Dune - Preludes - 02 House Harkonnen by Frank Herbert

Author:Frank Herbert [Herbert, Frank]
Format: epub
Publisher: Frank Herbert
Published: 2010-03-24T17:57:16.160000+00:00

In fleeting moments she had noticed him looking at her with guilt in his eyes -- particularly after fights with Kailea.�Whenever Jessica tried to take advantage of those moments, though, he quickly grew cold and pulled away.

Living in the Lady Helena's former quarters did not help, either.�Leto was reluctant to go there.�Following the death of Paulus Atreides, the enmity between Leto and his mother had been extreme, and Helena had gone to "rest and meditate" in a remote religious retreat.�To Jessica it smacked of banishment, but she had found no clear reasons in the Atreides records.�Being placed in these rooms could act as an emotional barrier between them.

Leto Atreides was certainly dashing and handsome, and Jessica would have no trouble accepting his company.�In fact, she wanted to be with him.�She chided herself whenever such feelings came over her -- as they did too frequently.�She could not allow emotions to sway her; the Bene Gesserit had no use for love.

I have a job to do, she reminded herself.�Jessica would bide her time and wait for just the right moment.

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Infinity attracts us like a floodlight in the night, blinding us to the excesses it can inflict upon the finite.

-Meditations from Bifrost Eyrie, Buddislamic Text

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FOUR MONTHS AFTER the avalanche disaster, Abulurd Harkonnen and his wife embarked on a well-publicized visit to the recovering mountain city.�The Bifrost Eyrie tragedy had struck to the heart of Lankiveil and drawn the populace together.

Steadfast companions, he and Emmi had shown their combined strength.�For years now Abulurd had preferred to be a behind-the-scenes ruler, not even claiming the specific title that was his due.�He wanted the people of Lankiveil to govern themselves, to help each other according to their hearts.�He saw the various villagers, hunters, and fishermen as a great extended family, all with common interests.

Then, speaking with quiet confidence, Emmi convinced her husband that a public pilgrimage as acting planetary governor would draw attention to the plight of the mountain stronghold.�The burgomaster, Onir Rautha-Rabban, would welcome them.

Abulurd and Emmi rode in a formal transport flanked by servants and retainers, many of whom had never been far from the whaling villages.�The three ornithopters passed slowly inland over glaciers and snow-covered mountains, toward the line of crags in which the monastery city nestled.

With the sun sparkling off snow and ice crystals from protruding mountaintops, the world appeared pristine and peaceful.�Ever an optimist, Abulurd hoped the Bifrost inhabitants could now look forward to an even stronger future.�He had written a speech that imparted basically the same message; though he had little experience addressing large crowds, Abulurd looked forward to delivering this communication.�He'd already practiced twice in front of Emmi.

On a plateau in front of the sheer cliffs of Bifrost Eyrie, the governor's procession landed, and Abulurd and his entourage disembarked.�Emmi walked at her husband's side, looking regal in a heavy blue cape.�He took her arm.

The construction teams had made amazing progress.�They had sliced away the intruding fan of snow and excavated the buried buildings.�Because most of the wonderful architecture had been destroyed or defaced, the broken buildings were now covered with a webwork of scaffolding.

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