakeen Palace now. You couldn't help but feel an ugly, rotten feeling growing inside you every time you saw them talking quietly in some quiet corner.

The truth is that you didn't want a child, even though you were uncomfortable and pressured to have one. Imagining something alive inside you always made you shiver slightly. The idea of being responsible for another life scared you, you didn't want to have a child to just disappoint him or hand him over as a pawn in political games. You always ran into your husband in the hallways now that he was more present at the Palace due to Jessica's pregnancy.

You had dinner with Leto every night, it was a formality that as his wife you had to fulfill. Most dinners were silent and occupied only by the sounds of the cutlery hitting the china, your husband tried to fill the silence every now and then, but the conversation never progressed, it always stopped after one or two words from you.

It's not that you were bitter, no. You just didn't feel like doing anything, you really missed your mother and your planet, the time when things were simpler. When your father's ambition had not consumed him. Despite having your maids, Hawat and Paul, you still felt alone, often finding yourself awake even when the light began to brighten outside.

Your head squeaked with silence, a million black threads tangled inside your brain, chaotic and dark, not letting you think clearly. You stayed on the balcony of your room, hoping that the brightness and warmth of the sun would clear your mind. On those days you preferred to be alone, you weren't good company for anyone. You locked himself in your room and sometimes forgot to eat, spending hours telling the maids to leave.

Staying on the balcony was good to cover the squeaking in your head, the city below was noisy and chaotic. You sometimes read and tried to knit something, but you always ended up with dull eyes staring at some point somewhere far from what you were doing. It was tiring. You thought about talking to Hawat and telling him what you had, maybe he would have some answers.

------------------------

"Stress or hearing loss, my lady." Hawat replied with a frown.

"Hearing loss? In the last physical evaluation Dr. Yueh told me that I am completely healthy." you replied, slightly tilting your head to the side.

You were sitting on the dark wooden and leather upholstered chair facing Hawat's desk in his office. The sun passed weakly through the closed blinds, Hawat sat facing you, arms crossed on the dark table top.

"Those were the possibilities I found following the symptoms my lady reported." he replied. "You also seem perfectly healthy to me, maybe it's stress, Duchess."

"Nonsense, I'm not stressed. I have no reason to be stressed." you stated, shrugging, but pressed your lips into a thin line and looked at him. "Do you think I have any reason to be stressed?"

Hawat looked at you in that tender way, as if he had known you his whole life, and extended his hand across the table. You lifted one of yours and held his chubby hand.

"Maybe you shouldn't spend time alone, martyring yourself, that's not good, my lady." he said this with pity.

"I like being alone, it's good so they don't see me the way I am."

"This is your home, you have to treat it as such, talk more to the servants, see how things are going." he replied.

"This is not my home. It isn't and it never will be." your voice sounded much colder than you expected and you sighed.

Hawat sighed and used his free hand to pat yours.

"You know where to find me if you need any help, my lady.”

---------------

You found yourself thinking about what Hawat said as you left his office and walked down the beige colored hallways to your room. He was right, maybe you shouldn't isolate yourself so much, what you were feeling could consume you from the inside out and only the Creator knows what would happen next.

You turned into another hallway and raised your eyebrows in surprise to see Lady Jessica in it, talking to one of her maids. You approached timidly and they almost didn't notice your presence.

"Hello." you greeted them and saw their heads quickly turn towards you.

"Duchess." Jessica lowered her head in a respectful greeting. "Leave us, please." she turned to speak to the maid, who nodded and left.

When she turned her body completely around, you noticed that she was holding a metallic message tube in her slender fingers.

"It's very good to see you, you were locked up in your quarters for the last few days." she said softly. "Raja was going to hand over the message tube but I asked her to let me deliver it, I wanted to see you."

She holds out the tube and you take it, seeing the coat of arms of your birthplace stamped on the metal. You look for a few more seconds and look up, meeting hers, who was staring at you in silence.

"I'll open it later, thank you." you hold the tube tightly in your hands, trying to hide your frustration.

"Do you want to walk a little? It'll do us both good to get some air." she asked softly, running a hand over her stomach. "Well, the three of us."

"I have some things to do–"

"It won't take all day, I don't want to walk alone, please." she insisted and you sighed, nodding your head in agreement.

The two of you turned and started walking side by side, nodding your head at the servants that passed by. Jessica turned into a hallway that was close to the bedroom that Paul liked, at the end of the hallway there was a staircase that led to the oval door, the Arrakeen Palace greenhouse was behind the funny-shaped door. Jessica used her palm to open the lock and made room for you to enter.

The two of you started looking at the plants and flowers carefully, pointing and commenting on each one of them. Jessica sometimes ran her hands over her protruding belly. At one point you caught yourself staring at her belly out of the corner of your eye, your brow furrowed in concentration and your lips tightly closed. She followed your gaze and stopped talking about one of the yellow flowers near the ground, turning fully towards you.

"It's growing fast, isn't it?" she comments, running both hands over her belly.

