"I think Gurney enjoys punishing us!" Duncan spoke as he ran along the sand next to Mildred.
"It's going to get worse. Just remember, we have sword training after this." Mildred reminded him with a sinister smile.
"How do you look so elated?" He asked between catching his breath.
"It beats sitting in yet another boring, endless meeting." She told him.
He nodded in agreement. Wet sand slapped against the boots as hundreds of feet ran along it. The sun had barely started to rise yet the day for those in the Army had already started. First part of the day was conditioning. It involved a forty five minute run along the shore followed by sit ups, push ups and pull ups. Gurney seemed to be an especially foul mood since they would be required to attend sword training after their run.
She looked over her shoulder to see Paul lagging behind. His scrawny body seemed to be swallowed by the uniform he was wearing. He still looked like a boy at age thirteen. Hardly any muscle. A thin face. Height wise he was almost at her height. The Astreides men were known not to fill out until they were close to adulthood. Even Mildred herself was quite small. She slowed her pace so she could run next to him.
"You okay?" She asked her young brother.
"Yeah...I just don't understand the point of this." He admitted.
She flashed him a smile. "It's best not to question Gurney's ways, but it shows unity and that we're equals when we train with the army. Us putting in the same amount of work as them is important."
"You're the heir, not me. Why should I be the one training?" He asked.
"What if I were to die? I have no children. The next in line would be you. Besides, I'm sure I'll find something important for you to do when I'm Duchess. Training is good for you too. It'll teach you to defend yourself if necessary."
Paul huffed in annoyance. It was a hard age at thirteen. She remembered it clearly. You weren't a child anymore, but you weren't quite an adult yet. The training, the teaching it all intensified at the age. Throw in the pressure from their mother and Mildred knew it was a difficult age.
"You don't have to run with me." Paul spoke.
"I want to run with you." She told him.
"Shouldn't you be relaxing anyways? I mean, it's your birthday. Your eighteenth birthday. It's kind of a big deal." He pointed out.
"True, but it's just another day. My day can't cease just because it's the day I came into the world. We won't celebrate until later anyways."
"One day, I hope to become as wise as you." Paul teased his older sister.
"I'm hardly wise. Just...realistic."
Her lungs were beginning to burn as they continued to run. It wouldn't be long until the run was over, but she could feel her body wanting to give out at any second. There was still more to do though. There would be hardly any time to rest after finishing her run. From the beach she would go straight to the training room. After that was when she could draw herself a bath with the hottest water she could stand.
Ahead she could see the end in sight. Multiple soldiers stood with their hands on their hips attempting to catch their breathes before the next level of hell Gurney would make them endure. As she passed by a few of them, they would hit her shoulder in a friendly manner or wish her a 'Happy Birthday.' Before Paul or Mildred could reach the front of the group, they were on the move again, ascending the hill back to the castle.
They were usually allowed to choose their fighting partner unless someone said otherwise. Mildred and Paul rarely fought one another since they had different skill levels. However, sometimes they needed a good sibling rivalry. Today was one of those days. Mildred's sword laid on the table and she picked it up before switching her shield on. Her eyes connected to Paul's across the room and he knew.
Mildred could be a ruthless fighter. Sometimes it scared Paul that his sister was so well trained. He often joked that she should have joined the military instead of being an heir. Sometimes, she agreed. He put his sister up on a pedestal he supposed. She most definitely had her weaknesses such as a temper she got from their father and she could be quite passionate.
Paul had decided from a young age that it was an honor to serve under her and Vice versa. She never uttered it out loud, but he knew she was jealous of his ability to use the Voice and abilities that he had. Maybe then their mother would have paid Millie more attention. He watched his sister cross the room with sword in hand. She was ready. He enjoyed fighting his sister. It gave him a challenge and she rarely went easy on him
Their swords clashed together so hard that it sent vibrations through their arms. Both of them had mischievous grins on their face as they fought. Paul was a strong fighter, but he was hardly a match for his sister. She was kicking his ass needless to say. She had struck him so many times that he would have died within seconds without the shield. He could get an advantage, potentially. He suddenly tucked his body and rolled behind her.
