I went on about Paul for a little while longer. It was a lot more cathartic than I thought it would be, and to my surprise Feyd seemed to be genuinely listening to me as I went on about my best friend. It felt a bit odd discussing Paul with him, but it was a good feeling to have someone listen.

Time went by and life on Giedi Prime was more bearable than I had initially predicted. It was and odd adjustment for me because I wasn't used to having so much free time. I realized that I didn't know what I liked or if I had any undiscovered passions, so Feyd suggested I take up reading.

So I did. He was kind enough to offer me his entire collection of books to choose from, except I didn't know where to start. To solve this, whenever I finished a book Feyd would show me a new one. It was interesting to watch him happily browse through his maze of novels just to pick the ones he thought I'd enjoy best. If anything, I felt very flattered to have someone handpick stories for me. Trusting someone else with a fictional world you hold close to your heart is an act of confidence and generosity that I was starting to appreciate, so I felt a lot of gratitude for his kindness.

It was a cute little routine we had. I'd be curled up on one of the chairs in his waiting chambers and he'd join me by the time the sun had set. Feyd would sit across from me and we'd read together in silence, stopping every once in awhile to ask about each other's day. He might pull a book or two off the shelves so I'd have something to read for the next day. If this was what life would be like with him, then I had nothing to be afraid of, I thought.

I amazed myself at how much you could get to know a person in such a short span of time. My time with Feyd was limited, but our regular conversations over dinner and in the evenings taught me many things I wouldn't expect from him. I had gotten close enough to him that I think I would call him a friend.

Did you know Feyd-Rautha hated sand? He told me it was coarse, and rough, and irritating. And it got everywhere. He also preferred the rain over the sun which made sense, I supposed, growing up on Giedi Prime. He shared his childhood stories with me and I shared mine. Sometimes we'd find ourselves talking for hours on end in his waiting chamber and I'd find myself asking him more questions just to keep him in his seat a little while longer. His company had grown on me.

But I still thought about Paul, and I know Paul thought about me. Sometimes I'd be laying in my bed at night and I'd see the small rock light up on my wrist. I'd think about him in the day, when I was with Yuma, at dinner time... I had built a routine without him, but I wasn't sure how to fill the empty feeling I knew only he could fill.

The good news was that my time spent in the palace felt nothing close to the feelings of entrapment I had imagined. Feyd had all control over me and my place in this society, but it wasn't a position he abused. It wasn't even a position he ever exercised. He gave me the freedom to do and act as I pleased.

His confidence grew each day that the Baron had moved away from the idea of conflict or war with House Atreides. This was always a relief to hear, knowing my actions hadn't been in vain, even if it meant leaving my best friend.

It was early in the morning and I was laying in my bed reading one of the books that Feyd had shared with me when I heard a knock on the door. I call for them to enter, expecting Yuma.

To my surprise it was Feyd who entered my room. I immediately straightened myself and found myself feeling self-conscious over my bare face and messy hair. 

"Good morning." I greeted him and brought my hands to my hair as I attempted to tame it by running my fingers through.

"Good morning." He responded me and approached my bed. He nodded towards the end of my mattress. "Do you mind if I sit?"

I shook my head no. He sat down and my bed dipped in his spot carefully as if he were afraid of breaking it or hurting me.

I watched him as he looked around my room with curious eyes. "I've never seen your room before." He commented. "I like how you've made it so... you."

I realized he was right, he had never been in my room before. I looked around with him, wondering what was so special about it.

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

He pursed his lips as he tried to hold back a smile. "Well, you have many colourful paintings and artifacts, which seems like something you'd like. I also noticed the room is a bit unkept which seems fitting to your character."

I grabbed one of my pillows and playfully hit him over the head. "Did you come here just so you could call me messy?"

"No," He laughed. "I was here to propose we do something today."

I tilted my head, surprised. Feyd and I spent plenty of time together but never outside of meals and alone time. He rarely had the time to do anything other than that. "What did you have in mind?" 

He sighed and hesitated, almost as if he were embarrassed to say it. "I want to show you where I would like to get married."

I felt a whirlwind of emotions at once. For starters, we hadn't addressed anything marriage related since I initially moved in here, I almost forgot that was a thing we were doing. Now to hear him admit there was a spot he where he wanted us to get married? That made my heart feel funny.

I began to giggle, and Feyd sent me a look. "What?"

"Sorry," I laughed. "I just think that's cute. That you care about how we get fake married, I mean."

He shrugged. "I didn't at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was important to me. And it's not fake, Ophelia." His eyes softened as he looked at me. "at least it doesn't feel fake when I'm with you."

I couldn't help but blush. I wasn't sure if he meant to admit what he said, but his expression made me think he may have let on more than he wanted to. His eyes quickly moved from mine and I stared at him, unsure of how to answer.

