The girl is quiet for so long that I fear I have bored her to death. I am not accustomed to talking so much or about so many heavy things in a single sitting and I am afraid that I have somehow spoiled such a thing for them both. The doubt makes my heart pound and mouth grow dry but I do not shy away from such a duty. The beliefs of my husband and brothers are not exactly new to me, but nor are they particularly well-engrained either. I knew of them, as all Mahgrib royals were taught to understand the various faiths of our neighbors in the hopes that if we were called to marry them or interact, we might do so without offense.

Eness's voice trembles slightly, despite the confidence she projects and I know that it is a lot for her to consider. I had been raised all of my life with the idea of finding my other half, and the concept of being a wife, whereas both of these things seemed new to the delicate mare at my side. I worried for her, as much as I hoped for Atair and the conflict of emotions made my head ring.

I listen as she voices her doubts and in a mirror of her own gaze, I lift mine to the tense back of my brother in thought. She is right that Atair would not make her choose, for it was common in Mira for wives to have handmaidens that were sworn to their defense, whose entire purpose it was to serve and adore the wife they were bound to. What better purpose for Sakhmet, I thought, considering her binding to this pure soul at my side. Until the god-touched women saw differently, would she be willing to serve Eness in such a fashion? Would this not soothe some of the fear that the three of them held?

A tremulous smile lifts my lips at Eness' praise, but I do not yet steer her back to him. "I know that Atair is new to you, but I have never seen him with another as he has been with you. It does not mean that you must return his affections, for only you know the purpose of your soul."

I look again to the stallion that waits with a brief smile before returning my attention to her. "Hearts and souls are different, you know. A heart can be shared with many - friends children - but a soul is singular. Immutable. It wants what it wants and it will not be silenced no matter how far you run from it."

I allow my tail to flick over both of us, considering her fears again. Cleaving to my husband had given me a sense of fulfillment that I had not found in other matters, and cemented my position as his first wife. But I had been raised for this. Bathed in the expectations of a wife and of the need for children. Trained so that I might know no other duty when it came to the night of my vows. Eness had not been raised as such, I thought, and in the grand scheme of things, if they were soul sewn, which I believed them to be, what was a season? As much as I wanted my son to have a playmate, I was certain that he would not be bereft of companionship with this many aunties and uncles.

"I do not think the season will leave him any less enamored of you, Eness, but it is a valid fear. Perhaps you might speak to Rigel as well as to more of what his offer means to him. The brothers do not take them lightly." I smile again, brushing my muzzle gently against her neck in comfort. "It will not be easy for him, I think. You are beautiful and now that he has finally admitted his feeling for you, I imagine you will be on his mind every moment of the day."

I chuckle lightly, hoping to bolster her own opinion of her self. "I shall tell him to wait for your reply until the first month of Winter, if that would soothe you?

I do not know if it is customary for a Mira to behave in such a way or to make such a bargain, but I wish to preserve her choice and to acknowledge her fears while also asserting the depth of the statement that Atair had made. You could not simply take back the half of your soul once it was given any more than you could have more than two halves of a whole. It warmed my hear that he believed her to be his other half, even as I feared that she did not feel the same. I only hoped that I would not be the one that would have to break his heart on her behalf.