Ester/Estelle (エステル Esuteru? ) is one of the secondary characters of the novel series "The Heroic Legend of Arslan". She uses the name Etoile (エトワール Etowāru? ) to pose as a male soldier. She is a young soldier from Lusitania.
Appearance
2013 Manga and Anime
Etoile is a young girl the same age as Arslan. In the 2013 manga and anime she has short messy blonde hair and caramel eyes with noticeable eyelashes.
Now a soldier herself, her outfit consists of the standard Lusitanian soldier uniform. She sports a chain mail cloak, covering her whole head and neck but leaving her face exposed. On top of her head she wears a simple metal helmet, much like other Lusitanian soldiers that covers her current long blonde hair.
OVA Series
In the OVA, she is depicted with long brown hair cut in straight bangs and light purple eyes. She wears a sleeveless purple tunic over a white shirt. She also wears a yellow cloth on her waist, violet arm warmers and a red headscarf fastened with a blue jewel-like brooch, along with a metal helmet and shoulder pads.
Personality
Etoile is a tough and stubborn female, being a firm Yaldabaoth believer. She is also shown to be gullible, believing in ridiculous rumors about Prince Arslan, such as him having horns. Despite being brash and hot-headed, she is shown to be good-mannered and kind compared to other Lusitanians.
Having lived her life as a male, she is uneasy in the presence of other women such as Alfreed and Farangis. She also does not care to be reminded of her gender as she sees it as being looked down upon.
Relationships
Arslan
She kidnaps Arslan, thinking that he is "the pampered son of a prominent family," without realizing that Arslan is actually the prince of Pars. She escapes in the first episode, being almost killed by an arrow that Daryun shot, but Daryun missed due to Arslan distracting him. Arslan and Etoile reunite after three years[1], Etoile becoming a page under lord Guiscard, the younger brother of Innocentius VII, the king of Lusitania. She was searching for her friends that were taken as slaves the same time she was, but finds out from Arslan that they were killed after Etoile escaped[2]. After learning the fate of her friends, Etoile doesn't threaten Arslan, but instead gives him a Bible of Lusitania, and tells him that if he converts, she will welcome Arslan to the castle and even treat him to dinner. They later meet again as Etoile infiltrates Peshawar, posing as a maiden. Arslan helps her leave the citadel, not recognizing her as the Lusitanian boy. Although she still thinks of him as a heathen, Etoile begins having second thoughts after he explains his desire to help the country of Pars. She seems to care about him to an extent of warning him not to lose his life in the war and praying for his safety or not fighting him in the future.
Barcacion
Quotes
- "To spread the rightful teachings of Yaldaboath across the world and to that end, to fight the heathens. That is our duty as Knights of Lusitania."
Trivia
- "Etoile"/"Estelle" means "star" in French.
- "Ester" is Old Persian for "star". Ester is the eponymous heroine of the seventeenth book of the Old Testament.