If Jovan had to describe how he felt right about now, he'd swear that there were no words on earth that could encompass all of it. The thought of holding Jagoda in his arms calmed all of the restlessness he had felt not long ago. Her delicate spirit, and the light in her heart, filled his scorned and bruised heart in a way he had not imagined. They stood, holding each other and leaning against the side of the mountain which offered them much needed support a moment ago, and watched the mountain range before them clad in the moonlight.
Caressing Jagoda's hair while she leaned against him, Jovan sighed heavily. Not out of the necessity to catch his breath, but because he finally felt strong enough to admit to himself who he was. He was a man who fell in love. And he finally understood what his grandmother tried to tell him for many years - that there was no greater balance that filled the soul than finding peace in the embrace of the beloved. But he also realized something else. And that was the grim realization that he would fight for her life at all cost...
"I will have to correct Kinga in her way of thinking," Jagoda whispered while she kept her hands wrapped around Jovan's waist.
"Oh? About what?" He asked.
"You don't roar like a wild boar. You purr like a palace kitten..." she replied and let out a joyful giggle when he tickled her.
"I do not purr. Men don't purr!" He puffed out, pretending to be insulted.
"They may not, but You do. At least You did a moment ago," she looked up and wiggled her eyebrows at him.
"Keep it up and I'll find excuses to purr again," he smiled and kissed the top of her head.
"Why bother looking for excuses? If You ask me, Your skin feels like it likes purring," she sent him a mischievous gaze and fluttered her eyelashes.
"That it does. But if You ask me, Your skin seemed to purr just as much as mine did," Jovan whispered to her while he ran his finger along her jawline and down his neck, stopping next to the pendant he had given to her.
"Ahh, Valiant... You seem to let Your words do the talking. But, would Your body do the walking if You were capable of it again?" She teased him. Her grin grew tenfold when Jovan shot her a glance that pulled at the strings of her gut.
"You must have mistaken me for a weakling. I will take Your insult of my ego as a challenge. And I NEVER back down from a challenge..." he whispered again and turned to kiss her.
"I knew I would find You here!" Anil exclaimed happily as he exited the cave and entered into the moonlight, which caused Jagoda and Jovan to take a few steps away from each other.
"You're lucky Your rabbit ears are showing again." Jovan shot Anil a warning look that caused Anil to take a step back.
"Right. Well, umm, we may as well put that memory aside. No one benefits from it," Anil replied.
"No one." Jovan kept his gaze on Anil.
"Is there a reason You came looking for Us?" Jagoda asked Anil.
"Right. I almost forgot," Anil shot a glance back at Jovan, meant to be on the same level as Jovan's, but it missed its mark and instead looked more like that of a scared rabbit.
"So, is there a reason?" Jagoda asked again.
"There better be one," Jovan chimed in before Anil could speak.
"There is. There was a decision reached that we would depart for Sofia in two days," Anil announced with pride.
"Oh? Are we ready for it?" Alarmed, Jagoda asked Jovan.
"We are," Jovan replied with confidence, aware of what his words meant to Jagoda.
"Alright. Then we shall gather necessary provisions and resources," Jagoda smiled faintly, though Jovan saw that the smile did not reach her eyes.
"We still need to figure out where the rest of the warriors will wait for Our signal, and where we will bring Your sisters once they are captured," Jovan said to the both of them.
"That, too, had been decided," Anil announced and patted his dagger as if to signify that he, too, had a hand in the planning.
"Well?" Jovan and Jagoda asked in unison after a while since Anil seemed distracted by his thoughts.
"Oh," Anil chuckled and shook his head. "We will set up camp in the Waterfall."
"That makes sense", Jagoda nodded.
"What Waterfall?" Jovan asked.
"The Waterfall not far from Sofia," Jagoda explained. "Do You think my sisters might suspect that we would set up Our camp there?" She asked Anil.
"Not if we move by night, and not if we set the camp up inside the caves," Anil replied.
"You've been there before. Will there be enough space for everyone and everything we need?" Jagoda asked him again.
"There will be if we take the bare essentials and only the most skilled warriors with Us. If we succeed, we will send word for everyone else to join Us. Besides, I gauge it won't take us more than two, three weeks at the most to complete Our plan." Anil spoke with such conviction that it actually impressed Jovan.
"You said 'If we succeed'. I plan on it". Jovan spoke up because of the restlessness that returned to him.
"Those who disregard any notion of failure, oftentimes fall victim to their own pride," Anil countered Jovan's words.
"You sound like Bojana," Jovan sighed, realizing how accurate Anil's words sounded.
"She is a wise woman..." Jagoda whispered, more to herself than to both men.
"That, she is." Anil agreed. "Now... If You don't mind, we should go back inside and start on the preparations to leave for the waterfalls."
"Why would we mind?" Jovan asked Anil when Jagoda made her way inside.
"No reason. But I doubt that a warrior such as Yourself would lay down his prized saber in the snow unless HE had a good reason to do so. Besides, judging by the fact that Jagoda's back is covered in snow while it appears to be crushed on the side of the mountain, I would say that she either fell hard against it, or she saw a winter rabbit that scared her enough to jump into Your arms slow enough for You to unbuckle and drop the saber. You be the judge..." Anil's grin grew into a full blown smile when he saw Jovan's face expression.
"Point taken, Anil the Wise," Jovan nodded. "So, which Waterfall are we headed to?"
"The Boyana Waterfall," Anil announced, and went inside, leaving Jovan with a sudden twist in his gut...
YOU ARE READING
THE TIDES OF TIME
Romance⚔️ "Being born and raised to respect life and its rules, Jovan Galanis made something of himself. He was ambitious, outgoing, disciplined, and righteous to his very core. His parents died when he was a young boy, and having been raised by his Macedo...
