- Lady Sabine: "I was told I might buy Corus's best apple-raisin patties at Mistress Noll's. Nobody warned me about the service. Maybe you should kill him. I would."
- Rebakah: "It's against the law."
- Lady Sabine: "Oh, I forgot—I'm in Corus again. People care about things like that here."
- — Lady Sabine and Rebakah Cooper when Yates Noll attacks Beka in Mistress Noll's Daymarket shop[src]
Lady Sabine of Macayhill and Princehold[3] was a Tortallan knight in the mid-3rd century HE. In 249, King Roger III bequeathed Fief Princehold—originally Queensgrace—to her for her valor in rescuing Prince Gareth from slavery, and for helping to stop a major rebellion. King Roger II also named her Lady Captain of the Household Guard, and to take responsibility in protecting any royal Conté children.
Biography
Early life
Sabine was born as the daughter of a Tortallan noble house, Macayhill, which is connected to several powerful Tortallan noble families, including the old Queensgrace bloodline, the Masbolle family[2] and the Halleburn family. She decided to become a knight of Tortall as opposed to a lady—which was still quite notable even though women could become knights at this time.
Short exile from Court
Lady Sabine spent the most part of 245 HE and the beginning of 246 HE in the hill country, where she was sent by King Roger. They had "a misunderstanding,"(which was her threatening to break all the bones in his hand if he dared tried to touch her) thus the lady knight had to wait until the king pardoned her to return to Corus. Two other knights, who returned with her to Corus, have also served in the hills with her. One had red hair, the other was a blond knight named Joreth.[4]
Arrival in Corus
On her return to Corus she encountered Rebakah Cooper and her training guards, Matthias Tunstall and Clara Goodwin, when drinking in the Barrel's Bottom. A fight broke out, and Lady Sabine was of crucial help to save the three Dogs.[5]
The lady knight later met Beka and her senior guards several times more. When visiting the slave market with some of her friends, Sabine made it obvious that she does not approve of slavery and left the company of her fellow nobles because they disagree with her[6]. She later helped watch Inman Poundridge in order to find the guards of Crookshank's opal diggers.[7]
Romance
Sabine became romantically involved with Matthias Tunstall and thus saw quite a bit of Beka and Clara Goodwin. When Beka was nearly killed by the Pell brothers, Lady Sabine brought her Viviano apples, which her family grows[8]. She also helped care for Tunstall after he was injured, and teased him for being so annoyed and hard to deal with while he was hurt and unable to do anything.
Hunting kidnappers
In 249 HE, Prince Gareth of Conté, was kidnapped. Gershom of Haryse assigned the case to Lady Sabine, Beka, and Matthias Tunstall. Farmer Cape, a rather goofy mage, was also assigned to the Hunt. Tullus of King's Reach said she would be useful, especially if the Hunters had to deal with nobility who would only talk to nobility. Lazamon of Buckglen, a nobleman who was caught at the beginning of the Hunt, mentioned that more nobles would be involved[9].
June 11th—June 12th, 249
Sabine joined the rest on Monday June 11th, 249 HE, cheerful to be working with her lover Mattes Tunstall. She brought her destrier[10] Drummer and her riding horse Steady with her for the Hunt.
On June 12th, they left for Arenaver, as that was the best place to start the Hunt. The conspirators did little to leave a trace, so it was difficult for them to start. Gershom of Haryse had word from the District Commander in Eversoul. A party of two mages, three other women, and five small children came down the Ware River. By the time the Commander mobilized people to get the children, they had already left on ships[11]. Sabine was a bit shocked that they were the only ones on such an important Hunt when so much was at stake, but Lord Gershom also wrote that he was assembling other teams for the Hunt. Farmer Cape put a warding spell about their cabin for extra protection. He also put what were called "tags" on each of them, so the others could find each other if necessary. Iceblade Regengar, a mage who studied at the Carthaki University, demanded how Cape put on a ward—since he thought the other man was a dolt[11].
After they landed, Achoo picked out a scent immediately.
Capture
Deep into their hunt, Sabine and company were captured by Dolsa Silkweb, a powerful illusionist, and brought to Halleburn Castle. She was shocked when she learned of Lady Nomalla's part in the conspiracy, as they were both lady knights whose purpose was to serve the Crown and they used to play with each other often.
