Sarai is an interesting character, that most readers can't help but dislike. She is spoiled, stubborn, opinionated and selfish. It is very obvious that a lot of her scenes in Trickster's Queen were written in a way that made Dove the better choice for Queen.
It took me a long time to realize that Sarai is a foil for Aly.
Aly used to be just like Sarai, before she was captured by pirates. She was caught between two worlds.
Sarai was caught between her identies as a raka and a luarin and it effected her in many ways. She wanted to live like a raka noblewoman, learning to fight and ride and express herself freely. But she was supposed to act as a luarin noblewoman, expected to be meek, obedient and "ladylike." She had to live with her people being abused and ill-treated, while her friends and family were part of the class that were responsible for their suffering.
Aly was torn between her status as a noble with very high pedigree from her mother, and having a commoner thief and spy as a father. She was trained as a spy, but was expected to live as a noblewoman or serve the realm as a knight. Her parents refused to let her be what she wanted, despite that her mother disguised herself as a boy and broke all the rules to chase her dream.
Like Sarai, Aly was flighty, flirted constantly with young men, and generally ignored everything else and didn't contribute to anything meaningful. She had no goals and acted recklessly, which led to her getting captured by pirates anyways.
In the books, Aly constantly compares herself with Sarai. She recognizes her tricks, understands her feelings and actions. She finally sees what she looked like, from the outside.
And, in the end, Sarai defies her fate and family and runs off to another country to do what she wants to do. Just like Aly did.
Aly and Sarai are two sides of the same coin. Very different people, with very different circumstances, but similar in so many ways.
