Ember saw an elf woman with her child playing in the flower field. The woman was wearing the usual clothes of the elf clan while the child was wearing clothes that the white tiger clan members wore. The child sure was a white tiger as he didn't have pointed ears like his elf mother and neither did he look like her.
"Watch out, son. You will hurt yourself," the woman shouted as she watched her son running and jumping around the field happily.
"I won't, mother," a child replied who looked like a human child of age of four to five.
"Seems like her mate is a white tiger," Ember mumbled.
But then a man came to them and lifted a child. "Father," the child clung on the man's neck and asked cheerfully, "You are back, father?"
"Hmm," the man replied as he patted the child's head gently.
"Will father play with me?" he asked.
The man nodded and put the child down only to be dragged away by him to the flower field.
It shocked Ember. The man didn't look like a white tiger but she was sure he was from a fox clan. His features and his signature clothes gave out his identity. Ember had already learned to identify all the different clan members now and she was sure she was not mistaken.
"How come a fox is the father of white tiger? Even the mother is an elf," Ember mumbled once again, which was heard by Baruel's wife.
"Umm, about that, Lady Ember?" the woman started and Ember looked at her.
"Her name is Rina. She is the daughter of the chief of the valley elf clan," the woman informed.
"Is there something I am not understanding here?" Ember asked.
The woman explained, "Rina's first mate was a white tiger but he died due to some reason. At that time she was already carrying his child and then gave birth to him. Later her current mate, the fox clan member persuaded her and she ended up having him as her mate."
"Second mate?" Ember asked, though she had already heard that in agartha females can have multiple mates.
The woman nodded. "She had a child with her and one needs a mate to continue living this long life."
"Her first husband died then it's fine to have another companion for life," Ember agreed and asked, "Does that mean she now doesn't love her previous mate?"
"It's not the case. The bond mates share is the bond between their souls and it's painful when one leaves. It was not easy for her either. She was broken for long but her second mate persuaded her. She is fortunate to have another mate who cares and loves her the same as her previous mate. She must remember him but you can not do anything for one who is gone. The ones who are left need to continue living."
"But I heard males can't do the same, right?" Ember asked. She was sure she would never have another mate but she also could not imagine Draven having another mate. In her opinion she was the only one he should always have.
The woman nodded, "That's true. If the female dies, male follows her after. They can never have another female and with her death, it's like they lose their soul as well. The mate bond has its real value when it comes to the males. About females, they can continue leaving and have another mate."
"Isn't it unfair for males, isn't it?" Ember asked, "Why has nature made such a rule?"
The woman nodded and then explained, "Nature is meant to create a balance between everything that exists. It can not let the stronger ones rule always and there should be something to hold them back. The reason we believe it, is because females are less in numbers and they need to give birth to keep continuing the race as birth itself is not a frequent thing for a beast like in humans.
"About males, they are powerful, stronger and more in numbers. There are chances that one male might want any female around them and it would create conflicts between the males. Males would rule the females and to them females won't hold any value other than being a weak object which they can have whenever they want and there won't be a need of any sacred bond even.
"I believe this is to give powers to females and make powerful males understand the value of females though they seem weaker than them. The bond between them makes male love, care and respect the only female they can have in their lifetime. Isn't it good?
Ember understood the reasoning now, "Hmm, makes sense."
The woman continued further, "Though the males are powerful, unless the female accepts them, they can not make her his mate. They can not force her. If the female is unwilling and they still mark her, she won't survive the marking. So they all have to treat females as good as they can to make her accept him."
"That's something good to know about," Ember said.
She realised how gentle and considerate Draven was with her when it came to mating and he gave her time to accept her. 'If every female is treated this way, then nothing is more fortunate for them.'
Ember had heard the stories from her nanny about humans. There it was totally opposite than in Agartha. Men were allowed to take multiple wives and treated them poorly while women were not allowed to have more than one husband.
She heard the elf woman again, "But there is also bad side of this. Once beastman's heart is set on one female, it is said that they can not think about another female. This way, there are so many males who are left single as the female they liked might end up with another male and would not want to have another male."
"Hmm, that's sad. They are forced to spend such a long life alone," Ember commented.
"But there are also so many cases where females accept them and they have multiple males. Just like Lady Ember...."
"Hmm, I once heard from Morph as well that females here have multiple mates," Ember interrupted her not knowing what the elf woman was going to say. "But among humans having multiple husbands is immoral."
"Lady Ember, you now belong to Agartha so you can forget human values. Slowly you will learn to accept the culture of the beasts as you stay here longer. You will feel fine to have two mates."
"No, I...."
"Lady Reese, master, asked for the flower seed bags we brought yesterday," a male servant came there.
Lady Reese immediately stood up, "Lady Ember, please excuse me."
"Yes, go ahead," Ember permitted and continued observing the couple and their child.
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