Truly, I cannot compare this happiness to any other that I have ever felt. Each day dawns brighter than the last, and while I am not without my doubts and insecurities, I know that I am no longer alone.

With Antares at my side, I have experienced the first taste of true freedom. The feeling of loving and being loved, of knowing that I would hold the adoration of his gaze no matter what the future held, for we were Soul Sewn. More than that, it was Allah's pleasure to have us together, to hold and protect one another against the viciousness that the world created for us.

Even now, my thoughts linger on him as I wait for him to return to our marriage bed. Often we must part throughout the day, but the night belongs to us. Even as the desperation of my heat fades, and his Qetesh no longer flogs my mind with indecent thoughts, I am comforted by the knowledge that this means he has been successful. Absently, as it did each time that I thought of such a thing, which was often, I reached behind to brush the swell of my flank in loving benediction of the new life that may yet grow there.

The thought terrified and delighted me in equal measure. In some ways, I still felt like a child that had yet to blossom into the sort of mare that could be a mother, and in other ways I simply could not wait. To know that months separated me from meeting the child that our love had created seemed like exquisite torture and I yearned to know what our Prince would look like. If he would have the same mannerisms as his sire. The innate goodness that exuded Antares at every turn, mixed his tendency to fixate on something with the ferocity of a midday sun. If his mane would glow like the heat of a red sunset, or if his skin would turn as lily-white as the flowers that floated on the surface of my oasis. I wondered of his every detail, and I dreamed of the day that he would be mine.

I hear him before I see him, but only because I search for him. We have taken our pleasure here, amongst the greenery from the peace of mind it offers me. At first, it had been largely embarrassment that had led my cheeks to heat in Rigel's company. To have forced myself to shun all physical pleasures for years and then to have indulged in them all at once and be called on it by new family had seemed like too much to bear. Now, I did not feel shame in the enjoyment of my alzawj, for he had told me often enough how beautiful it was.

Now, I sought privacy for the sake of my brothers. Having heard of Antares' pain while serving in his father's army, I was in no rush to cause a painful reminder to my brothers of the things they could not have. Although I thought privately with a wicked grin, perhaps it would spur Atair to accept that he was soft on the small black mare.

"Laqad ashtaqat lak ya habibi." I murmur to my handsome husband as he joins me, my gaze soft in the fading light of the day. I smile as I finish drinking, my graceful neck curled so that I can watch as he traces a gentle caress over my body. He too, I think, looks forward to a child of our own, and the thought warms me anew.

As his lips brush over the tender marks of my shoulder, I allow my ears to fall backward in a clear indication that he would not find his release in my flesh tonight without serious persuasion. The desire to have him atop my back had faded slowly, and I missed the heat and the rush and the passion, but I did not crave them like I had. I still wanted his touch, and even now I eagerly press my lithe body against his own in search of the comfort that it afforded me. Like a warm blanket on a cool winter night, I wrap myself in his embrace.

Tenderly I reach up to neaten the strands of his ruby mane, my face soft with adoration. "I have yearned for your touch all day, Husband. I thought the brothers had kidnapped you for another Crossing trip."

I tease him lightly, knowing that they have not left the Dunes this day. I hum as I neaten his mane, before pressing a soft caress on his cheek. "Tell me, ya amar, who did you meet on the border today?"

It had become a ritual of sorts for us as of late, to discuss the things that had happened throughout our day in the privacy of our oasis. While we lived in the same territory, and crossed paths often, we did not always see the same things. My feet did not walk to the border paths daily, nor did I hasten to meet intruders to our peace. Before he can speak, a wicked idea grasps me and I smile. Lithely I dance forward, sidling forward against his body to step into the cool water. "Tell me while I bathe the sand from your coat. I cannot tell where your marks end and the sand begins."

Coyly I peer from beneath my forelock back at him, daring him into the brisk water. In the fading light of the day, the water was still warm and I eagerly stepped in to my knees with a soft sigh.

OOC: Figured I would give you a chance to talk about Bahadir here, or just pretend it was some other interloper that was sent their way XD <3