What is wedded? I smile mutely and try not to flinch away from the reminder that our cultures and customs were the minority among these isles. It was easy to be insulated from this fact, given my Husband's industrious herd-gathering, but it was undeniable. Few of the individuals I'd met since arriving some ten years ago had known of our traditions, and fewer still were willing to take part. After spending years observing the freedom with which both mares and stallions here changed partners, I could understand why they rebelled at the thought of being committed for life to one other creature.

"It's... complicated," I murmur with a soft laugh. "Where I am from, a stallion is the head of a household, which is often not so different from here, I believe." I smile faintly, thinking of Maslakhat. Of course, in Mahgrib, the very thought of a female head of house was scandalous whereas here it was increasingly common. "He may choose to take on life partners that we call wives, who are promised to him for life."

Of course, there were other layers to it, but I saw no need to delve too deeply into it. It was a system that could be easily misunderstood and abused by those looking to take advantage of my sisters, and I had no desire to visit more suffering on those beneath my inadequate care as their Mira. Husbands had a duty to protect and cherish their wives, although how such things were done varied from individual to individual. Some tended toward monogamy, and others less so. Even my own Husband had taken another mare beneath him before me, as his First Wife, a fact that still bothered me despite the many years and attempted explanations that stood between us.

Thankfully, the monochrome stallion offered a new topic, and I cast my gaze away from him momentarily to scan the faint horizon in appraisal. I had not been to Atlantis, although I had come to recognize the name as one of the other four main islands. It had always sounded made-up to me, a place of fantastical imagination rather than harsh reality. It seemed impossible that a place existed wherein you need not search for water to drink, nor food to eat. Where trees grew so tall that they could block out the sun.

"Is Atlantis really so different from Salem?" The question bubbles up before I can stop it, and I chuckle abashedly, my cheeks heating as I turned away. Who was I to question this stranger? I had no intention of going to Atlanis, not now or in the future, but I still found myself curious. Would I have ended up there if fate had not delivered my Beloved to me on the Crossing? Would this stranger and I have courted throughout the fall season?

The realization that my thoughts have wandered to something so indecent makes my body flush with shame and I answer his next question too hastily, my tone sharper than I intended. "We used to live here, some time ago. When I returned and found my Husband again, it was only natural that we return, and Queen Nyimara was kind enough to allow us use of these eastern Dunes."