“I know you are in love with me. There is no lie in saying this. Your heart is my captive, and you are my prisoner. Tears flow from your eyes without pause, and your soul is rent by my absence. I am certain you cannot escape this Fate because I am also slain thousands of times over. Perhaps you might ask yourself what King wants for lovers, but you would be misguided. I am no stranger to admiration from afar, but I have always belonged to you. Until now, I alone have kept this knowledge.”
“Yet only you have the strength to complete the task I ask, so our love must remain in secret for now. I know this is a heavy burden, but only you can free me from this sadness. Slay the foul demons plaguing my mind and plant the violet of hope in my heart once more. Do this for me, and in doing so, strengthen the ties that bind us to one another.”
“I swear to wed no husband other than you. Even if an angel comes from Heaven for my sake, I will perish first. In all the earth, there is no other man than you, my lion. Thus, strew roses on your path when you return, and I will meet you like a ray of sunlight. You will find your rosebud unfaded, for I am yours forever.”
“Should I break this vow for any reason other than death, love would pierce my soul with a lance and bury my joy. I would be cut off from paradise and swallowed up by hell for eternity.”
Tinatin’s words burned away the chains weighing on Avtandil, and when he answered, his voice was thick with emotion.
“My skies were dark and moonless for so many years. Often, I thought death would be preferable to life without your heart, but today you have set me free. You have lifted the weight on my soul and given me new life. I might ask what I did to make you suspect me, but wiser men than I have known better than to question a woman’s intuition.”
“I will learn of this Knight in the panther skin, obeying you in this task as the planets obey the sun. Nothing will turn me from my quest, and I will be more faithful to you than any servant. Though the wall of the world may stand in my way, I will not wither, for your rays shine generously upon me. Should I grow weary of the long road, I will remember your eyes, which cause jet and onyx to blink. When I am done, I will return to you.”
Having shared their hearts, they stared into each other’s eyes and reaffirmed their oaths, holding hands for the first time. Avtandil would ride to the ends of the earth and search for the strange Knight, and Tinatin would wait three years for him. They made their covenant, promising a duty to one another no one would be able to come between.
Each had secretly grieved for the other all these long years, and now, their discovery of mutual love was like dawn breaking the dark of a night sky. Their smiles lit the room like flashes of lightning, and they talked for hours. They spoke of a hundred things, from nothing to everything, as lovers do.
Between words, the ruby glow of their faces revealed volumes shared between their eyes. When morning teased the edges of the horizon, they knew it was time to part. Though leaving was painful, their duty now was to honor and respect the vows they swore to one another. Before going, Avtandil turned to her once more.
“Though I must leave, it pains me to be away from you. I am a man driven to madness at the sight of your beauty and burned to ash by your fires. Be sure I will carry this task to completion and return to you.”
The young Knight turned then and walked away, but the pain of parting was more than he was able to endure. Though he had exchanged his heart for hers, it did not lessen the hurt of leaving. A hail of crystal tears rained down from his eyes, and sobs shook him like a palm at the edge of a storm.
Now more than ever, he longed to be beside her, but the door was closed. She was a King, and he a Knight. Each had matters to attend to, and neither owned the freedom to depart their responsibilities.
Resolutely placing one foot before the other, he forced himself home one step at a time. He lamented the hand fate had dealt him, sighing a private farewell until he might be with her again.
“The bite of her absence shows itself too soon on me. My soul is faded, and I have become more yellow than amber. I wonder, how will I survive all these years when I cannot gaze at her face? It will be like an eternal winter for me. Surely death is a better fate for lovers than separation, yet what other course do I have than what God has set before me?”
He continued speaking to himself until entering his chambers and falling into bed, still wearing his fine clothes. Unable to stop his tears, he sobbed, shaking like the leaves of an aspen tree on the wind, until sleep took him. In his dreams, he reached out to Tinatin, but she faded from his grasp, becoming no more than fog. Finally, when he could not hold her, he woke with a shout.
The reality of his oath weighed heavily on him, leaving his heart more tender than a new rosebud. For three years, he would be away from his love. This knowledge sat on his chest like a mountain. Nevertheless, though sorrow cloaked his soul, he began preparing for the long road ahead.