THE TIDES OF TIME

- Chapter 10 -

Jovan had to admit that for a woman who had been wounded by a poisoned arrow, Jagoda wielded her weapons with skill and ease. He admired the way she held the sword. It looked as if the sword was just an extension of her arm rather than a piece of metal weighing considerably more than a bag of apples. He watched as she switched the sword from hand to hand. She had no problem doing so the way he saw it. The only thing was that she had a hard time raising the sword above her head. Those defensive moves she was working on were noticeably weaker because of the wound in her chest. 

Jovan also respected the way Jagoda carried herself, especially when it came to her wound. She did not make up excuses to participate in the training Anil had been helping them with for the last few days. Ever since Anil had supplied the swords, bows and arrows, and daggers for their training, he had become Jovan's constant companion and Jagoda's close friend. 

Jovan grinned whenever he caught Jagoda looking at him as he practiced shooting arrows. To him, that skill was not too different than firing a gun. Each bullseye was a walk in the park for him, so-to-speak. But what really brightened up his mood was each and every time that Jagoda swore. And she did so whenever she felt a jolt of pain in her chest as they practiced with swords. Her pride would not permit her to call for a break. No. Instead, she released her pain and anger at herself by... swearing. Of course, each time this resulted in Jovan blowing a kiss her way. In turn, this caused Jagoda to laugh, which eased her temper. It also put knots of unspoken desire in Jovan's gut.

"Are You fighting or flirting?" Anil asked after a while. 

"Both," Jovan answered with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

"Neither! Both!" Jagoda corrected herself, swore again, and laughed again when Jovan blew her another kiss.

Confused, Anil asked Jovan, "Is blowing kisses part of a warrior's training where You come from?"

"Maybe," Jovan replied. He noticed that Jagoda narrowed her eyes and Anil smiled.

"Where is Your homeland?" Anil asked. 

"I'll tell You mine if You tell me Yours." Jovan grinned as he pointed his sword toward Anil.

"Let's not switch the subject. I asked You first," said Anil as he gestured toward Jovan with his dagger.

"Mine is bigger. And I know how to use it." Jovan said and laughed when Anil looked down on his dagger and compared it to the sword in Jovan's hand.

"Undeniably so." Anil asked as he came closer to Jovan. "When do we leave?"

"We?" Both Jovan and Jagoda asked in unison.

"Yes. We. You need someone who knows these lands and its people like the back of their hand. I know who can help and who to bribe to keep them quiet," Anil announced proudly.

"Why would anyone need to be bribed?" Jagoda asked, finding Anil's words troubling and concerning. 

"My dear Lady Pasha, sometimes You have to feed the dog that barks at You," Anil replied to Jagoda then realized how innocent and different she was from her sisters. 

"If You keep Your neighbor happy, Your own work will go easier, too," Jovan said and smiled as Jagoda looked his way.

"People shouldn't be scared to help out or be bribed to keep the truth to themselves," Jagoda's voice grew sad as she spoke. 

"You speak of benevolent and righteous virtues. I am afraid that those who harmed Your father carry other views of how things work." Jovan felt the force of Jagoda's inner emotions the moment she turned her head toward him. 

"How do You know about what happened to my father?" Jagoda asked, all but shooting glares of fire as she rushed closer to Jovan and looked into his eyes. 

"I've heard stories. As someone with a warrior's background, it did not take long to figure out why Your father lost his life not on the battlefield, but off of it. That means two things. One, someone wanted him to die. And two, they are now after You to complete their plan."  

Jovan finished his brief observation and saw tears form in Jagoda's eyes. They were not tears of anger but those of a daughter's tears mourning the loss of her father. He went with his gut, raised his hand, gently moving a strand of hair away from her face. He kept his hand by her cheek and wiped away her tears with his fingers. He almost swore then but kept it inside. His gut always went crazy whenever Jagoda fought against his advances. But now as she accepted his concern for her, he almost did not know what his next step should be. He wanted to hold her. He wanted to embrace her so that her pain would go away. He wanted to kiss her. Terribly. He would have, but somehow felt this was not the place or the time to do that. And definitely not in front of Anil.

"Watch where you put those hands!" Suddenly a woman's voice called out in a warning tone as Jovan felt the tip of a sword jabbed at his back.

"Watch who You point Your weapons at," Jovan replied as he turned slowly to see who had called out a warning to him. He made sure he shielded Jagoda behind him as he turned around. He was not baffled by the unexpected interruption. He was more mad at himself for letting his guard down and not hearing the stranger who had approached them.

"Kinga!" Jagoda exclaimed so loudly that Jovan did not know if he should continue to shield her behind him or step aside. He need not have wondered because Jagoda pushed him aside as if he weighed less than a feather and rushed toward the woman.

"I see You are enjoying Yourself, Jagoda." The stranger who pointed her sword at Jovan greeted Jagoda sincerely, sending a happy grin to Anil. She sized up Jovan with the obvious intent of discrediting him. 

"Don't be silly!" Jagoda replied to the woman and looked at Jovan. 

"Would someone care to fill me in on who this woman is?" Jovan asked and pointed his sword at the woman embracing Jagoda. This did not sit well with either one of them. 

The mystery woman drew her sword back at Jovan. "Would someone care to advise this wild boar of the proper manners needed when dealing with the Sultana and her royal advisor?"

"I wish I had a way of predicting these things. I could have stood at a better angle to hear every word." Anil whispered to himself as he witnessed the standoff from a distance. Since he did not think anyone would notice anyway, he took a few steps closer to hear what was being said.

"Would You please play nice? Kinga, meet Jovan, the man who saved my life. Jovan, meet Kinga, my royal advisor and my very dear best friend." Jagoda introduced the two warriors and placed hands on their swords causing both of them to reluctantly lower their weapons...