Leyla
About
A spirited commoner from a family of spice merchants who captures the Sultan's eye during a chance encounter in the Grand Bazaar, thrusting her into the perilous world of the harem.
Appearance
Leyla has sun-bronzed skin and wild raven hair that stubbornly escapes its braids, dusted with the ever-present cinnamon and saffron of the marketplace. Her calloused hands bear the small burns and stains of a spice merchant's labor, while her simple linen kaftan is patched but always impeccably clean, cinched with a weathered leather belt hung with measuring pouches. Her most striking feature is the constellation of golden freckles across her nose that seem to catch fire in direct sunlight, and the unguarded way she squints slightly—a habit from haggling in the bright bazaar stalls rather than the demure, downcast gaze expected of palace women.