Sisterhood of Dune (20 page)

Supposedly, Emperor Jules had never shared a bedchamber with his legitimate wife. Realistically, the historians admitted, their marriage may well have been consummated, but Jules and Orenna simply didn’t like each other. He preferred his concubines, with whom he had fathered his three children.

However, the furor over the assault on the Empress—raped by a man to whom Jules had so graciously granted protection—drove the ruler over the edge. The Emperor ordered his guards to seize and execute all members of the delegation.

Anna’s heart pounded now as she recalled the desperate hours when Imperial guards hunted down and slaughtered all thirty-five of the delegates, bloodying the palace and the surrounding gardens. Though some of the men and women tried to flee, they were caught, dragged out into the public courtyard, and butchered. Anna’s father made her watch; Orenna also stood there, as white as chalk, speaking not a word. One delegate after another fell to the hacking blades, begging for mercy that never came.

And somehow in the turmoil, Chairman Bomoko slipped away. He vanished from the palace, which—to the people—only proved his evil genius. Sure that the rapist had received help from some of the staff, Emperor Jules interrogated fourteen suspects; and although they revealed no information, they did not survive the questioning.

Distraught but steely, Emperor Jules had placed himself before the swelling crowds and addressed them again, this time condemning the CET delegates, telling the mobs that he had been wrong before. That was the same year that an assassin’s bomb had killed Rayna Butler, which only inflamed the Butlerian movement. Troubled times.…

Traumatized by the event, Empress Orenna went into seclusion for many months, and to this day she refused to talk about those dark days. The remaining five years of Emperor Jules Corrino’s reign had been hard and reactionary, but Toure Bomoko was never found, despite countless supposed sightings.

Anna closed the book and ate another one of the melange biscuits. Soon, she would be away from reminders of that part of her past. On Rossak, among the Sisters, very little, and perhaps nothing, would bring the events to mind. Maybe it would be for the best after all. Sometimes she hated being part of the Imperial family.

Though she thought the guards had gone to another part of the grounds to look for her, Anna now heard movement outside her fogwood haven. A woman’s voice called out, firm but not unfriendly. “Anna, I know you’re hiding in there. Move these branches and let me in, please.”

Anna froze like a startled deer; she sat on her wooden bench, held her breath.

“Child, you don’t fool anyone. It’s Orenna—let me in so we can talk.
Please.
I want to help you. I’m alone.”

“I’m not a child,” Anna said, surrendering a little.

“I know you’re not, and I’m sorry. I’ve seen you shape the fogwood before, but I never told anyone about your secret hiding place, or your special ability with the plants.” The voice was soothing. “Come, let me say goodbye.”

Anna did have a special bond with her stepmother. Oftentimes, they would talk about plants and birds, or just walk together, silently admiring the natural beauty around them. Orenna had once confided that she thought the two of them were good for each other, therapeutic in a way that neither could have expected.

Even after all these years, they never discussed the rape Anna had witnessed, but it hung there between them, like another presence.

With a sigh of resignation, Anna sent a thought that parted the fogwood branches. Orenna entered, glancing around. “I’ve always wondered what your hiding place looked like inside.” The older woman wore a white silkine gown, with the golden lion Corrino crest embroidered on one lapel. “This is very nice.”

“At least it’s peaceful.” Anna made a branch bend down to create a seat for her stepmother.

Gathering her skirts, the Virgin Empress sat down. With a wink of her rheumy blue eyes, she said, “You won’t pull this out from under me, will you?”

Anna giggled. “That depends on what you say. Are you going to try to convince me that I’ll be happy on Rossak?”

Orenna looked closely at the young woman. “We have an understanding between us, a bond of friendship. Do you trust me, Anna?”

She needed several moments to answer, but said, “Yes.”

Her stepmother pushed silvery hair out of her eyes. “You must realize that there is nowhere for you to go out there. Other than this small refuge, you cannot hide anyplace on Salusa Secundus, and you cannot get off-planet without alerting the Emperor.”

“Then I’ll stay right here. You can bring me food and drink.” She knew the idea would never work even as she suggested it.

“Sooner or later, I’d be noticed, and you’d be discovered.”