While in an audience with Thanen of Halleburn, he points out that her grandfather, the lord of Masbolle, had revised his will. If she did not die before him, it would leave her very wealthy in terms of inheritance. Lord Thanen also pushed a betrothal between Sabine and Baird of Conté. She pretended to accept Baird's suit of her[2].
Escape
Later, Nomalla turned coat and helped them escape using the tunnels underneath Halleburn Castle. They planned to go to the nearest village and steal horses from there so they could get back to the capital. They realized that Tunstall was the traitor quite quickly after he killed Daeggan and would have killed Prince Gareth if Beka had not saved him. After that, Farmer Cape defeated the powerful mages working with the conspiracy and they were able to bring Prince Gareth back to his parents.
Reward
After bringing Prince Gareth safely back to the king and queen, Roger gifted her Fief Princehold, which was formerly Queensgrace. It was a heritable peerage, so Sabine's heir would be titled with Lord or Lady of Princehold[3].
Physical description
Lady Sabine has brown hair and eyes. Her nose is long and her shoulders are broad. She is slender and nearly as big as Matthias Tunstall, which makes her a good six feet tall.[5]
Personality and traits
- "She's not like most of them. She's more my lord Gershom's sort. Useful."
- —Clara Goodwin about Lady Sabine when they were watching for Crookshank's people at the Market of Sorrows[src]
The lady knight seems to have a quite unorthodox character and doesn't behave like the typical noble. Some misbehavior on her side might even have been the reason while the King exiled her and only pardoned her a year later. Lady Sabine is also found drinking in an inn of the Cesspool and doesn't share the opinions of most of her fellow nobles. Instead she repeatedly helps Beka and her Dogs out and seems to have a great deal of interest in them, especially in Tunstall, with whom she later also gets romantically involved. She doesn't even care that she is a noble and he a common guard.
Lady Sabine doesn't cook and disapproves of slavery. The maid Zia is in her employ.[12]
Skills and abilities
Lady Sabine is quite handy in a fight, as she is very coolheaded. Her swordsmanship is excellent and that is her preferred weapon. She is also quite good at blending in with members of the nobility with whom she doesn't agree, like her cousins the Queensgraces.
Relationships
Matthias Tunstall
Ssbine and Matthias Tunstall became lovers quickly after their first meeting, and she and Tunstall saw each other often when he is off-duty. By May 9, 246 HE they seemed to have had several suppers together[7] and in September of the following year they still maintained a romantic relationship in spite of her saying that she likes her single state.
In 249 HE, however, Tunstall betrayed Lady Sabine by siding with rebel conspirators. Tunstall was sentenced to death for his treachery. Sabine was heartbroken, as she truly did love Tunstall by this point.
Rebakah Cooper
Lady Sabine develops a strong relationship with Beka throughout the course of the trilogy. Beka likes Sabine because she doesn't act like a typical noble, and treats common people like her equals—traits she shares with Gershom of Haryse. Sabine and Beka develop an even closer friendship in 249 HE when the two help find Gareth of Conté. As Mattes Tunstall was Beka's partner as well, they shared the same sort of grief at his betrayal and execution.
Appearances
Lady Sabine appears in Terrier and Bloodhound, although she is more important in the first novel. She also plays a crucial role in the last installment of the Provost's Dog trilogy, Mastiff.
Trivia
She was physically based on Sigourney Weaver and shares this real-life model with Winnamine Balitang.[13]
Notes and references
- ↑ Matthias Tunstall refers to her as this in Mastiff and it seems to be just a shortened and more colloquial version of her fief. Sunday June 10, 249 (pg. 174; Random House ebook)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Mastiff, June 23, 249
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Mastiff, final chapters
- ↑ Terrier, April 8, 246 (p. 294)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Terrier, April 4, 246 (p. 190)
- ↑ Terrier, May 8, 246 (p. 453)
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Terrier, May 9, 246 (p. 482)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 11, 247 (p. 107)
- ↑ Mastiff, Sun June 10 (Random House ebook)
- ↑ "Destrier" is the medieval term for a warhorse.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 M, Tues June 12, 249 (Random House ebook)
- ↑ Bloodhound, September 12, 247 (p. 133)
- ↑ Randombuzzers: Chat with Tamora Pierce - Tortall - retrieved on March 11, 2011