He broke the silence by standing up from my bed and looking away from me. "We'll meet at noon?"

"Yeah, sure." I nodded and watched him leave my room, my eyes resting on the door after he was gone.

***

This was my first outing since... well, this was my first outing. Naturally, Yuma insisted I dress up well for the occasion. I couldn't lie either, I was excited to finally go somewhere other than the dining room or waiting chamber. 

I joined him on one of his aircrafts on the tarmac. It was just him and I in the small thopter and I wasn't sure where he was going to take us, so Yuma decided on a loose red sundress with a small white flower pattern, paired with a small leather jacket to protect me from the wind or cold.

"Where are we flying?" I decided to ask him as we moved at light speed.

"A planet called Tleilax." He answered.

I searched my mind for such a planet but couldn't think of anything. I assumed it had to be many light years away, and small enough that I never could have studied it. 

My thoughts were answered by the planet that came into our view. I could see the colours of blue and green, leading me to believe it was an environment likely similar to that of Caladan.

Feyd landed us on in a field near a small beach. My eyes widened at the sight in excitment. Feyd must have noticed, because I felt him slip his hand into mine. I let him.

He guided the two of us closer to the beach in silence. My eyes couldn't help but move around wildly, admiring every part of the environment. It felt like it had been ages since I had seen the sun, trees, grass, sand... It reminded of my childhood.

"This is where you want to get married?" I asked.

We had reached the edge of the sand, not stepping on it just yet. He nodded.

"My father used to bring me here." He told me as he stared down at the beach.

I was quiet, unsure how to answer. "I don't blame him. It's beautiful."

Feyd nodded in agreement. "It is. It was always calm and peaceful. Untouched by civilization. It's also very secluded, so he knew he would always be safe in taking me here."

"I love it." I told him quietly. 

He was quiet for a moment. "Would you mind if we got married here?"

"Of course not." I assured him and rubbed his arm in comfort. "I'd love to get married here."

Silence fell between us again.

"I think the Bene Gesserit are concerned about you." He spoke.

"What?" I asked in surprise. His comment caught me off guard, but I could see the fear and seriousness in his eyes. Clearly this worried him. 

He eyed me for a moment. "They believe you posses natural abilities of the Bene Gesserit."

I froze, unsure of how to answer that. Did I have any skills that could be attributed to the Bene Gesserit? Lady Jessica told me I needed to control my impulses... but I thought I was doing that?

"What makes you think that?" I asked him curiously.

"I overheard the Reverned Mother speaking with the Baron." Feyd admitted with a sigh and he turned to look at me. "She said if he or anyone suspected anything of you, or if you seemed to pose as a threat...." He shook his head. "If you're in trouble, Ophelia, you can tell me. I can help."

He can help? It wasn't that I didn't believe him, if anything I had full faith that Feyd would literally die trying to give me any and all of the help I needed. But there was no way he understood The Way or the functions of the Bene Gesserit. He couldn't possibly understand. But I did. I grew up around it. I grew up learning it.

I didn't respond to him. Not wanting to talk about it, I walked into the water and pulled my dress overhead and tossed it to him. Feyd looked back at me, his eyes obviously traveling across my body before returning my gaze.

"Come on!" I called to him.

He gave a hesitant look as he debated joining me. I used my hands to splash the water at him.

"Alright, alright, alright." He set my dress down and I watched as he began to undress himself. He slipped his shoes off and began unbuckling his belt to slip off his pants. He pulled his shirt over his head and I finally got the chance to see his chest in the day light. I had to admit, he was built nicely.

"What are you staring at?" He teased me.

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Just my future husband."

He dove after me and I jumped out of the way. We continued like that for the next few hours, playing with each other in the water, knowing we were safe here. It was a beautiful feeling to let loose and just exist. I imagined what it would be like to have a wedding here. I decided that it would be great no matter where it was, as long as I was there with Feyd.

***

BOOK COVER WINNERRRRRRR!!!! congrats to @AlphaWolfJana ! your cover was the popular vote! big thank you to every single one of you! thank you to the lovelies who submitted a cover to make this contest possible! and thank you to our voters for giving us a winner! i'll be changing the cover shortly :)

i'm so sorry i missed an update yesterday guys :( i had two assignments to submit and by the time i was writing i fell asleep. i tried to make this chapter a lil longer to compensate, but once again im so tired writing this lol its almost 2am so im sorry for typos!!!  i'm sorry for the lack of paul content rn! i promise i am going somewhere with this, you will see him soon! just gotta build feyd's character rn!

also ii posted an update to my followers to let them know why i didnt post but i realized not everyone follows me, so if you want to see updates or messages for times like these you can follow me and you'll be notified when i post an announcement!

also idk why i threw a star wars quote in there ngl i think im so tired that it just happened lol

so lmk how you guys feel about feyd! do we enjoy where this is going?

with love,
via <3