“Then I will die here. I prefer that to being sent off to Rossak! My life ended when they took Hirondo away from me anyway.”

“But must the lives of others end as well?”

“What do you mean?”

“If you don’t turn up soon, Salvador will execute Hirondo, and the entire kitchen staff for helping him keep the secret of your love affair.”

Tears streamed down Anna’s face. “I hate my brother! He’s a monster!”

“He is very traditional, and he knows what the public expects of a royal family. He only wants what is best for you, and for House Corrino.”

“You’re taking his side, just as Roderick does.”

Lady Orenna shook her head. “On the contrary, I’m taking your side, child, and I want you to thrive and grow old. I want you to be as happy as possible—as happy as you can be without the man you love. Just as I’ve tried to be.”

The words made Anna pause, and she asked, “What do you mean? Did you love someone you couldn’t have?”

Orenna seemed sad, but she made an unconvincing smile, brushed distractedly at her sleeve. “Oh, that was a long time ago, and none of it matters now. I had to move on, and you must do the same.”

Anna wiped the tears from her cheeks, gazed at the older woman through reddened eyes. Whom had she really loved?

“Rossak is where you belong now. It will be your sanctuary, just like this little place. Go with the Sisters, learn from their teachings, and when you return you’ll be stronger than ever. I promise. Be the best you can possibly be without Hirondo, and in time your sadness will heal. Let him go somewhere else and find a new life.”

“But the Sisters don’t believe in love. How can you possibly think that will help me?”

“You must find a new kind of inner strength, one that does not rely on your relationship with any man. I have had to do this over the years, and I am stronger for it, a better person.”

Anna sat for several long moments, listening for sounds outside, any noises of searchers waiting for her. She went to the perimeter of her chamber and mentally created an opening to look through. The gardens and the woods were perfectly still.

“All right, I’ll try it—for you.” She embraced her stepmother, then unfolded a leafy doorway and led the way outside.

Every noble family has its dark secrets.

—
REVEREND MOTHER RAQUELLA BERTO-ANIRUL
, Sisterhood records

Valya Harkonnen reveled in every day she and her fellow Sisters spent at the Imperial Court. This was where she and her brother belonged, not Lankiveil. Even though she was just a member of the Reverend Mother’s entourage, she was still inside the Imperial Palace in Zimia. It gave her a better idea of what her family deserved.

In the past, the Harkonnens had been at the heart of the old League of Nobles, well respected, with an honored history. But thanks to Vorian Atreides, who disgraced Abulurd all those years ago, they were shut out of the circles of power. The reminder gnawed at her, but she used Sisterhood techniques to calm herself and focus her thoughts. Nevertheless, as she looked around at court, she could see the possibilities.

To everyone else here, even to Anna Corrino, she was merely
Sister Valya.
Her family name was never mentioned. Someday, though …

Now, she accompanied the Reverend Mother to an audience of the wealthiest Landsraad leaders. She could not stop thinking that the Harkonnens were nobles, too, even though their bloodline had been pruned from the Imperial family tree.

When Reverend Mother Raquella presented herself and her entourage to the Emperor the first evening, Salvador gave them only a cursory greeting. “I hope your school can help my dear sister. She needs guidance and instruction.”

“We will watch her carefully, Sire.” Raquella bowed. “And see to it that she reaches her potential.”

In the midst of his private meal, the Emperor wiped his mouth with a shimmering napkin, then frowned at the remnants of food on his tray, as if he had lost his appetite. He seemed to be suffering from indigestion. “I am anxious to get Anna away from here, and I trust your discretion to draw as little attention as possible. No need to add fuel to the scandal.” Valya could read the embarrassment on his face.

However, the next spacefolder from Salusa to Rossak would not depart for two days, so they remained as guests in the Imperial Palace. Valya didn’t mind a bit. She drank in the details of the experience, knowing her ancestors had walked the same halls and slept in the same rooms. Her father would have been a duke or a baron in the Landsraad, if their family heritage had not been stripped away. Such thoughts always angered her, and she calmed herself by thinking instead about her brother and how hard Griffin studied to become Lankiveil’s official representative to Salusa Secundus. She was sure he would pass his exams.

