Konrad and Alexandra (PDF) - Rolf Gross

ape her. But then he must die, and she had to attend to his "sacrifice." Like in the Greek tragedies the Queen would notkill the King herself, overwhelmed by madness he would die by his own hand.She was not afraid of Dato. He would not shoot her, that part of Dato’s script, forbidden by the most fearful taboos, hehad borrowed from a fashionable French novel, but he would try to shoot himself in her presence and make a horriblemess of it.Konrad, the foreigner, would consider this an adolescent, romantic game. Only a Georgian could understand theseunwritten, timeless rules.She had promised Konrad to always come back to him, but had not considered the possibility of a physical abductionwhen making that promise. She had to bring this tragedy to a modern, peaceful, totally un-Georgian end.She admired Dato’s high-flying audacity; his dark, tragic beauty, his racy recklessness. If she would play her role well, itwould be a victory over her own tragic sense, her farewell to Georgia and its men, her final decision to break with theage-old rules that governed the relations between men and women in this ancient land."Yes, I will accompany you."Dato relaxed and with a faltering voice, full of emotion, thanked her. They turned and rode off at a sharp clip towards therising moon.They followed the path Konrad and Alexandra had taken two months earlier. As they entered the mountains their paceslowed, and Alexandra recalled the night full of love and happiness. She was distressed, this incident was going to causeKonrad much pain, it would take her a long time to explain her part in this abduction.However, she had to save Dato from his own ambiguous confusion in the hope that he would grow into a modern man.This was why she loved this unhappy man too, differently from Konrad.She stood between the two men, between past and future, at the seam between the two worlds she had chosen tobridge, to make them work for each other in herself.The four reached Shuamta at sunrise. Early morning fog was surrounding the three churches. The two witnesses set outto rouse the hermit from his sleep who cared for the three churches. They returned with the old man at knifepoint.Dressed in rags, his long hair and beard dirty and unkempt, he was slobbering and in a whining voice called on theMother of God for protection. A sorry, befuddled figure, entirely in keeping with the sad drama. The hermit swore to Godthat he was not a priest and was not allowed to perform weddings. God would punish him in eternity for such a sin.The three men were at a loss what to do. Alexandra tired, full of pity for the old man, and wanting to get the bungled affairover with, suggested that they should stick some candles to the walls, get a Bible, and the two witnesses should performthe wedding.Lacking a better suggestion Dato consented. Touched, Alexandra found that the three had brought a white shawl tocover her head and two wreaths connected by a string, the indispensable implements of the Eastern wedding ritual.They lit the candles. Alexandra, covered by the bridal veil, knelt next to Dato before the iconostasis, and one of the youngmen placed the wreaths on their heads. The second young man, confused and disorganized, read some arbitrary textfrom the bible. When he had finished, he crossed the wreaths and solemnly intoned, "I pronounce you, Dato Ortaladzeand Alexandra Dadiani, married."After that he halted and exclaimed, "Dato, what am I to do next? I have never been married."Alexandra giggled, "None of us has. Now comes the ring ceremony. Dato, where are the rings?"Dato, pale-faced, admitted that he had no rings. He pulled his revolver and held it to his head.In a lightening sweep Alexandra took the gun from his hand and stood, a blazing avenging angel, in front of theiconostasis with the loaded weapon in hand."Look Dato," she said with a cutting voice, "you are not going to shoot yourself in this sacred place. Collect yourself andsay after me ‘I promise to love you, Alexandra Dadiani, for ever and ever, until I die.’"Dato, sobbing, repeated the sentence and collapsed at her feet.Keeping his two friends at a distance with the gun, Alexandra knelt down besides the dissolved groom and covered himwith her bridal veil. "Dato, I, Alexandra Dadiani promise to love you for ever and ever until I die. I do and will."Dato stuck his head from under the veil. Fear and surprise on his face. He was still alive! "Truly, will you?""Yes, in the name of the Holy Mother of God and all the Saints, I will," repeated Alexandra, "and these two friends ofyours are my witnesses."Dato sat up and wiped away his tears, while Alexandra opened the magazine of the revolver, took the six bullets out, andhanded the empty weapon back to him. She helped him up and embraced and kissed him. Recovered from their frightthe witnesses applauded."Look Dato, whenever you are in need you can come to me, but I cannot, before God, become your wife. I am Konrad’swife and you and I would commit a grave sin, if I got married to a second man in this holy place, even if it were onlyinformally."She took him by the hand and spoke quietly to him. "I am dead tired after the long ride and all this emotional upheaval.Can we ride to Telavi and find a room to get some sleep? I would also like to send a telegram to my father. Deda must beout of her mind with worry about me. I promise you that I will protect you from the authorities, provided the three of you35