Francine

A young woman who sold apples in Prague. She was known and branded as a thief, and looked down on by many of the locals, but her neighbors in the poorer residences considered her an angel. The brand was given to her for stealing an egg to feed one of the orphans in her care, who had fallen ill (and later died while she was in jail for the crime). Afterwards, she continued to care for the orphans and took on many odd jobs to support them. If others were hungry, she would give away her own food without resentment. She was devoutly religious and visited the church to pray despite the dirty looks she received for her obvious poverty. After meeting Bái Jīn and Bái Yín in Prague, she eventually fell in love with and married Yín. Jīn kidnapped her hours later, and after a long journey they settled in a small village in France. When Francine became ill, the villagers, fearing the spread of disease, locked her up in a small hut, where she remained for several years. [spoiler]9 years after their wedding day, she was reunited with Bái Yín. She begged him not to resent the villagers, who had acted to protect their families, or his brother, whom she still pitied though she did not return his feelings. Bái Yín promised to cure her illness and free her from captivity. When he returned with the newly created Soft Stone, however, he found the hut in flames. Francine had decided to kill herself rather than live an artificially extended life, feeling that after spending 9 years with Bái Jīn she was no longer worthy of living with Bái Yín. Before dying, she thanked her husband for loving her, and asked him to meet her again someday. She left behind the hair she had cut off before lighting the fire. Bái Yín gave the hair to his brother before leaving the village, and Jīn gave it to the doll he built in Francine's likeness.[/spoiler Almendra later revealed to Lucille that, according to what she overheard in the Midnight Circus, Francine was born in Krohg Village, and was in fact the older sister of Lucille's mother. Due to a poor harvest, many families in the village were forced to sell their children into slavery, and Francine was the only child in the family old enough to be sold. She was eventually taken to Prague, where she escaped. Because of their genetic connection, Lucille's daughter Angelina came to resemble her great-aunt, and by the time she was 16 she was the exact image of Doll Francine, a fact which the Shirogane used to their advantage in battle.