The Great Hall of the Residency echoed with the sharp, rhythmic snap of Lady Jessica's voice. She stood on the upper landing, her emerald robes billowing like a dark cloud. Below her, a dozen palace staff members cowered, their heads bowed as she tore through their logistical failures with the precision of a Bene Gesserit blade.
"The moisture seals in the North Wing are leaking by three percent!" Jessica hissed, her Voice carrying a sub-vocal vibration that made the servants' knees tremble. "If the Princess breathes even a grain of unfiltered dust because of your incompetence, I will not merely dismiss you. I will ensure the desert finds you."
Her yandere-level protectiveness was at a fever pitch. The morning's worm attack had left her nerves raw, her maternal instincts twisted into a cold, predatory anger.
Suddenly, a small, rhythmic thump-thump of light footsteps sounded from the corridor.
The Peace-BringerAnastasia appeared at the end of the gallery, looking impossibly petite against the massive stone pillars. She was still wearing her dusty desert-silk, her golden hair slightly tousled from the 'thopter ride.
"Mama?" she chirped, her "naive" voice cutting through the tension like a ray of light through a storm cloud. "Why is everyone so sad? I heard shouting from the stairs."
The transformation in Jessica was instantaneous. The lethal sharpness in her eyes melted into a look of profound, obsessive adoration. She descended the stairs with a fluid grace, her silk skirts hissing against the stone, and knelt before her daughter.
"It is nothing, my Gem," Jessica murmured, her hands reaching out to smooth Anastasia's hair with a trembling kindness. "Just a few matters of house-keeping. Are you unhurt? Did the great beast frighten you?"
"Oh, no! He was lovely, Mama," Anastasia said, beaming a radiant smile at the trembling servants. "I think he just wanted to say hello. Can they go now? I want to show you the flowers Dr. Yueh helped me find."
Jessica glanced at the staff. Her mercy was entirely dependent on Anastasia's mood. "Go," she commanded softly. "And pray the Princess remains this happy with your work."
The Sanctuary of SilkJessica took Anastasia's small hand in hers, leading her toward the Greenhouse of Ghosts. Behind them, Jia followed at a respectful but vigilant distance. The maid's eyes were fixed on the back of the Princess's head, her jealousy simmering quietly; she hated sharing these moments of intimacy, even with the Lady Jessica.
As they entered the humid warmth of the garden, the smell of damp earth and jasmine enveloped them.
"Look, Mama! Dr. Yueh said these lilies are from the old world," Anastasia said, pulling Jessica toward a cluster of white blooms. "I told him I wanted to bring some to the 'Big One' in the desert. Do you think worms like the smell of flowers?"
Jessica sat on a stone bench, pulling Anastasia into the crook of her arm. She looked at her daughter's "naive" face—a face that saw beauty in a world-killing monster—and felt a pang of terrifying love.
"The worms belong to the sand, Anastasia," Jessica whispered. "They do not understand beauty as you do. They only understand hunger."
"But everyone understands love, don't they?" Anastasia leaned her head against Jessica's shoulder, her gaze drifting to the glass ceiling. "If I am kind to the desert, the desert will be kind back. That's what Papa always says about the people here."
The Shadow's SilenceJia stood by a towering fern, her hand resting on the hilt of her blade. She listened to the "Goddess" speak of loving the desert, and a dark, possessive thought crossed her mind. The desert is a monster, Jia thought. And if it ever tries to take her kindness, I will slay the sand itself.
Jessica held her daughter tighter, her Bene Gesserit mind calculating a thousand ways to keep this innocence alive. "You are the soul of this House, Anastasia. As long as you believe the world is good, we will make it so."
"I know you will, Mama," Anastasia giggled, reaching up to pluck a fallen petal and tucking it into Jessica's hair. "Because we're a family. And families always protect each other's dreams."