Rose Oriana

Rose Oriana (ローズ・オリアナ) is the former student council president of the Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy and princess of the Oriana Kingdom. Following a plot by the Cult of Diablos, however, she joins Shadow Garden under the codename No. 666 and is later made her country's new queen.

Appearance
Rose is a beautiful young woman with an athletic figure and a noticeable bosom, with bright honey-yellow eyes that match her long honey-blonde hair, with bangs over her eyes and curls going down into spirals. During her time as the Student Council President, she was often seen wearing her school uniform when engaging most anyone, and also a sports uniform in practice events for her swordsmanship.

As a civilian, Rose would wear something fashionable but cute for a teenage young lady. In the Light Novel, following the Civil War in Oriana and deposing Perv Asshat's failed coup, Rose cut her hair short after becoming the new queen of the Oriana Kingdom. In the Anime, Rose cut her hair after she joined Shadow Garden.

While a member of Shadow Garden as No.666, Rose wore a Slime Bodysuit which morphed to her mental commands. The design of which was common for subordinate agents of the organization, and could shapeshift to give alternative disguises and appearances.

After becoming Queen of Oriana, Rose would continue her short haircut and dress in attire befitting a newly crowned monarch.

Personality
Rose has been shown to be cool, strong, selfless, and charismatic. All qualities that befit someone born to royalty and holding title as a Dark Knight. She has a strong sense of honor, willing to stand up for those who are unable to, and admires those with a strong sense of determination. Such as when she grew to respect Cid for continuing to put up a resistance towards her in battle, despite constantly failing. She later developed feelings for him, after he put himself at risk to save her from terrorists.

Rose views swordsmanship as more of an art form with wondrous potential than a hobby, with her most noteworthy trait being that she is very passionate. It's because of such passion that she pushed herself to excel in her tasks. However, her passions can be a detriment to her, such as after killing her father, Rose harbored deep fear of losing those closes to her, making her reckless in her actions. Yet she does have the ability to grow, as after she learned the truth of her mother and Doem, she resolved herself to fight the Cult of Diablos and stop the Black Rose in order to save the Oriana Kingdom. That resolve allowing her to take up the throne and lead as the next Queen of Oriana.

When she joined the Shadow Garden, Rose was hurt to the point of leaving her almost broke. When told to discard and forget everything, especially when Lambda destroyed the patty wrapper that Cid had given her, she was heartbroken.

Early Life
Rose was born as the daughter of King Raphael Oriana and Queen Reina Oriana. During her childhood, Rose accompanied her father to the Midgar Kingdom, sneaking out of her inn to play with the other children. But due to her extravagant clothes, she caught the eye of bandits who kidnapped her for ransom when the bandit realized her identity. But before they could take action, Cid, under the guise of the "Fancy Bandit Slayer," appeared and killed them all, saving the distressed princess in the process. Witnessing the fight, Rose became enamored by the sight of the mysterious figure's swordsmanship, spurring her to develop an ideal swordsmanship built around the basics without any wasted moments.

Due to the traditions within Oriana royalty, she was required to take up an art form. Despite her country's negative opinion on the subject, Rose still chose swordsmanship as her art form to specialize in and strived to prove her country wrong in believing that swordsmanship was uncivilized. Becoming a teenager, Rose entered the Midgar Spellsword Academy as an exchange student, where she would later become Student Council President and a powerful swordswoman surpassing Iris Midgar.

Midgar Academy Terrorist Attack
Entering the Bushin Festival tournament, she first encountered Cid Kagenou in the preliminaries and dominated the duel with her vastly superior skills, overpowering the boy. However, he refused to yield and impressed Rose with his seemingly unyielding willpower. When she chose to finish the fight in one final attack, the referee stepped in before she could launch her attack and concluded the duel. Despite her triumph, the event left her developing respect for Cid.

