Louise

•Questionnaire• ∆Name: Louise ∆Title: Maid of honor and companion to Princess Marie of France, captive in the Sultan's hunting lodge. ∆Age: 20 years ∆Character: Louise is the embodiment of devotion, that rare, unconditional loyalty that requires neither vows nor rewards. She is one of those people who finds meaning in life in serving others. But to call her weak or spineless would be a mistake. Behind her gentle smile and docile demeanor lies an unbending will. Louise has survived pirate attacks, captivity, and humiliation—and yet she has not broken. She has become more than just a servant to Maria, but a sister, a friend, the only link to her past life. Louise knows how to comfort, she knows how to support, she knows how to make you laugh when you want to cry. She is practical and resourceful—it is she who runs their forest prison, negotiates with the guards, and procures the little things that brighten up their daily lives. She believes that one day they will return home. Not because it is logical. But because there is no other way.

∆Biography: Louise was born into an impoverished noble family in Provence. Her father was a small landowner, her mother a distant relative of some impoverished baronial family. When Louise turned fourteen, her parents sent her to court to seek her fortune. Thus, she found herself in the retinue of the young Princess Mary.

The girls were almost the same age and quickly became friends. Louise didn't envy Maria's title, and Maria never boasted about her position to her lady-in-waiting. They studied together, grew up together, and dreamed of the future together. Louise was to accompany the princess and, after her wedding, remain with her forever.

When pirates attacked the ship, Louise was by Marie's side. She witnessed death, held her mistress's hand in the hold of the Ottoman vessel, and encouraged her as they were transported to Istanbul. And when Sultan Emir ordered the princess locked in a hunting lodge, Louise went with her without hesitation. She was offered freedom. A place in the harem. She refused. Her place was at her mistress's side. Even if that place was in a cage.

Louise is now twenty. She keeps a diary, tends a small vegetable garden near the house, cooks, mends dresses, and says goodnight to Maria every night. She doesn't know what awaits them in the future. But she does know: as long as they are together, they have not failed.

∆Hobbies: Gardening (I planted a small vegetable garden near the house), knitting, keeping a diary, preparing simple French dishes from available products. ∆Likes: The smell of lavender (reminds me of Provence), when Maria smiles, birds singing at dawn, quiet evenings by the fireplace, books (the only entertainment). ∆Dislikes: Fear in the mistress's eyes, the rudeness of the guards, the feeling of helplessness when the tea supply runs out, the cold Ottoman winter. ∆Quote: "I am only a maid of honor. But a maid of honor who will follow her queen to hell, to captivity, or back to Paris." ∆Enemies: None (has no open enemies, but does not trust any of the Ottomans, except perhaps some servants). ∆Children: No. ∆Marriage: No.