Jovan knew that going mad was not an option. And yet... He could not help it. He was mad with worry. He was mad with despair. He was mad at himself for not foreseeing the possibility that his beloved Jagoda would have gone against their plans and would have gone to face Zora behind their back in the first place.
But now, it all laid in the past. A past so distant to a man born in the 20th century yet so recent to a man who held his gravely hurt beloved in his arms.
If Jovan had to find any consolation in defeating the unscrupulous horseman - aside from Anil striking him down - it was the fact that they found the man's horse behind the Boyana Church, and felt justified to use it. Without a moment to spare, Jovan mounted the horse with Jagoda and took off . They rode to Bojana's place all day and all night. Jagoda was in desperate need of help. Jovan knew deep in his heart that Bojana could and would help them. She had to! That was the driving force behind the rush that filled his mind, his heart, and his fear-stricken gut.
Jovan had to admit that even though the horseman was as evil as possible, he had trained his horse well to withstand prolonged strain, cold wintery conditions, and the kind of distance that would cause any other horse to fall to its knees. Four hundred kilometers separated Boyana Church from the little cabin hidden in the woods near Lake Prespa. Such distance would have been hard for any horse with one rider, let alone two riders. And yet, the horse they rode on appeared as though it was built for that sort of hardship.
They rode tirelessly through forests, far from main roads, through the snow storm that eased only at night. Jovan followed the instructions Anil had given to him and made sure to use Galičica Mountain as a guidepost once it appeared before them. Sending a dove to wherever Bojana was staying - which Anil somehow knew where to obtain with no time to spare, Jovan knew that Bojana would wait for them at the cabin. He just hoped it would not be too late.
"Hold onto life, my dearest Sultana," Jovan whispered the words over and over, as if the chant held within it Fate's promise of his beloved's survival.
"Jovan," Jagoda whispered from time to time, yet had not regained consciousness long enough to realize she had been rescued from Zora's treacherous claws.
By dawn, they arrived at Bojana's cabin not far from Lake Prespa. Bojana rushed outside even before Jovan signaled for the horse to stop.
"Thank heavens You received Our message!" Jovan called out to Bojana as he dismounted the horse.
"We have no time for small talk, Valiant!" Bojana scolded him. "Quickly, You need to bring her inside at once!"
"She's been poisoned, but we do not know what poison it was!" Jovan exclaimed and removed Jagoda from the horse's back and took her into his arms.
"You did Your part, now let me do mine!" Bojana scolded him again and rushed them inside, closing the door shut once she walked in behind them.
"Will You save her?!?" Jovan pleaded with Bojana and laid Jagoda on the same bed they had healed from their wounds in the past. "Please, You must save her!?!"
"As I have told You once before, You did Your part, now let me do mine," Bojana shook her head. "I may be experienced in my winters, but I have no tolerance for having to repeat myself."
"Yes, ma'am," Jovan nodded.
"It will work in both of Our favors if You do not call me ma'am," Bojana narrowed her eyes on him and placed her hand on Jagoda's forehead. "She's burning up. We must bring the fever down immediately."
"Tell me what to do!" Jovan begged her.
"Remove her coat. I need to examine her to see the extent of the damage the poison had taken up to this point," Bojana advised him and rushed toward the hearth of the fireplace. She pressed the long flat nail sticking out on the inside of the fireplace, unlocked the underground hidden passageway of her hut, and rushed down the ladder. She returned with her apron filled with bottles of potions Jovan was scared to even look at.
"Please tell me she will survive! She must!" Jovan said with a voice filled with worry as he placed Jagoda back on the pillow behind her back after removing her coat.
"She must! And she will!" Bojana nodded and laid a hand on Jovan's shoulder. "The poison is the same one that the horseman used on the arrow that pierced Your shoulder when You saved Jagoda. Her body recognized the poison, my dear Valiant. It will recognize the antidote as well."
And it did. Much more swiftly than Jovan expected and Zora would have preferred. Much, much more swiftly. By the dawn of the following morning Jagoda had regained consciousness and enough strength to awake and sit up.
"I owe my life to You, Bojana," Jagoda smiled through the pain still battering her body as she sat against the pillow, embraced by Jovan.
"My dear Sultana, You owe it to the man who never gave up on searching for You," Bojana smiled sincerely as she stood by the fireplace while stirring the pot of stew.
"That is true," Jagoda looked up into Jovan's loving eyes and leaned onto his chest. The sound of his heart beating under the palm of her hand was enough to make her forget about the torture she endured in the recent days. "You may be a wild boar, but You sure are Valiant."
"Would You look at her, Bojana?" Jovan grinned, sighed with relief, and kissed the top of Jagoda's head with gentle tenderness. "She is well enough to make fun of me. That antidote works faster than any medicine I have ever heard of in my life."
"My dear Jovan, medicine falls short of its mark when compared to the strength of true love," Bojana smirked.
"True love, You say?" Jovan clicked his tongue and leaned in to kiss Jagoda, but caught the glimpse of the way Bojana tensed up at the last moment. "What is it?"
"A visitor," Bojana said in a stone-cold tone of voice.
"Maybe it is Anil? He may have finally caught up with Us, at the pace of his horse," Jovan inclined his head again to kiss Jagoda, but realized at once that his response did not match Bojana's keen instinct. "Or, NOT Anil."
"Not Anil, my dear Jovan. Not Anil," Bojana shook her head and reached for Jovan's saber sword, retrieving it from its scabbard. "Zora..."
"She's here?!?" Jovan rose to his feet and grabbed his sword from Bojana. "How did she find Us here?!?"
"She had come to my hut once, a long time ago, pretending to be seeking an antidote for a poison that was given to Our beloved Lala Şahin Pasha. She did not know that I was aware of the fact that she administered that poison to him herself," Bojana shook off the ill feeling in her stomach. "But I am not certain why she came here alone."
"I intend to find that out, one way or another," Jovan grit his teeth. "Stay inside Jagoda. This is between me and Your wicked sister."
"You need my help!" Jagoda exclaimed, and tried to rise to her feet but sat back on the bed, overcome by the sudden rush of pain.
"No, I need for You to live!" Jovan gestured for her to remain in the bed and looked at Bojana. "Guard her life at all cost!"
"You have my word on it!" Bojana inclined her head and reached inside the hearth of the fireplace, retrieving an impressive sword. She wielded it in the air above her head with the precision of a skilled warrior.
"Right," Jovan raised his eyebrows at Bojana, impressed, and rushed outside.
"Jovan the Valiant," he heard Zora's wickedly mad voice not far from the hut. "They say men cannot be trusted. Especially men pretending to be in love."
"I am in love, just not with someone who chose to eliminate her own family!" He replied with conviction as he searched for Zora in the dimmed light of the rising sun...
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...
