Francesca: Sister of the Bene Gesserit

Sister Francesca was a strong, intelligent and alluring member of the Bene Gesserit, remembered as one of the great loves of Emperor Javicco Corrino. Trained on Wallach IX beside Valya Harkonnen and Kasha Jinjo, she was dispatched to the Imperial court as a living instrument of the Sisterhood's breeding design, and her union with the Emperor produced a son, Constantine. Years later her return to the Imperial Opal Palace strained the balance of power in Corrinth City, for behind her counsel to the throne lay the hand of the Mother Superior, and behind that hand a plan that would consume the Emperor, his house, and Francesca herself.

Acolyte of the Sisterhood#

Francesca trained as an acolyte alongside Valya Harkonnen and Kasha Jinjo in the school of the young Sisterhood. When the Sister Dorotea singled Valya out as uncommitted, Francesca and Kasha objected that the judgment was not fair. In time the acolytes were called to take their vows, standing out in the rain until each was ready to swear Sisterhood Above All, and Francesca was among the last to make the pledge.

The rivalry between Dorotea and Valya split the order, and every Sister chose a side. Valya confided to Francesca and Kasha that Mother Superior Raquella meant to name her the next Mother Superior, but that Raquella first required both her and Dorotea to undergo the Agony. Dorotea stood ready for the test. Valya instead chose to run away.

The breeding index#

After Raquella died, Valya told the Sisters that Raquella had warned of the coming of Tiran-Arafel. Francesca, Tula Harkonnen, and Kasha then watched as Valya turned the Voice upon Dorotea, Raquella's granddaughter, and ordered her to kill herself when Dorotea refused to follow Valya's wishes.

With the order under her control, Valya showed the three Sisters the breeding index. Its calculations determined that Javicco Corrino and Natalya Arat would make the finest match to provide offspring of benefit to the Sisterhood. Natalya, however, was still a child. Francesca was therefore sent to keep Javicco occupied until Natalya came of age to marry him, while Kasha was placed at the Emperor's side as his Truthsayer and most trusted confidante.

Francesca carried out her assignment with a completeness the index had not demanded. She became a great love of the Emperor, and their union produced a son, Constantine. She was accounted among the known Imprinters of the Sisterhood, those Sisters whose arts of seduction left a lasting bond upon the men they were sent to, and the impression she left upon Javicco endured for the rest of his life.

In those same years Francesca kept a second and more dangerous secret. When Tula Harkonnen gave birth, Tula resolved that her son would not become part of Valya's design, and Francesca helped her swap the infant with a stillborn child. Together they told Valya that the boy had died. The child lived, hidden from the Sisterhood, and grew into the soldier Desmond Hart, though the truth of his survival remained buried for decades.

Return to the Imperial court#

Long after her assignment had ended, Francesca received a message she believed had come from her son, telling her that he needed her, and she travelled to Salusa to see him. When she found Constantine he told her he had sent no such message. He also told her that Kasha had died, news that had never reached her. Francesca realized the summons had come from Valya, who explained that she had said nothing of Kasha because communications were sometimes monitored.

Valya laid out her purpose. She had a plan to eliminate Desmond Hart, and she needed Francesca to guide Javicco back toward the Sisterhood and to persuade him to let his heirs study on Wallach IX. She added that it would serve the Sisterhood to have the son of a Sister commanding the Imperial fleet.

Francesca went to the Emperor and urged him to begin trusting Constantine with real responsibility so that the young man could rise to his expectations. She reminded Javicco that he had been much like Constantine in his own youth and had turned out well enough. When Javicco kissed her, she told him she had not come to drive a wedge between him and Natalya.

She then sought out Constantine himself and encouraged him. When her son asked her why he had been born, knowing the Sisterhood had a reason for everything it did, Francesca admitted the truth: he had been born to protect his sister Ynez from those who sought to harm her, including those who claimed to love her.

Her efforts bore fruit. After Constantine handed over the evidence that led to the arrest of the swordmaster Keiran, Francesca joined the Imperial family at dinner, where Javicco announced Constantine as the commander of his fleet. After the meal Francesca and the Emperor shared a private moment, and the old bond between them was plain.

The last night of the reign#

With Constantine occupied by his new command, Francesca told Javicco that she would be leaving. The Emperor tried to persuade her to stay, offering to find a place for her at the palace. While they spoke, a guard brought word that the Princess Ynez had been arrested for attempting to free Keiran.

Francesca carried the news to Valya at once. She believed her influence over Javicco was enough to win Ynez's release, but Valya had another design, for she judged that Javicco's reign was over. Under her plan Francesca would kill the Emperor with poison, then allow herself to be arrested so that she could use the Voice to order her own release, while the Sister Theodosia posed as Ynez and the true princess was carried to safety.

Francesca went to Javicco, but the Emperor already knew. Valya had told him everything: that every minute of his relationship with Francesca had been part of the Sisterhood's plan, and that everything in his life had been preordained for him. Francesca showed him the poisoned needle and told him the plan was Valya's, not hers. She pleaded that they could find a way through together. Javicco answered that it was strange to realize one had never known a moment of freedom, and then, resolving to do one thing of his own free will, he stabbed himself with a knife. Francesca held him as he died, begging him to stay with her. Then Empress Natalya entered the chamber and drove the poisoned needle into Francesca, killing her.