Laetitia

## Laeticia

**Basic Information**

Leticia is a mysterious little girl with red hair, green eyes, and a ghostly aura. She always carries a little ragdoll with her, and is frequently seen in the company of Poupee, the little boy with yellow hair. The two eerie-looking children are almost always seen in the same place: the dark ruins of a town or city hit by war and destruction, often under a red moon. This is part of The Other World. In early episodes, nothing is known about this girl’s true identity, and all she does is say mysterious words that don’t make sense until way later.  Even so, it’s easy to gather that she is somehow linked to the supernatural, because she is aware whenever someone is affected by the holy books or by the words Elda Taluta. It slowly becomes apparent that Leticia exists in the Other World, where the truth of humankind is made clear, and where magical energy is abundant.

**Backstory/ True Identity**

 Warning: Spoilers Below!

Throughout the series, there are numerous clues pointing to the fact that Leticia and Margaret Burton are somehow connected. For attentive viewers, it’s abundantly clear by episode 21 that Leticia is a part of Margaret’s soul. The whole truth isn’t revealed until episode 25, wherein we find out that Leticia is the name of Margaret’s Burton’s doll she carried with her out of the crashed airplane twelve years ago. When Margaret’s soul split apart and Madlax was created, Leticia was also born. She saw the instant where Margaret split into two people, and thus she exists to explain the link between them.

Leticia is an existence made from Margaret’s doll, a piece of Margaret’s soul, and the magical power coming in from the door to the other world (opened by Friday Monday). However, unlike Madlax, she was not given a physical body, and cannot exist in the real world. She can only interact with humans if they come close to seeing their true natures, or when they fall under the spell of the words of the holy books. Unable to leave the battlefield area of the other world, Leticia is isolated and lonely. Her only companion is the spirit of Poupee, and when he ceases to exist in episode 21, Leticia is heartbroken.

**Relationships**

* Leticia is the companion to the spirit of Poupee in the other world.
* Leticia is a piece of Margaret Burton’s soul and the spirit of her beloved doll; thus, she and Margaret and Madlax frequently see each other in dreams and visions.
* Leticia can be seen by Macray Mareny and Eric Gillain when they are exposed to the words “Elda Taluta” and “Sarkus Sark.” She was also seen by Luciano when he had a near death experience as a soldier.
* Leticia is the spiritual enemy of Friday Monday. The two are seen interacting in episode 22.

**Character Resolution**

Warning: Spoilers below!

In the final episode of the Madlax anime series, Leticia is given her own human body and is allowed to exist as her own free person thanks to Margaret Burton’s wish. Since she has no family and no idea how to function in the real world, Leticia accepts Margaret’s offer to become her family. Specifically, she becomes Margaret’s little sister. No longer trapped in The Other World, she gets a happy ending.

## Trivia

* She was named after one of the three protagonists from *Les Aventuriers* (1967) otherwise known as *The Last Adventure*, a French film that Koichi Mashimo was inspired by and fond of.