Following the tournament, the Midgar Academy was besieged by figures clad in black, claiming to be Shadow Garden. In an attempt to defend herself, Rose stood up to the assailants but failed to notice the disappearance of her magic, prompting Cid to intervene to protect her. Seemingly sacrificing his life to save her, Rose was astonished by his actions, interpreting them as his unwavering 'love' towards her, and mourned over his death as she vowed to avenge him.

Rose later discovered Cid survived and found him unconscious in a bed at the school infirmary with his sleeping friends nearby. Happy by this, she thanks him for saving her and says he has earned her love.

Sanctuary Infiltration
While at the train station, she bumped into Cid and discovered he was going to the Holy Ground as well, eagerly suggesting that they go together. On the train ride, Rose held onto Cid's hand while voicing her affections for him, saying that they would overcome the adversity that their "relationship" would bring, though Cid is clearly dismayed by this and tried to shake her off to no avail.

At night, she tried to sneak into his quarters to sleep with him but was disappointed he was absent, when really he was hiding on the ceiling asleep. When they arrived in Lindwurm, Rose gave a tour for Cid before bringing him to a spot book signing by her favorite author Natsume Kafka. After getting a copied signed, she was puzzled by the uniquely signed copy Cid received, but concluded it was of interest to him.

Come the day of the "Goddess's Trial", Rose was in VIP seating with Alexia and Natsume beside Acting Archbishop Jack Nelson. When Cid was called upon, Rose was aghast when Shadow appeared instead, and witnessed his battle with Aurora in anticipation. When he claimed victory against the "ancient warriors", Rose saw Shadow Garden arrive and take control of the portal into the Sanctuary, taking Natsume hostage. However, as Alexia refused to sit idly by, Rose followed the Midgar princess out of concern and joined her and Natsume inside the Sanctuary.

Inside, Alpha guided the princesses as she revealed the Cult's origins along with the truth of the ancient hero, Olivier. When Nelson revealed his immortality and true allegiances, Rose was stunned to see him battle Delta next but soon grew pitying the villain, fighting a berserker with no technique. Once Shadow Garden attained all the intel they sought, Alpha opened an exit and allowed Rose to leave with Alexia and Natsume. Outside, the three saw Shadow's magic annihilate the Sanctuary and flood the Lindwurm. Concluding they were ignorant to the true battle, the three women swore friendship and a sharing of resources to learn what they could.

Bushin Festival Tournament
Rose had received word of her father will visiting her with the presumed intention of taking her home for an arranged marriage. Although she attempted to convince her father to allow her an engagement with Cid, unfortunately, things took a downward spiral upon uncovering the truth of her father being brainwashed by her fiancé, Perv Asshat, and that he planned to use her father and her to take over the kingdom. She tried and failed to stop his machinations, but was forced to escape after it failed.

As her symptoms from Demonic Possession worsened, she escaped into an underground tunnel where she heard the melody of "Moonlight Sonata." Following the tune, she reached a ruined cathedral and found Shadow playing the piece, who offered his power as if he knew the difficulties she was experiencing. Accepting his proposal, the man disappeared with her pursuers closing on her tail. Rose defeated her pursuers with her newfound power, before her friends Alexia and Natsume emerged to question her actions upon discovering her in the ruined cathedral. Met with no choice, Rose fought against the obstructive Alexia, overwhelming her friend with her now superior strength and magic.

Reaching the tournament grounds, Rose confronted her father and apologized to him before assassinating him, ensuring that her kingdom will not become a puppet state for the Cult of Diablos. At that moment, she accepted her fate and attempted suicide, but Shadow intervened and saved her once again, allowing her to escape. When she found herself alone in a forest, she was discovered by Alpha, Shadow Garden's second-in-command, who presented Rose with two choices: fight alone or join them. Reminiscing Shadow's determination to thwart evil, she decided to trust him and join the organization.

In the anime following the light novel, she was taken to Alexandria and immediately renamed to Number 666. In the manga, she just joined at the end of the Bushin Festival arc, and already become a Number by the Red Moon Incident.