Meanwhile, Valya tried to work her way closer to Anna Corrino, but the Emperor’s sister had no interest in being social, choosing instead to sulk in her quarters. Once they got to Rossak, though, there would be time enough to make friends with her, under circumstances that were not in the Princess’s control. Valya did not intend to waste her time here in the Imperial capital. Feeling like a schoolgirl or a tourist, she had asked the Reverend Mother if they might attend the Emperor’s business meeting, so that she could observe and dream about what might have been. When Raquella made the request, Sister Dorotea easily obtained an invitation for them to sit in on the proceedings.

Salvador held his audience in an antechamber of the Palace’s Autumn Wing, beneath a dome painted with vivid frescoes of the Butlers fighting heroic battles against thinking machines. Facing the audience, the Emperor sat on a great golden chair atop a dais. This secondary chamber was half empty, and the unoccupied seats had been withdrawn into the stone floor, leaving only the appropriate number of benches for the fifty participants to gather close to the throne.

“Today I’ve decided to have a more intimate session.” Salvador’s voice echoed across the speaker system, with the volume adjusted too loud for the small audience. He waited for a court technician to reset the controls, then started over. “We have certain economic issues to discuss, areas where planetary leaders can be more cooperative with one another than in the past—for our mutual benefit, of course. With that in mind, I have brought a number of expert witnesses to testify.”

Two men in business uniforms filed onto a platform at the base of the dais; one stepped up to a podium and activated a holo-prompter. For several minutes he droned on about tariffs imposed on materials imported between various star systems, surcharges imposed by Venport Holdings for the transport, and the significantly increased risks of contracting with lower-priced shipping companies that did not use the mysterious Navigators. In spite of her giddiness at sitting in on the special session, Valya found it dull—until the gilded door of the hall’s main entrance swung open.

A tall, hawk-featured man strode forward, dressed in an old-fashioned, militaristic costume. Looking closer, Valya thought it might be an authentic Army of Humanity uniform from decades ago, adorned with braids and rank insignia. The other attendees of the meeting turned to look, muttering at the interruption; some even seemed relieved for the break from the tedious speech. Valya thought the visitor looked like an actor from a historical drama of the Jihad. Something about him seemed strangely familiar.

The man’s focus was too sharp to be distracted by the din of surprised conversation. He marched straight to the podium like a general capturing a strategic hill, and nudged the startled economist out of the way. “It’s been more than eighty years since I was last on Salusa, so some of you might not know who I am.” He ran his gaze up and down Emperor Salvador on the throne, as if assessing him. “I can see the Butler in you, Sire, a bit more of Quentin than Faykan.”

Salvador bristled on his throne. “I don’t recognize you, sir. Explain yourself.”

Valya suddenly knew who the man was, or had to be.
He was still alive?
A chill ran down her spine, and loathing kept her speechless. She had spent a great deal of time staring at his image, hating what he had done to her family, to her future. But he was still
alive
? It seemed inconceivable.

Since her arrival, she had seen statues of Vorian Atreides in Zimia, and she had studied records of his adventures with Xavier Harkonnen, memorizing his damning speech at Abulurd’s trial, which had brought about the downfall of her whole family. Amazingly, the man’s appearance had not changed over the course of the Jihad … but that was to be expected. The life-extension treatment given to him by General Agamemnon was a matter of public record.

Throughout her life, Valya had known that Vorian Atreides was the cause of her family’s disgrace, but it was always a distant,
theoretical
thing. He had disappeared generations ago. Assuming he must be dead, she had hoped that he’d suffered a horrible, painful death.

Now he was here! Her pulse raced, and her skin felt hot with anger.

“I am Vorian Atreides,” he said, as if expecting applause. Others had been muttering his name. Reverend Mother Raquella looked stunned, though she had a most peculiar sparkle in her eyes. Salvador sat up, one of the last in the chamber to grasp the identity of the intruder.

“I’m here to demand protection for my world and the end to an injustice. Raiders recently struck our planet of Kepler, took my people. I just came from the slave markets of Poritrin, where I liberated them.”