"I think so. Is it a boy or a girl?" you asked absently, rolling the metal tube in your hands.

"Paul calls it 'she', he talks to her every now and then." she sighed.

"Have you already chosen a name?"

"If Paul is really right, it will be Alia." she reached up with one hand and brushed one of the strands of hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear. "Do you want to have kids?"

"I don't know if I have much of a choice about having kids."

"Don't you think you'd be a good mother?" she asks.

"People have children to satisfy the desire to have something to care for and guide, I don't know if I have that desire." you respond, looking back at the yellow flower. "It terrifies me, actually."

-------------

You sighed for the thousandth time that day as you sat down on the upholstered chair in your room to read the metallic tube. Taking him out of the capsule, your brow furrowed and you shook your head in irritation with each sentence read. Your father. You didn't know how, but he already knew about Jessica's pregnancy and used that to take out his frustrations on you. How could he do this so well from a distance?

You didn't know why he wanted you to get pregnant so much, your child wouldn't inherit anything anyway, the duchy was already Paul's. Maybe he treated it like winning a prize, wanted some assurance that your sacrifice had worked. Even though you were angry with your father and disapproved of his actions, his words bothered you a lot, making you play them in your head.

When the time arrived, you got ready and walked to the dining room. What dejavu, you had done this so many times since arriving on Arrakis, but this time things seemed to be okay. You saw that the place arranged for you to have dinner was next to where the Duke was sitting.

"My lord duke." you greeted respectfully, seeing him get up to pull out the chair for you to sit on.

"My lady Duchess." he carefully pushed the chair closer to the table as you sat down. "I took the liberty of placing your seat next to mine."

"It looks perfect, thank you." You smiled softly and waited for him to sit down to start eating, following his pace.

Chewing slowly, your mind kept returning to your father's message and the tangled strands of your brain. Without realizing it, you shivered slightly, shrugging your shoulders involuntarily. 'Do your duty to your husband.'

Leto's voice was present, muffled and far away. You shook your head to return to your seat, listening to his last words.

"...Dunes again?” he had his face turned towards you, a little smile in his lips.

"Sorry, what did you say?" you blinked and frowned.

"I asked when you're going to see the dunes again." he repeated.

"Oh, I-I don’t know, I don’t want to get in the way by using the ornithopters.”

"You won't get in the way, I assure you. Maybe we can go together tomorrow, what do you think?" he asked, bringing the fork to his lips then.

"Of course, that would be great." You gave a quick smile and hid your face, taking a long sip of wine.

Leto frowned at your actions, you weren't like that. You were shy in a way, yes, but not like that. He leaned over and placed one of his calloused hands on top of yours, watching you quickly turn your face to him.

"Is there any problem? Do you want to tell me something?" he asked softly and you could see genuine concern on his face.

"Ah, I'm fine, why?" you trailed off.

"You can talk to me, talk when I'm bothering you. I'm a husband, I'll try to help you."

"I'm fine, really." you tried to smile, but it came out more like an uncomfortable grimace.

"Are you sure? Does it have anything to do with the message that arrived on Arrakis from your father today?" he said and you couldn't help but widen your eyes slightly. "Did he say something unpleasant? Insulted you? You are my wife now, your father has no claim on you. Besides my wife, you have a place of honor in the empire as a Duchess, remind your father of his place. What did he say?"

He looked slightly irritated now, his expressions tightening with each sentence he said.Leto knew his father-in-law well, he had disliked the man since the day your hand was proposed to him. Your father was a rude man and your husband didn't like the way he talked about you like you were a bargaining chip. He remembered the time he threatened to make complaints about you to your father and he felt a bitter taste in his mouth. You swallowed hard and finally returned the caress he was giving your hand, absently running your thumb over his calloused hand.

"He was very cruel and reminded me again that it was my duty to get pregnant." you rested your chin on your free hand. "The news of Lady Jessica's pregnancy reached him, I don't know how."

"Thufir will take care of finding out who is sending information out, don't worry." he assured.

"Thank you." you said and turned your face to the varnished bull horns that were hanging near the dining table.

"Look at me." you heard your husband ask and turned your face, looking into his dark eyes. "Do you want a baby?"

"What?"

"If you really want a child, I will give you one." he said with conviction. "Do you want one?"

"Why are you asking that now, man?" you grimaced. “You said yourself you would never lay with me.”

"I don't want you to suffer attacks and demands from your father."

"If I had a child it would be out of duty." you replied. "I don't know if I could love the child."

This seemed to shrink Leto and he sat back in his chair.

"Sorry." you said embarrassedly.

"Don't apologize, I like your honesty." he said. "If you ever want to carry your baby, I'll be in my room."

You let out a loud laugh and covered your mouth with your hand, throwing your head back. This seemed to amuse Leto and you heard a short, deep laugh come out of him.

"I didn't know you were so promiscuous."

"Hey, I'm just trying to please my wife." he said playfully.

"Oh, if you say so." you raised your eyebrows in amusement.