Red Moon Incident
Rose continued in Shadow Garden under the codename No. 666, was assigned her first in-the-field mission to research Demonic Possession and Progenitor's blood utilizing the vast library beneath the Crimson Tower, under Beta's command accompanied by her squad leader No. 664 and teammate No. 665. In the underground library, she met Cid's sister, Claire, and the Ancient Vampire Hunter, Mary. Discovering from Claire that her brother was 'kidnapped,' she instantly erupted in questioning to confirm Cid's safety, despite orders to stand down. After they departed with the duo, Rose was immediately chastised by Beta and her squad members for her outburst.

Afterward, she participated in the battle against the Vampire Progenitor, the Blood Queen Elisabeth. No. 666 and her squad tried their hardest to fight against the revived progenitor, but they were all powerless in the presence of the immortal vampire and were subsequently knocked unconscious. Awakened by Beta later, Rose noticed that all her wounds were healed and that the Crimson Tower was annihilated to mere rubble. Following Beta's orders, she returned with her squad back to their headquarters.

Great Trading Company Conflict
Under Alpha and Gamma's orders to investigate the origin of counterfeit bills, 666 joined 664 and 665 for the mission, with squad leader 664 chiding 666 for needing to keep her focus as she had been distracted. Upon arriving at the warehouse where the counterfeits were distributed from, 666 was the first to notice the magic steel threads and warned her teammates to halt.

It was then they encountered John Smith and 666 was immediately subdued by steel threads she didn't noticed until it was too late. After 664 and 665 also failed to do anything against their masked enemy, the trio were completely immobilized and at his mercy. With a long pause and no action against them, John Smith let them go and ordered that they deliver a message to their leaders to not trifle with him. With no further recourse, 664 ordered the group withdraw and they gave their report to Alpha, who did not punish them for the failure and instead dismissed them from her office.

Oriana's "Black Rose" Civil War Wedding Incident
Rose's team's next assignment was to travel to Rose's kingdom, Oriana, and aided No. 559 to the recover the "Ring" which is the key to the Black Rose which was hidden within Fort First. Upon arriving at the fort, Rose was shocked to see her mother amongst the Cult of Diablos's members. Before she could comprehend, Victoria leapt in and started slaughtering the enemy mercilessly. Just as Victoria was about to cut down Reina, Rose protected her mother from the attack. Rose and Reina were taken away by several cult members.

With her mother now a hostage of Perv Asshat, Rose was forced to take part in a marriage ceremony between her and the evil man. Suddenly, Rose encountered Cid Kagenō at her room. Believing that Cid had came for her, Rose lied to him that she was going to marry Perv and tearfully begged him to leave. For a while, Cid reluctantly complied. Later, Rose received an unexpected visit from Shadow who took Rose to see her mother. At the room where her mother should be in, Rose discovered the truth that her mother was a traitor and had been in league with Perv the whole time. Rose collapsed in shock before Shadow brought her back to her room.

Having no allies to save her kingdom and rendering her father's sacrifice for nothing, Rose succumbed to despair. Suddenly, Rose heard the piano playing and found Cid once more. Rose contemplated in begging Cid to take her away and the two could hide and start a family together. Cid inspired her to find what she cherished most and sacrificed everything for it. After Cid left, Rose found a 'ring' which she believed Cid wanted to use to propose to her. Now realizing what she loved most was Cid, Rose knew what she had to do.

When the wedding ceremony began, Rose declared in front of the masses that she refused to marry Perv. Rose revealed the ring which activated and unveiled a recording of King Oriana who exposed Perv's crimes and entrusted leadership of the the Oriana kingdom to his daughter. Rose then clashed against Perv and easily defeated him but this victory didn't last when Mordred arrived, killing Perv and Reina Oriana much to Rose's horror.

Rose would defend her kingdom from the magical beasts summoned by Mordred through the "Black Rose" and to her surprise and relief, Shadow Garden arrived to turn the tide in Oriana's favor.

Rose watched Shadow and Beta enter the Black Rose before finding the ring Cid gave her, now broken.