Mildred was taken aback by Paul's move. Good, she thought to herself, he's learning. She turned around and raised her sword up. Just as she was about to hit him, someone's sword collided with her's preventing her from hitting Paul. Her eyes widened with surprise and she looked up to see Gurney standing there. In an instant his sword slid down her arm and he twisted it causing her to drop her sword. His arm tucked under her's and the next thing she knew her back collided with floor.
Even with the shield around her, she felt the impact. She let out a soft groan and could hear her brother snickering.
Gurney knelt down next to her and murmured, "Don't get cocky." Before helping her stand up.
She was about to say something smart back, but stopped when she saw one of her servants waiting in the doorway. She knew it was time for her to get ready.
"Duties call." Gurney spoke to her in a low, but rather snarky tone.
Mildred's head turned to look at him once again, wondering why he seemed so cold to her. She would ask him later when no one was around. She gathered her sword from the ground and placed it in it's holder before following the servant out.
"Do you know why Gurney is in such a foul mood today?" Mildred asked her servant, Sara.
"I thought Gurney was always in a bad mood." Sara pointed out.
Mildred smiled to herself. She had a point. Today it seemed worse. He had barely looked or acknowledged her. He didn't even tell her 'Happy Birthday.' That was something he always did every year since he came to House Atreides. Odd, it was oh so very odd to her.
Gurney had had a bad dream. Well, it wasn't the worse dream he ever had, but it certainly wasn't pleasant. Well, it was pleasant, but it wasn't the sort of dream he should have been having about someone he served. He had always enjoyed Mildred's company even when she was young and annoyed the hell out of him. He still found her pleasant to be around. She could joke with him. She could fight with him.
Never, not once, did he ever have any romantic feelings about her. Yes, she was considered attractive with her thick hair that hung in loose waves around her face. She had a charming, enduring smile that could draw you in. Her eyes were a reflection of whatever emotion she bore that day. That was why he was baffled when he dreamt of her last night. They were lying in a bed together. Her fingers traced every scar that adorned his body.
She was saying something to him, but he couldn't hear what she was saying. All he could focus on was the feeling of her fingers against him. It didn't take him long to realize that neither of them were clothed either. When he awoke, it was in a frenzy. Hours later he could still feel her hands against the scar on his cheek and he hated it.
He felt incredibly guilty as he went about his day. It was highly inappropriate to be thinking such thoughts, regardless if they were dreams or not, about the heir to Atreides. If anyone was to find out there was a real possibility that an investigation would occur. While there were no rules against it, she was still considerably younger than him. He felt bad for neglecting her, for his harsh words, considering what day it was, but he couldn't face her.
The hot water in the bath was a welcoming sight to her sore, dirty body. She thanked Sara a hundred times for drawing it for her and adding her favorite soap to it. When she first got into it, she didn't scrub her body. She just sat there with her eyes closed. She tried to clear her mind. She tried not to think about training or her duties or the inappropriate dream she had about Gurney last night, again.
"Lady Mildred?" Came Sara's voice from the other side of the screen dividing the bathtub from the room.
"Yes?" Mildred called out.
"I have a gift for you." Sara informed her.
A gift?
"Just, leave it on my side table. I'll get it when I'm done." She told her servant.
Mildred worked quickly to clean herself before reaching for the towel hanging on the side of the tub. After drying herself off, applying oils to her body and hair, she slipped a robe on over her. There was no sense in changing into her dress until her hair dried. Lying on her side table, was something bound in brown paper. She picked the book up and found a slip of paper on top.
Happy Birthday, Lady Mildred. -Gurney
Mildred felt her heart swell. So, he had not forgotten after all. She laid the paper down and carefully undid the brown paper revealing a rare commodity. A book. It was bound in old, brown leather with gold letters that had started to wear off. It had to be hundreds of years old. Most books were all electronic nowadays. She opened it carefully and instantly knew that it was a poetry book.
Growing up and even now, she loved when Gurney would read poems to her that he had either memorized or written himself. Now, she had a book of her own that she could read to him if he wished. She sat on the edge of her bed and began to read to herself.