Apet-Hesit

Harnakhte is the son of the governor of a small town in the very south of Egypt, and Apet-hesit is one of pharaoh's numerous granddaughters. They meet as children and swear an oath to love each other forever. Six years pass and Harnakhte leaves his parent's home to look for his bride in Pi-Ramses.

During the time of separation, Apet-hesit's mother was killed by a holy crocodile. Apet-hesit avenges her mother's death and kills the creature. The priests want to execute the killer of the holy crocodile, but don't know who is to blame.
Apet-hesit's father fancies his chances to succeed as pharaoh, but he needs money to finance his plan, and sells Apet-hesit as a slave. Then he has her abducted and taken to Sharakh, a secret city in the desert where he hides her from her owner.
Harnakhte arrives in Pi-Ramses to find Apet-hesit gone. He manages to find the city of Sharakh, but is imprisoned. The people of Sharakh train one of their girls to act as Apet-hesit and show her to Harnakhte to distract him from the real Apet-hesit. The lovesick man is taken in.
Court politics intervene and the two lovers are kept apart. Will Harnakhte ever recognize his true love? Find out in the historical novel Apet-hesit: Scarred for Life.
Raised in Holland, Marcus Johnson now lives in New Zealand. Fascinated by history, his last novel was Salome: An Invitation to the Dance.
Publisher's website: http://sbpra.com/MarcusJohnson