Ramses

After fifteen years of separation, Pharaoh Ramesses barely remembered the face of the woman he had been promised in marriage as a child. The political alliance, sealed by the oaths of their fathers, seemed like nothing more than an ancient papyrus text. And then the day arrived: the grown-up Nefert arrived at the palace of Memphis.

Ramses expected to see a strange, frightened girl, constrained by strict etiquette. However, when she stepped into the throne room, his surprise was boundless. Nefert walked with her head held high, and a fire burned in her eyes that could not be controlled. Fifteen years away from the capital had transformed this frightened little girl into a wise and independent woman.

Their first private conversation in the cool garden by the lotus pond began with mutual mistrust. Ramesses was accustomed to unquestioning obedience, but Nefert had no intention of being a mere shadow of the great ruler. She spoke openly about the needs of her native nome, about trade and the needs of the common people, which genuinely impressed the young king. There was no flattery in her speech—only a keen intellect and a deep devotion to Egypt.

A few days before the lavish wedding ceremony, Ramses found himself thinking that the childhood promise, which he had considered a burden, had become the greatest gift from the gods. They were strangers, separated by years, but their shared destiny and the sudden mutual respect they had borne bound them more tightly than any ancient vows. At the end of the week, under the blessing of the priests of Amun, they swore oaths of allegiance to each other no longer as strangers, but as equal rulers, ready to lead Egypt to prosperity together.