Saadia

 is the alias attributed to the Redguard woman at The Bannered Mare in.

Interactions
Several Alik'r mercenaries approach the Dragonborn, searching for a Redguard woman living in Whiterun under a false name. The Dragonborn traces the woman to The Bannered Mare, where she goes by the name Saadia. She claims the Alik'r are assassins hired by the Aldmeri Dominion who want her dead for her speaking out publicly against the Dominion. The Alik'r, however, claim Saadia fled Hammerfell after betraying her noble family, and the Redguard city of Taneth, to the Aldmeri Dominion. The mercenaries want to apprehend her and take her back to Hammerfell, where she will be tried for treason.

Siding with either Saadia or the Alik'r grants the Dragonborn 500, but an additional 250 can be looted from Kematu's body if he is killed or pickpocketed.

Her real name is Iman, a once member of House Suda in Hammerfell.

Quests

 * In My Time of Need

Trivia

 * Her story has several inconsistencies, and she somehow knows that one of the Alik'r has been arrested (after claiming that she wasn't even aware of their presence in the city), which might suggest that they might be the ones telling the truth about her.
 * In the book "The Great War", the great houses of Hammerfell actually unite against the Aldmeri Dominion, and to date in Skyrim,  These facts, along with Hammerfell's success at repelling the Dominion, undermine Saadia's claim that the Alik'r are Aldmeri assassins.
 * On the other hand, the Alik'r are self-described mercenaries who have only sought out Saadia for her considerable bounty, considering the Dragonborn's share alone amounts to 500 gold. The Thalmor are notorious for using bribery and coercion to motivate their agents, and mercenaries are not known for their undying patriotism.
 * If the Dragonborn sides with the Alik'r soldiers and Saadia gets paralyzed, then she may be killed without penalty. This will cause Kematu to say "All that effort and you just kill her? You've ruined everything!"
 * If Saadia is captured by Kematu through the help of the Dragonborn, various items in The Bannered Mare can be taken without imposing a bounty. However it still counts as stealing if Kematu is killed and Saadia remains at the Inn.
 * If the Dragonborn kills her when she asks to speak privately and pulls out her knife it doesn't count as self-defense, and may incur a penalty, (bounty).
 * It is possible to gain 1150+ from the quest by siding with the Alik'r. Progress the story to the point where the Dragonborn lures Saadia to the stables and she is paralyzed, then receive the reward of 500  from Kematu there. Then kill Kematu and loot his 150, and Saadia will then become unparalyzed. Saadia will become hostile at this point, but a Calm spell is still possible to be used on her. Speak to her and the dialogue option of "The Alik'r won't be bothering you anymore." will appear, (the same option given if the quest is completed by killing Kematu). She will then give an additional reward of 500 . However, after this is done Saadia will again become hostile once Calm wears off and can be killed without penalty and looted for minor loot.
 * If the Dragonborn kills Saadia during this quest, her burial urn will appear in Whiterun Catacombs, through the iron door on the left. It will contain whatever items were on her person when she died. Taking them from the urn is considered theft,(though looting them from her corpse is not).
 * Saadia cannot be married unless console commands are entered (PC only.)