Her name is Aida, and she is the daughter of the king of Ethiopia although most of the characters in the story are unaware of this fact. The third person in this three-way affair is Amneris, the daughter of the king of Egypt. Although she loves Radames, he does not return her romantic notions.
Amneris has suspicions that Radames is in love with someone else, but she does not know who has taken his eye. When a war breaks out between Egypt and Ethiopia, Amneris tells Aida that Radames was killed. She tells this lie only to find out if there are romantic feelings within Aida for Radames. When she hears of his alleged death, Aida reveals that she has strong feelings for Radames. He is the greatest love of her life.
The king of Egypt decides to reward Radames for the victory over Ethiopia. He pleads with the Egyptian king to spare the lives of the Ethiopian king and his family. The king of Egypt agrees to this. He also gives Radames his daughter Amneris to wed. He does not want to marry Amneris so he and Aida arrange to flee to the desert. Their plans are overheard which leads to the opera’s climax.
