"Paul Atreides answer me this question" Naib Majes spoke attrecting the rooms attention.
"How many men would you let die to save one thimble of water?" He asked staring deeply at Paul who was silent for a few moments.
Inside Pauls mind, he was thinking, 'Straight into the action' with a frown but externally he held a straight face as he began to think how to answer this.
'This is clearly more tests...'
'If I say none, then they will look at me as a weak ruler.'
'If I say as many as needed, they will look at me as if I was no diffrent then a Harkonnen'
He thought for moment before he began speaking.
"On Arrakis, a thimble of water is not a number. It is survival."
"If ten must die so more people can live, I will not hesitate."
"If ten die for nothing… then I have already failed."
"You mean to say you would be fine if 9 die for nothing?" He said.
'What a difficult old man.' Paul immediately thought to himself as he quietly stared back at Majes.
Stilgar who had been silent this entire coughed a little attracting the attention and breaking the moment of tenseness between Paul and Majes.
Paul breaking eye contact he leaned back and his eyes fell on a stone cup infront of hi, witha red liquid in it.
Naib Rauth noticed Pauls eyes hovering on cup so he spoke.
"That is Melange tea" he said shortly and Paul nodded.
He quietly grabbed the cup and took a sip of it before setting it down, at this moment Stilgar had begun speaking to Paul.
"We invited the ruler of Hosue Atreides Duke Leto today because" Stilgar paused for several moments.
"He seems Just, but we have demands" Stilgar said as his eyes hovered on Paul.
Paul was silent for a few moments as he slushed the tea in his mouth for a moment before swalling it.
"But Leto is dead-" Stilgar had just finished speaking when Paul suddenly felt his vision change.
The voice of Stilgar began to mumble.
Slowly the feeling intensified.
Paul felt the thing inside rapidly clawing at his mind.
His vision blurred for a moment, his ears ringing, his mind felt liek it was constatnly getting clawed all of that immediately dissapered as his vision cleared and the hearing dissapered.
He was facing the 5 majes again.
Except Stilgar was not speaking.
Majes Inal was standing pointing a Crysknife at him looking angered.
Paul did glanced around, he did not understand what was happening.
Majes Inal exclaimed at this moment.
"Prove your worth!" He excalimed but no one spoke.
Paul was stunened for a moment.
He did not know how to react, he had no clue what is happening.
Just as he was about to muster up words to speak, his vision blurred once more, His ear rang loud.
His brain felt like it was being clawed at and for a momment this feeling intensified before dissapering once more.
His vision cleared and he was facing the Naibs who were quietly staring at Paul who stared as his mind was still reeling.
"Duke Paul are you okay" He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder snapping him out of his daze.
Glancing back, he saw Duncan looking concerned.
"You were not replying to Naib Stilgar" Duncan said and Paul quietly nodded as his eyes flashed towards Stilgar.
'Was that a vision?' The question appeared in his mind for a moment as he glanced towards the Melange tea before his vision shifted towards Stilgar.
"I am sorry could you repeat it" Paul said.
However Stilgar was silent for several moments as he observed Paul, not only Stilgar, every Naib at the table were quietly observing him.
Finally, Stilgar began to speak.
"We want to establish, concrete rules"
"That is why we called you here" Stilgar said and Paul nodded but paul could tell that the way these Naibs were looking at him had slightly shifted.
Paul raised his hand to stop Stilgar.
"We will follow Duke Leto's arrangements" Paul said.
He hesistated for a moment however as the vision flashed throuhg his mind, his jaw clenched.
'This must happen' He thought, 'Either now or in the future, but as soon as possible is for the best.'
"I had a desire to come talk to you all today because I have a proposal of my own." Paul said and all the attention shifted towards him.
Taking a deep breathe he beagn to speak.
"Arrakis belongs to House Atreides, we have no intentions of oppressing the residents of Arrakis."
"Now I have seen the condition, the Fremen have to survive on a daily basis."
"And I belive it is inhuman to continue allowing such a desperate survival to continue for the forseeable future" Paul said.
"I want to offer the Northern Sietches and the Fremen of the south a life where they dont have to struggle everyday. where dont have to worry about water, where dont have to worry where their next meal is gonna come from" Paul paused for a moment but at this time Naib Majes spoke.
"You wish to enslave us?" He said, his tone low and dangerous, but Paul shook his head.
"I want to provide a life worth living" Paul said and silence spread through the room.
For several moments, no one spoke.
Just silence.
Finally, Majes Inal sneered.
"You are a offworlder with dreams" he said slowly.
"Nonsensical dream." he said as he slowly stood up.
A flciker of rage flashed throuhg his eyes at this moment as he pulled out a Cryskinfe and pointed it towards Paul.
"Prove you worth!" he exclaimed, and Paul got with a bang.
'I genuinely had a vision...' he thought as he let out a sigh, his eyes hovering on the Melange tea for several moments, before he looked at Naib Inal.
"I will prove my worth to all of you" Paul said and a small smile appeared on Naib Inals face.
Almost contemptious smile staring at Paul.