Maria Thorpe
Maria is the steward (and possibly lover) of Templar Robert de Sable. Maria was born in Great Britain. Always somewhat tomboyish in her youth, Maria's childhood ambition was to be a knight, seeking honor and glory in the Crusades. Instead, her parents forced her to marry a noble who she did not love. A year later, Maria turned her back on her husband to sail for the Holy Land. Disguising herself as a teenage boy, she quickly rose to prominence amongst the Crusaders, earning the attention of Robert de Sable. Robert quickly discovered her true gender, but instead of executing her, he appointed her as his steward. Facing acceptance for the the first time in her life, Maria grew to love Robert, willing to sacrifice her own life to protect him if necessary.
Template:Spoiler When Altaïr Ibn La'Ahad arrives in Jerusalem to assassinate Robert, he finds Maria waiting for him in his place, in order to give Robert time to escape to the Arsuf Plains. There is no information about her before or after the ambush, however she seemed to be of a high rank in the Templar Knights noting that she was able to match Altaïr's sword skills and that she'd be chosen for such an important mission. She also hints that she knows about the piece of Eden, which leaves speculations that she might actually be a girlfriend/wife or daughter of Robert De Sable. This would help explain the reason as to why a girl would be aloud such a high place in the Templar's. There are speculations that letting her go was a massive mistake by Altaïr and she was the reason that the Templar's were able to re-establish themselves with her leadership and knowledge of the special relics up to the point in the future events of the game. As Maria was not his target, Altaïr spares her life. She promptly flees to the dark alleys of the city. What happens to her afterwards is unknown although it could very well be revealed in Assassin's Creed II.