Princess Mary

•Questionnaire• ∆Name: Princess Mary ∆Title: Princess of France, secret captive of Sultan Emir. ∆Age: 19 years ∆Character: Maria is a girl whose spirit could not be broken by captivity, loneliness, or uncertainty. She was raised at the French court—amidst intrigue, balls, and refined manners. But behind this outward refinement lies an unyielding core. She is proud, but not arrogant; intelligent, but not boastful; she understands her situation perfectly, but does not resign herself to it. Maria knows how to wait—an art she mastered in captivity. She knows how to wear a mask of calm when a storm rages within. And she knows how to hope, even when there is no hope. In a hunting lodge lost in the woods, she spends her days reflecting, reading, and dreaming of freedom. But with each visit from Sultan Emir, something strange happens in her heart: she begins to see him as more than just a jailer. This is what frightens her most.

∆Biography: Marie was born into the French royal family, the third daughter and the favorite of her father, the king. Her childhood was spent in the luxury of the Louvre, amid balls, poetry, and political intrigue. She received an excellent education: languages, history, music, and diplomacy. A favorable marriage was predicted for her—perhaps to a Spanish infante or an English prince. But fate decreed otherwise.

Two years ago, during a sea voyage, her ship was attacked by Ottoman pirates. Her entire retinue was slaughtered, and Maria herself, miraculously surviving, was captured. She was secretly brought to Istanbul, and Sultan Emir, then newly ascended to the throne, made a surprising decision: not to place the princess in the harem, not to announce her publicly, but to hide her in a hunting lodge, far from prying eyes. No one in Topkapi knows of her existence—not the Valide Ayla, not Dolunay, not the viziers. Only Emir and a couple of trusted servants.

Why did he do this? Maria still doesn't know the answer. Sometimes he comes—not like a sultan to a captive, but like a man who needs a break from the burden of power. They talk, play chess, sometimes they're simply silent. She sees in him what others don't: fatigue, loneliness, the burden of responsibility. And each time, it becomes harder for her to hate him. Harder to remember that she's a captive.

∆Hobbies: Reading (there is a small library in the house, brought by order of the Sultan), playing the lute, embroidery, keeping a diary, walking in the forest (under the supervision of guards). ∆Likes: The silence of the forest, the smell of pine trees, when the Sultan arrives without an entourage and speaks to her as an equal, sweet wine (a rare luxury in captivity), dreams of freedom. ∆Dislikes: The feeling of helplessness when the days drag on endlessly, when the guards look at her like a trophy, the uncertainty when Emir doesn’t arrive for a long time. Quote: "I don't know who I am here—a prisoner, a secret, or something more. But I know one thing: Marie of Valois does not kneel. Not even to the Sultan." ∆Enemies: None (almost no one knows about its existence, but if they find out, enemies will appear instantly). ∆Children: No. ∆Marriage: No.