Chapter 26 Chapter Twenty Six

"These are our plans." Wen Xiya said, "It's all for you." Falcon didn't move, he sat across from his mother.The golden sun shone behind him, casting his shadow on the white carpeted floor.The light bouncing off the wall behind his mother casts a halo over her head.She wears the usual white gown, trimmed with gold, a reminder of a bygone royal life.Her oval face was very calm, but he knew she was watching his reaction.His stomach felt empty, even though he had just eaten breakfast. "You disagree?" Vincia asked. "Is there anything to disagree with?" he asked.

"I mean... we kept it from you until now?" "Oh, that." He watched his mother, trying to focus his thoughts on it, but he kept thinking about something he'd noticed recently, which was that Tekanek stopped calling her "my princess".What does he call her now?Empress Dowager? Why do I feel a sense of loss?He thought, what have I lost?The answer is obvious: he lost his carefree days, his days of doing whatever he wanted.If his mother's plot came to fruition, those days would truly be gone forever.New responsibilities require him to work hard.He found himself hating it all.How could they dispose of his life so casually?Without even consulting with him?

"Say it," his mother said, "something is wrong with you." "What if the plan fails?" he asked.This was the first question that popped into his mind. "How could it fail?" "I don't know... any plan can fail. How did you use Idaho in your plan?" "Idaho? What's the matter? Oh, yes—the mysterious guy who Taika brought here without consulting me mentioned Idaho, didn't he?" She told a botched lie, and Falakon stared at his mother in amazement.It turned out that she had known the missionary all along. "It's nothing, except that I've never seen a dead man come back to life," he said.

She accepted his explanation and said, "We're keeping Idaho to do something big." Falcon bit his upper lip silently. Vincia felt reminded of his late father.Drake often does this action, very introverted, and his thoughts are very complicated, it is difficult to figure out his mind.Drake, she recalled, was related to Count Hassimir Fenlon, and they both had that playboy fanaticism about them.Will Falcon do the same?She was beginning to regret letting Taika convert the boy to the religion of Arakan.Who knows where that ghost religion will take him? "What does Taika call you now?" Falakon asked.

"What do you mean?" The sudden change of subject surprised her. "I noticed he stopped calling you 'my princess'." How observant he is, she thought.For some reason, the question made her very uneasy.He thinks I take Taika for a lover?Boring, that's not the point.So why did he ask this question? "He called me 'my lady,'" she said. "why?" "This is the habit of all big families." Including Atreides, he thought. "If others heard it, it would be more subtle now," she explained. "Some people might think that we have given up on the pursuit of the throne."

"Who would be that stupid?" he asked. She pursed her lips tightly, determined to let the matter pass.One little thing, but great battles are made of countless little things. "Lady Jessica shouldn't have left Carradine," he said. She shook her head vigorously.what happened?His thoughts were bouncing back and forth like crazy.She asked, "What do you want to say?" "She should not have returned to Arrakis," he said. "Unwise strategy, thoughtful. Her grandchildren should visit her in Kaladan." He's right, she thought, frustrated that she never thought of it.If Taika had been there, he would have looked into it immediately to see why Mrs. Jessica hadn't done it.She shook her head again.No!What was Farakon thinking?He should have known that the church would never allow those two children to venture into space.

She opened her mouth to speak her mind. "Is it the Church not letting them take risks, or Lady Arya?" he asked, noticing that her train of thought was following his.He was happy to be someone important at last, happy to make assumptions in the political machinations.Her mother's thoughts had ceased to interest him for a long time.She is too easily manipulated. "You think Alia wants to take power by herself?" Wen Xiya asked. His eyes were looking away.Of course Alia wanted to take power for herself.All the reports from that damned planet mention it.His thoughts jumped to a new route.

"I've been reading their planetary materials," he said. "There should be clues there to tell us the story of the sandworm..." "Leave that to someone else!" she said, beginning to lose patience with him. "After all we've done for you, is that all you want to say?" "You're not here for me," he said. "what?" "You are for the Corino family," he said, "and you represent the Corino family. I don't have the qualifications yet." "You are responsible!" she said. "What about those who depend on you?"

Her words seemed to put a heavy burden on him at once, and he felt the weight of the hopes and dreams of the followers of the Corino family. "Yes," he said, "I understand them. But I find some things done in my name disgusting." "Disgusting... how can you say that? We just did what all big families do when they think about the future." "Really? I think you're a bit too much. No! Don't interrupt me. If I'm going to be an emperor, you'd better learn how to listen to me. Do you think I can't see the clues? How did you train those tigers?" of?"

At this moment of his insight, she was silent. "Tiger is a last resort." She finally said. "If the plan works, I'll take your word for it," he said, "but I don't condone the way you trained them. Don't argue. It's too obvious, they're conditioned. You said it yourself." "What are you going to do?" she asked. "I'll wait and see," he said, "and maybe I'll be emperor." She put a hand on her chest and sighed.For a brief moment, she was frightened by him.She almost felt that he was going to condemn her at once.But now, he has made up his mind.She can see it.

Farrakon stood up, went to the door, and rang for his mother's servant.He turned his head and said, "The conversation is over, isn't it?" "Yes." He was about to leave, she raised a hand, "Where are you going?" "Go to the library. Recently, I've become obsessed with the history of the Corino family." He turned and left with the resolution he had just made. Damn her! He knew he had made up his mind.He realized that there is an essential difference between real history and the historical books he reads in his spare time. The difference is that the former is alive, while the latter is just history itself.Now, a living new history is gathering around him, thrusting him into an irreversible future.Falcon felt the pressure on him from all stakeholders.However, to his surprise, he himself was not so enthusiastic about the matter.

---

Notes: