THE TIDES OF TIME

- Epilogue -

Standing on the shore of Lake Prespa, Jovan felt better than he had in days. Come to think of it, he felt better than he had ever felt in his life. Stenje didn't just feel like his home anymore - it felt like his homeland. In more ways than he could describe.

His house - Bojana's hut - was here.
His heart was here.
His beloved wife was here.
His soon-to-be-born child was here.

Heck, even Anil the Brave was here.

As he stood there, in the spot where he shared one of his last memories with his dear grandmother Bojana, Jovan looked toward the Mount of Galičica. So much had changed since the moment he stood on that mountain and revealed his love to Jagoda in the soft light of the moon. So much had changed since the day he was tried for crimes he never committed, resulting in a dishonorable discharge he never should have been sentenced for. Then again, if that never happened, he never would have returned to Stenje. He never would have had the chance to spend Bojana's last days with her. He never would have met Jagoda.

Jagoda...

That name held in itself his entire world. His life. His hopes. His future. She was the only one who understood the sacrifices he had made - in this life and the one they had come to share back in time. Jovan sighed heavily at the thought of the life they left back then, back when horsemen shot poisoned arrows, people loyal to justice and their country hid in caves, and bartenders offered rather foul-tasting beverages of questionable origins. Well, they still did that in current times, but that single thought was enough to bring both a grimace and a smile to Jovan's face.

"Jovan the Valiant, I do believe You are an intriguing man," Jagoda's soft tone of voice carried his thoughts back to the realm of reality.

"Ah, Sultana, I do believe You are quite intriguing Yourself," Jovan turned and smiled at his beloved. The fact that she held her hand atop her round and clearly pregnant belly only widened his smile.

"What could You possibly find intriguing about me?" Jagoda raised her eyebrows and embraced her beloved husband.

"Well, You are nine months pregnant and still refuse to put aside sword practice - even for one day," Jovan embraced her and kissed the top of her head as they turned to look over the lake, toward Galičica.

"A Sultana should always be prepared for a good sword fight," Jagoda replied in an authoritative tone of voice.

"True... I won't argue with You on that one," Jovan agreed. "But didn't You tell me that Blagun and Kinga took over the reins of the land when You decided to take Your little time trip?"

"Technicalities, really," Jagoda moved her shoulders up and down, though she could not hide her grin. Not from Jovan. "I couldn't have left my people had it not been for the two of them."

"I'm just glad Kinga forgave me for giving her ring to Zora," Jovan sighed with relief.

"Oh, I assure You, that forgiveness did not come lightly to her," Jagoda shivered at the memory of Kinga's furious reaction when she found out what really happened to the ring Blagun had given to her. "Kinga swore Your name out to high heavens. Believe me, calling You a wild boar was the nicest thing she called You the moment I returned the ring back to her."

"It couldn't have been that bad if she accepted it back," Jovan noted, picturing Kinga's temperamental and less than ladylike response. "Could it?"

"It could," Jagoda chuckled. "But then Anil the Brave found a poetic way of turning the fact that Zora wore the ring in Your favor."

"How so?" Jovan asked, not because he hadn't heard the story before, but because he missed his timeline friends.

"Well, the fact that the ring made its way back to Kinga did calm her down. And thanks to Anil's quick thinking, knowing that the ring now signifies the truth that Zora had been defeated made the ring all that much important to her," Jagoda smiled.

"I knew Anil had my back," Jovan nodded, grateful to have found a true friend in the man he once considered to be a quiet rabbit whisperer.

"Oh, he does. And not because You promised to call our soon-to-be-born son after him," Jagoda chuckled.

"I did no such thing," Jovan grimaced and denied it.

"Fine. Then You tell him. He already bought a dagger for Your son and had his name engraved in it," Jagoda looked up into Jovan's eyes.

"Why didn't You say so in the first place? That changes everything," Jovan smirked and kissed her.

"He knew You would approve of it," Jagoda beamed at Jovan with so much love that it warmed his heart. But something suddenly changed in her eyes. Something that alarmed him.

"What is?" He asked, worried.

"It would appear that Your son decided to come to this world on his own terms and when he chose it," Jagoda replied and winced from a delicate jab of pain.

"What?" Jovan blinked. Twice.

"Looks like Your warrior son is coming, and I have a feeling he will be a mighty warrior, just like his father," she rose to her toes and kissed him.

"This is no time for kissing, Sultana! If he's coming to this world, we must get You to the hospital this minute!" Jovan paled from fear and grabbed her hand, only to find Jagoda wince from a thrust of pain she was not ready for.

"I don't think we will make it to the hospital on time," she replied and grasped his hand so tightly that he almost yelped from pain himself.

"What do You mean?!?" Jovan exclaimed, more panicked than ever in his life.

"Looks like You might have to deliver Your warrior son in our home," Jagoda said matter-of-factly and winced from another wave of pain.

"At Bojana's hut?!?" He exclaimed even louder.

"Why not? That hut witnessed a lot of healing and miracles. It will keep me calm. It should keep You calm, too," Jagoda smiled and began walking toward the hut.

"Calm?!? Calm?!? There is no way my heart will be able to stay calm when my son is about to be born, Sultana!" Jovan replied, both scared and excited for what soon would come to pass...

- THE END -