From Blood and Ash

As From Blood and Ash begins, Penellaphe seeks small ways to temporarily escape her restrictive role as the Maiden. Armentrout first introduces the reader to Penellaphe while she is seeking adventure at the Red Pearl. Penellaphe, curious by nature, desires to learn about the world she has been shielded from, or rather, veiled from. She rids herself of the typical Maiden garments and instead wears a “white domino mask” she’d found “discarded in the Queen’s Garden” and a plain cloak. Further, she uses an alias, “Poppy” which only her closest friends and confidants call her. These tiny movements away from being the Maiden, such as changing her clothes and going by a nickname, act as early indicators of Penellaphe’s potential to grow as an individual. The mask she currently wears is even more revealing than her usual veil, which only allows her “lips and jaw” to be seen (17), representing a slow and minor revelation of Penellaphe’s true self.

Her desire to live her own life before she is given to the gods prompts Penellaphe to engage with Hawke more than the Maiden should. While Penellaphe does not actively facilitate flirting with Hawke, she does wonder why she hasn’t left the private room.