Powers & Abilities
Before her effective expulsion, Rose was considered to be the strongest student at Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy, second only to Iris Midgar when the latter was still at the school. After being granted power by Shadow and being a trained member of the Shadow Garden, Rose can easily manhandle Perv Asshat and even the Magical Beasts of the Fourth Realm, one of which needs 10 people to even subdue it.

After becoming the new queen of the Oriana Kingdom, she also gained great political power over the country's internal affairs.

Physical Skill
Rose's physical strength is great enough to easily subdue Claire Kagenō, who was able to overpower a full-fleshed knight (anime only).

Swordsmanship
During her time as the Student Council President, Rose's skill with the sword was at the top of the academy, second only to Iris Midgar when the latter was still a student.


 * Improved Fencing:

Magic
Rose's magic is strong, although not as strong as that of Iris Midgar, with the ability to heal people and herself while she can enhance her skills both with the sword and with her own hands so that she can use them as a lethal weapon.

Her level of magic is Rank A, by Midgar Magic Academy standards, and she remained that way, before the Demonic Possession began to affect her. After receiving the direct power offered by Shadow, not only curing her possession, but her magic becomes much more powerful and stronger than before, being able to sense the type of magic belonging to Shadow, which according to her, was like a huge darkness with Shadow being the only ray of light going through it.

After joining Shadow Garden, she found that her skills are only those of a recruit by their standards, Although with a force, both in magic and in the rest, very strong.

Thanks to her talent and having received the power of Shadow, Rose's growth within Shadow Garden was meteoric.

Standard Equipment:

 * Rapier Sword: Rose utilizes a Rapier sword in her combat art, being swift and nimble, and also developed from her practice emulating Shadow's sword style from his "Fancy Bandit Slayer" days.


 * Slime Bodysuit: As an initiate within Shadow Garden, Rose used the bodysuit upon becoming 666 and has worn it during her tenure. Upon learning the suit's versatility, Rose could morph the suit into sleepwear or into her 666 uniform.

Quick Flash

 * Enhanced Flash:

Raphael Oriana
Raphael is the father of Rose and the king of the Oriana Kingdom. Rose deeply loved her father. Upon discovering that her father had been brainwashed, Rose attacked the perpetrator. However, once she understood that Raphael will be forced to cause a war between their kingdom and Midgar, Rose regretfully put her father down.

After killing her father, Rose has bear large amounts of guilt and constantly has nightmares about him hating her. Her guilt dissipated after learning how much Raphael loved her and the sacrifices, he made to ensure her safety from the Cult of Diablos. Rose vowed to continue her father's mission and purged the cult out of the kingdom.

Reina Oriana
Rose was very protective of her mother, even going so far as to defect from Shadow Garden when the Cult of Diablos seemingly took her mother as a hostage. Unfortunately, she became heartbroken when she learned that she was one of the Cult's collaborators. Still, she was horrified when she witnessed her mother cut down by Mordred.

Cid Kagenō / Shadow (John Smith)
Rose is deeply in love with Cid. When she battled him for the first time, she started to develop a deep respect for him for not giving up during their battle despite all the injuries he had received-- unaware they were faked injuries. During the terrorist attack, he quickly interceded an attack meant for her and she cried after Cid's perceived death, which she interpreted was his love for to her. After the attack ended, she learned that he was still alive and went straight to his hospital bed and hugged his hand while thanking him for saving her. This was the impetus for her harboring romantic feelings for Cid, as she stated he earned her love.

At the Bushin festival after Shadow saved her from Chancellor Perv's men, Rose recognized that she had met him before in their childhood, as he saved her from bandits under the alias "Fancy Bandit Slayer." It was that rescue which motivated her to get stronger to defend herself and his beautiful sword style which inspired her to take up the sword for her art form.

Since then, Cid became one of Rose's most important emotional drives. She constantly showers him with affection and holds his hand, despite his attempts to shake her. She also works hard to show everyone, including her father of Cid's worth as her betrothed. After joining Shadow Garden, she was not as fazed that her clothes were torn as much as the fact that Cid's "gift" was destroyed in front of her eyes, emotionally damaging her. During the Civil War in Oriana Kingdom, when a depressed Rose was forced to marry Perv Asshat, Cid was once more the one that inspired Rose to rebel.

