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Alia Atreides knew rain by memory; she had, in fact, more than one lifetime's worth of memories to draw upon at a moment's notice. Soft rain, heavy rain, thunderstorms, sun showers. But her own skin had never experienced the way water from the sky felt. Sometimes, she stared into the dunes of Arrakis and tried imagining their waves in varying shades of blue, to see the shifting sands as waves breaking across rocks, as they did on her family's home world, Caladan. As they did in her family's memories, but not her own.
The moons of Arrakis were setting. Alia laid down in her bed, her mind on water in all its strange forms, and closed her eyes.
Paul opened his eyes when he felt the presence of another enter his room. He sat up, and looked down at the small girl lying down next to him on the bed. As if noticing his eyes on her, her own opened, and Paul was shocked at the vivid blue on blue color as they met his own. She turned her head and reached out to touch his face. "So young," she murmured.
"I'm fifteen," Paul said, defensively. "You're not from around here."
The girl sat up and looked around his room at first in confusion, then recognition. "This is Caladan," she said, her voice full of wonder.
"Yes," Paul said, curious how she knew that just by looking. "Now tell me why I shouldn't call for my guards."
The answer escaped before Alia could think better of it. She found the familiar cadence, the hidden note beneath ordinary speech, and used the Voice on her brother.
"You won't."
Paul froze as the command washed over him. "You're Bene Gesserit," he said, more statement than fact.
The girl snorted with derision. "I'm worse."
"Who told you that?"
Outside, the sound of distant thunder interrupted the girl's response. She ran to the window, looking delighted. "How wonderful, Paul! A storm, a true storm." She ran back to him, taking his hand in her own. "Take me to the cliffs where Father used to take Mother when they were courting. I want to feel the rain for the first time there."
Paul hesitated, not letting the girl drag him to his door. "How do you know that?"
"Please Paul," she begged. "I don't know how long this will last."
Paul looked into her eyes, past the blue on blue, and took in her expression. The way her hair fell, the shape of her nose, and the strong jaw; he knew without words the impossibility of who she was. He nodded once, squeezing her hand. "Alright. We'll have to sneak out, and be very quiet, ok? I'm supposed to have lessons with Gurney soon and he won't like that I'm missing."
Alia gasped in delight, and covered her mouth with her hand. As they took their time through the hallways, Paul was shocked to discover how much quieter she was compared to himself. Whoever trained her had done well. Perhaps he had done so himself.
When they reached the hill leading to the cliffs, Alia dropped his hand and started to run. "You're so clumsy," she laughed, teasing him. Paul ran after her, laughing as well. The rain was just starting to fall, and Paul wiped it away from his face in irritation, but noticed Alia letting it linger on her skin, blinking rapidly as it fell on her face. When they reached top of the hill, she sunk to her knees and let out a small, painful groan.
"What's wrong?" Paul asked, kneeling beside her.
"So much water," she whispered with reverence. Paul followed her line of sight to the ocean beneath them, crashing up against the rocks in foamy, white waves.
Paul sat there with the girl for a few moments as she took in the atmosphere of Caladan, her eyes stubbornly remaining open against the onslaught of the increasingly heavy rain. He nudged her shoulder with her own. "You can close your eyes." It's safe, I'll protect you. is what he meant.
The girl shook her head. "If I close my eyes I'll go back. I don't want to go, but..."
"But you don't belong here," Paul finished for her.
She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. "Don't take this for granted, brother," she whispered into his ear. She sat back down on her knees, and then moved to lie down in the grass. Paul knelt beside her, rain soaking them both, and brushed the wet hair from her face.
"Tell me your name, sister" he said.
"You already know," she answered with a smile, then sighed. "I hope you remember this. It's the best day of my life so far."
"Tell me that later," Paul said. "If I ever forget."
She nodded. "I'm going to close my eyes now, brother."
Paul reached down and took her hand. "With me, on three. One... two... three..." He shut his eyes. Lightning cracked overhead. The warmth of her hand slipped away.
Paul reached the sietch where his mother gave birth later than he wanted. He ran down the corridor to his mother's quarters, but a woman stopped him from going in.
"Your mother is resting, but she is well."
"And Alia?"
He can hear his mother's small gasp of surprise at his knowledge of the name from behind the thin curtain entryway, and then heard her low voice issuing a command to someone in the room. A moment later, another woman walked out with a small bundle in her arms. He took his baby sister in his arms, and smiled down at her serenely calm face.
"We meet again, sister. I remember."
