The winds howled outside the Ornithopter, but inside they sat in safety protected from the elements.
"You're fit to fly?" Paul asked as he was concerned however, Gurney shook his head with seriousness as the Ornithopter's wings began flapping.
Cutting through the sand, the ornithopter began to lift off the ground.
"I've flown through worse than this." Gurney said as he pushed the lever forward, pushing the Ornithopter to fly towards the city of Arakeen, which was not too far away.
"Lady Jessica allowed anybody who wished to witness the third session of the Landsraad to witness it. You did well Paul" Gurney said with a slight grin on his face.
"That Harkonnen brat had it coming, insulting Duke Leto like that," Gurney said, but as soon as he said it, the atmosphere within the Ornithopter stalled a little.
The moment of silence stretched for a few moments before Gurney glanced back at Paul.
"I have a request, Paul... Lady Jessica had informed me of the situation right before you left for Landsraad. You mentioned that Duke Leto shall have a grand burial when you return," Gurney said and Paul nodded.
"When Duke Leto was alive, he had made it clear he wanted his burial to be... small" Gurney said.
Thufir glanced towards Gurney, and his eyes softened as he reminisced.
"Indeed, Duke Paul, Duke Leto had mentioned this request in case of his passing," Thufir said and a frown appeared on Paul's face.
'Leto... he deserves a grand burial,' Paul thought to himself.
He did not want to concede on this, but as his eyes glanced towards Thufir.
Paul let out a sigh, seeing Thufir's distant and reminiscing eyes.
'Who am I to go against Leto's own desires?'
"Then the burial must be done as per his wishes."
In the courtyard at the edges of Arakeen, a section that was still a part of the Atreides residence, it was small and unremarkable.
Stone walls on all sides. The city of Arrakeen carried on beyond them, distant sounds of movement, of people, of a world that had not stopped.
Above, the sky burned its familiar amber orange, spice dust suspended high in the atmosphere, catching the last light of the day and holding it. The wind moved through the courtyard steadily, the way it always did on Arrakis. Relentless. Indifferent.
It did not slow down for this.
The casket was slowly lowered into the ground by two Atreides soldiers, the Atreides hawk stitched into the green and black cloth draped over it, the edges lifting slightly in the wind before settling again as it began entering the ground.
Paul stood at the head.
Jessica to the left. Duncan and Gurney to the right. Thufir slightly behind, his eyes cast downward.
Nobody spoke for a long moment.
Just the wind.
Gurney cleared his throat quietly.
"He was the finest man I ever served." he said. Nothing more.
Thufir stepped forward slowly. His eyes hovered on the casket, yet he did not speak.
At this moment, Thufir felt like he had words fighting to burst out of him, but he struggled to voice them.
His mouth opened.
But he froze.
Closing his mouth, in the end, he simply chose silence, leaving his words unsaid.
Jessica stood perfectly still. Controlled, her eyes were dry, yet the black circles around her indicated her lack of sleep for the past few days.
Paul watched in silence as the two soldiers began to shovel the sand over the casket.
When it was done, a tombstone was placed and the others stepped back.
Paul's eyes lingered on the spot where Leto lay.
'He died... I could not prevent it...' Paul thought as a sigh escaped his lips.
A moment passed as the winds kept blowing.
'But...'
'He died as Duke Leto Atreides.'
'Not as a prisoner. Not as a footnote.'
A small smile appeared on his face as he turned away from Leto's grave.
'Everyone is going to die one day. All that matters is how you go out, and Leto went out reaching for the stars.' Paul thought, as he began to walk away from the courtyard in silence, leaving Jessica, Thufir, Duncan, and Gurney behind.
In silence, Paul walked through the dim halls of the palace.
'Walking through these halls feels so different,' Paul thought as he felt a certain kind of control.
'Is this what Leto used to feel when he roamed the halls? ' Paul wondered, eventually arriving at Leto's office.
His hand rested on the wooden door's knob, but he paused for a moment. Breathing slowly for a moment, he prepared his mind as he pushed the door open.
Walking into the room.
It seemed to have been untouched since the last time he had walked in here.
The same messy desk filled with papers, except there was no body sitting on the chair behind the desk.
Paul took in the view for a moment before he stepped forward.
Slowly approaching the desk. Paul walked behind it and pulled the chair back.
Staring at it in silence for a few moments, Paul sat in the chair.
His eyes glanced around the room from his new viewpoint. He saw the door, the walls, and the partially open windows.
Paul glanced at his finger and his eyes landed on the signet ring that rested loosely on his finger.
Rolling it around slightly, Paul kept glancing around the room in silence before his eyes landed on the papers in front of him.
A paper was at the center of it, at the very bottom, a partial signature of Duke Leto remained.
Paul glanced at it and let out a sigh, his finger slightly rubbed on the signature for a moment.
"He passed away as he was signing..." Paul muttered to himself.
Glancing towards the top of the paper, he saw the words, "Fremen Sietches council meeting invitation".
Paul's interest was raised as soon as he read those words.
Picking up the paper, Paul looked closely at it.
He took a few moments to read the paper before setting it down.
"The Fremen had invited Leto to the Sietches for a council meeting..." He muttered.
Glancing towards a pen nearby, Paul picked it up, and besides Leto's incomplete signature, he placed the tip of the pen.
Taking a deep breath, he signed his own signature.