Sorrow | Dune | Gurney Halleck

Chapter Six

Upon returning to the castle, Gurney requested a nurse meet them to clean up Mildred's hands. Guilt filled him. She had gotten hurt on his watch and that was something he swore he would not let happen. The situation was beyond his control though. There was nothing he could have done he supposed. She seemed hardly dazed by the fall. Her mind was elsewhere. He could see it in her face as she walked away with the nurse. She glanced over her shoulder at Gurney with a look he had never seen before. And it scared him like hell.

There was nothing more that Mildred wanted than a shower. A nice, warm shower and then sleep. Her body had began to ache from the topple she decided to take earlier. Especially her hands. The nurse led her to her bedroom where after she tended to her wounds, she could rest. She instructed her to sit on her bed while she prepared her supplies. Mildred tried her best not to hiss in pain or wince when the nurse cleaned her up and applied a salve as well as a pill to help with any pain.

Just as the nurse finished, the door of her bedroom swung open revealing her mother. She was just about to open her mouth to say something, but then she saw the state of her daughter. She was wearing filthy clothes not suitable for a girl of her position. Her hair was sticking out of the bun it had been in. Her hands had been wrapped in gauze.

"What happened to you?" Jessica asked her daughter, her voice slightly alarmed.

"Training. I lost my footing." Mildred admitted.

It was actually nice that her mother cared about her well being for once.

"Clean yourself up. The Reverend Mother is here to see you." Jessica informed her.

Mildred raised an eyebrow. "Me? Why me?"

"We'll discuss it with her present."

Mildred didn't believe in the weird things her mother did. She didn't believe there was a Chosen One or a Kwisatz Haderach. She didn't agreed with the Bene Gesserit and their views on perfect breeding. She felt like people should fall in love with who they wanted too, not because they had a perfect bloodline. Mildred did believe that her mother and brother possessed powers though. She had seen it first hand.

"I don't want to hear what she has to say. All she ever does is shame me for being born as if it were my fault that I don't have the abilities you have. She looks at me as if I were broken." Mildred argued.

"This isn't up for debate, Mildred." Jessica fired back. "I am your mother. You will listen to me."

"You're only my mother when you want something out of me." 

She had struck a nerve. Good, Mildred thought to herself. Her words were true though. Jessica had only been a mother when it was convenient for her. She watched as her mother's face hardened. Her gaze intensified before she left the room. She knew she would have to comply regardless if she wanted too go or not. Her mother would send people up to drag her or use the Voice on her.

After the nurse and her mother left, she attempted to make herself some what presentable. She scrubbed her face clean of dirt. She redid her hair. She slipped on a gray gown with long sleeves and covered her head with a sheer, gray fabric. She knew the Reverend Mother would be awaiting her in her mother's Morning room. She would be sitting on a chair in her usual dark clothing looking displeased.

When Mildred walked into the room the conversation the two older women were having ceased. The Reverend Mother turned to look, well more like judge Mildred as she walked into the room. She always did. She took a seat across from her.

"Lady Mildred. Look how beautiful you've become." The older woman greeted her.

"Gaius." Mildred spoke the Reverend Mother's first name instead of her title. The faintest smirk appeared on her lips. She was respectful most of the time. The exception came to the woman who was responsible for her mother's hatred towards her.