Maeve ir'Cerfas was an aristocratic officer-in-training at Rekkenmark during the Last War. During her training, she fell in love with an heir of Deneith, Theoban, but he was already betrothed to another: Renilda ir'Brand. To curse the betrothed, she visited a sea hag. The hag was all too happy to help, but demanded payment. Maeve sacrificed her little finger, which is sacrilege within the Blood of Vol. Consequently, Renilda fell ill and died.
When Maeve returned to Theoban, she kissed him, and her kiss killed him. Unbeknownst to Maeve, the hag had laid a curse on her: until she is reunited with her little finger, she is cursed such that whomever she loves and kisses shall die. Having effectively killed two people and bearing a secret, Maeve went to her parents and told them that she would be taking a sabbatical. In truth, she left for Lhazaar so that she would be far away from Karrnath.
Maeve was convinced that she could reverse the effects of the curse if she were to gain possession of her little finger again. In Lhazaar, she became a pirate to find her search for the finger, and to practise the arts that might aid her in performing the spells needed to end the curse. She has Theoban's corpse in a firmly locked chest, and hauls it around, convinced that she could potentially resurrect him once the curse is lifted.