"Tell me WHY I should not end Your existence right now!" Jovan snarled as he held tightly onto Anil's kaftan.
"I..." Anil tried to speak, but his heart leaped up to his throat. Not just out of fear, but out of sheer fact that he actually used his dagger to attack someone, and succeeded.
"Speak! Why did You do this to Jagoda!!!" Jovan tried his best to fight back tears as he shouted at Anil.
"That... was... not Jagoda," Anil whispered the words, and fell to his knees the moment Jovan released the grip on his kaftan.
"Liar! I saw her take a direct hit from Your dagger! I heard her call out my name! The pendant I gave to her fell to the ground when Your dagger cut the string around her neck! And You dare to tell me I imagined that petrified gaze in Jagoda's eyes as she flew over the terrace railing!?!" Jovan breathed heavily, overcome with overbearing despair.
"Yes. I mean no." Anil coughed between the words, and fought back tears of his own.
"Well, which one is it?!?" Jovan shouted at him.
"I am not a liar," Anil answered, battling with his own conscience.
"I saw her fall! Why did You do that?!?" Jovan looked over the railing and saw Jagoda's body laying down below in a bank of snow.
"I did what I had to. And I told You already that was not Jagoda," Anil finally managed to gather enough strength to get up off the ground.
"If it wasn't Jagoda, then who was it?!?" Jovan demanded an answer.
"Zoja," Anil replied, exasperated.
"And I am supposed to believe You?" Jovan looked at Anil with torment in his eyes.
"Yes,"Anil nodded.
"All right," Jovan ran a hand through his hair. "Let's say I believe You. But how do You explain the fact that whoever You attacked wore Jagoda's clothes, AND her pendant?" Jovan tried his best to calm down, and demanded a logical explanation, although his mind still believed what his eyes saw.
"Because we got caught while trying to enter the Fortress," Anil winced out of fear and lowered his gaze as if he was trying to mask the shame from Jovan.
"You what?!?" Jovan shouted again, raising his hands at Anil, but lowered them after a monent.
"We got caught. While trying to enter the Fortress. Through the front gate." Anil didn't have to look up to see that Jovan's eyes burned with fury.
"Who on earth came up with that plan?!?" Jovan scratched his beard and picked up the mirror pendant which still laid by his feet.
"Jagoda," Anil said shyly.
"Why would she do that?" Jovan spoke calmer yet not at all guiltless as he looked at Jagoda's pendant in his hand.
"To give You the best possible cover to enter the Fortress to capture her sisters. She hated the fact that she had to stay behind. We just did not anticipate that Zora and her vile personal guard - the horseman who shot the arrow at You two would be there to greet us," Anil finally looked up at Jovan.
"That's why we got in so easily," Jovan nodded and paused. His heart calmed down, but not by much. Suddenly a thought popped into his mind that felt too heavy to bear. "If that was Zoja, then where's Jagoda?"
"In the dungeons, guarded by Zora's guards," Anil did his best to hide the fear in his own heart.
"Was she harmed?" Jovan had to ask. He had to.
"She... was. She was hurt by Zora's personal guard. She resisted a bit when he took her kaftan, but fought back really hard when Zora tried to remove that pendant, so the guard knocked her out." Anil sighed and found it hard to hide his tears.
"But she is alive? You are sure of it?" Jovan begged Anil for the answer.
"Yes. She demanded for me to hide when she heard Zora approach us with her guardsman. It broke my heart to watch as she was carried away toward the dungeons, but I promised to follow her orders," Anil wiped his tears away.
"Alright. All that matters is that she is alive. We have to let the others know immediately. And we will have to retreat to the Waterfall for now," Jovan advised Anil.
"Are we just going to leave her behind?" Anil asked in a trembling voice.
"We are not leaving her behind. Don't ever assume so and don't ever think of it that way. If we attack now, they will be waiting for us. We have to retreat. It is Our only option right now." Jovan patted his petrified companion's back. "Pull Yourself together, warrior! Let's catch up with the others."
The moment they did, on the outskirts of the Fortress, those who came on the mission looked baffled to see Anil walk toward them behind Jovan. Anil looked scared, worried, and his eyes still showed the tears that flooded his eyes. The lanter he held, albeit faint in light, reflected the despair in his teary eyes.
"What is he doing here? Shouldn't he have guarded Jagoda?" Kinga asked Jovan.
"He did," Jovan replied as he continued to walk toward them.
"What do You mean by 'he did'?" Kinga rushed toward Anil.
"He did. And she's been caught. That's why we got in so easily," Jovan spoke calmly and put his arm up between Kinga and Anil to shield him from her fury.
"What?!?" Exclaimed all those gathered.
"You've got some nerve showing Your face to me right now!" Kinga snarled as she pulled out her sword.
"Put that thing away. It won't do You, or us, any good to bicker about this. We have to retreat to the Waterfall," Jovan continued.
"You dare to insinuate that we leave her behind?!? Even a wild boar would have more brains - or loyalty to suggest that!" Kinga channeled her anger at Jovan.
"We are not leaving her behind. But we would be obliterated if we got caught now. And they expect us to rush into the Fortress to save her. We will return for her. There is no way I will let Zora win," Jovan replied to Kinga in an utterly authoritative tone.
"Zora or Zoja," Blagun chimed in.
"Nope, just Zora. Anil put Zoja out of her misery," Jovan pointed at Anil.
"What?!?" Blagun and Kinga asked in unisom.
"Yup, he's a hero in my book, if You ask me." Hearing Jovan's words, all the warriors turned their eyes to Anil, who was still hiding behind Jovan.
"How did he do it?" Blagun asked with admiration.
"Lucky shot, but don't ask me for the details," Jovan answered Blagun's question. "I never want to relive that image in my mind."
"So, how'd You do it?" Blagun asked Anil.
"I threw my dagger with my eyes closed. It landed where it did. She fell off the terrace," Anil explained, suddenly bashful and still afraid of what he had done.
"You threw it with Your eyes closed? You could have hit me." Jovan turned to Anil,disturbed..
"But he did not," Kinga responded. "Wait... how did You know it was Zoja?"
"Jagoda demanded that I hide when we entered the Fortress. So I did. She got caught by Zora and her guardsman. She gave me orders before she was captured, though. She wanted to make sure we captured Zoja even if we couldn't catch Zora. This way Zoja wouldn't be able to pretend she was either of them. Zora became furious and took off Jagoda's kaftan and mocked Jagoda by saying that she would, in fact, make Zoja put it on to pretend she was Jagoda. But even that was not enough for Zora. She also wanted Jagoda's pendant, the one she received from Jovan. Jagoda refused to surrender it. Jagoda called out Jovan's name right before Zora's guard ripped the pensant off her neck and knocked her out unconscious," Anil advised them as he looked at Jovan.
"That's why Zoja knew my name," Jovan said more to himself than to others.
"Yes. I rushed after Zoja when she ran toward You. Zora gave her a poisoned dagger. If I wasn't going to succeed in getting to her, she would have gotten to You," Anil said to Jovan.
"Then I owe You my life. Not once, but twice, bunny ears," Jovan smiled and patted Anil again...