As for his Shadow persona, Rose had long admired him ever since she encountered him as a child when he rescued her from kidnappers, which also developed her love for swordsmanship. Her admiration increased when she listened to Shadow's playing Moonlight Sonata as she fled her pursuers. When Shadow rescued her from her suicide attempt in the God of War festival, she thoroughly believed that Shadow was the hero, "the sole light" fighting for justice against the Cult's darkness. After abandoning Shadow Garden, Rose regretted never repaying Shadow's goodwill, but was surprised when he tried helping her, which revealed her mother's treachery and sparked her resolve to lead her nation to betterment. Following the Oriana Kingdom Operation, Rose briefly deduced that Cid was Shadow, but ultimately refuted her conclusion as her overthinking things, but may likely figure it out while she is still in contact with Shadow Garden.

After her mother's betrayal and Oriana's civil war, despite being blamed for everything and losing her entire family, Rose stated that the only thing left in her life was her love for Cid Kagenō, without fully saying it to the public. While she still had that and until Rose can mature, Cid would become the only motivation giving her the strength to continue.

Alpha
Like the rest of the numbers, Rose is respectful of Alpha due to the elf's leadership and providing Rose the chance to challenge the Cult of Diablos. Having a respectful subordinate-master relationship, Alpha holds Rose in high esteem because she believes that Rose is a fundamental piece in Cid's plans against the cult. This is in part due to Shadow gifting Rose as part of his power, a blessing only eight others before have received.

Beta/Natsume Kafka
Rose first met Beta in her public persona as Natsume Kafka, Rose's favorite author, admiring Beta's Natsume persona and the original stories she's had published. The two would form an alliance after the Sanctuary revelations with the Cult's origins, but Beta has yet to reveal her true identity. This was also the case as Beta would be masked when leading 664, 665, and 666 (Rose) during the Red Moon Incident into the Crimson Tower to research vampire progenitor blood and demon possession. Rose also trusts Beta as a senior, listening to her guidance during the confrontation with Mordred amid the Black Rose activation.

Gamma/Luna
Rose frequents the Mitsugoshi Company stores and associated restaurants, as they are popular within the youths of royal peerage. Following the encounter with John Smith, Rose as 666 reports to Gamma and Alpha, indicating Rose is privy to Mitsugoshi being a public front for Shadow Garden. While their relationship isn't well explored, it can be deduced that Rose has respect for Gamma given her business acumen and leadership prowess as Alpha's sub-commander.

Epsilon/Shiron
Before joining Shadow Garden, Rose had immense respect for the revered and acclaimed pianist, Lady Shiron, especially with her original music like Moonlight Sonata. After joining Shadow Garden, she was not aware that Shiron was Epsilon's public persona, as she was astonished that Cid became her "apprentice", pondering what he must have done to achieve such an honor. Working under Epsilon, Rose was lied to about her mother's safety as they didn't want to burden her, and both were shocked to learn Reina Oriana was a Cult's conspirators, but Rose didn't not hold that against Epsilon. During the Black Rose incident, Rose fought alongside Beta and Epsilon, heeding her senior's guidance as they worked together to battle Mordred.

Lambda
Rose learned her combat under Lambda. While Lambda emotionally devastated Rose by destroying Cid's wrapper, Rose utilized Lambda's training as 666 on missions and during the Black Rose event.

Nu
Nu serves as Gamma's direct subordinate, relaying her commands to 664, 665, and 666 for the counterfeit investigation mission. Rose's interactions with her are limited, but it can be inferred that Rose respects her while not really fully knowing her character.

Victoria / 559
Victoria was Rose's superior during the first Oriana Kingdom operation. From the beginning, they did not get along, mostly due to Victoria's dislike of her. This eventually culminated in Victoria branding Rose a "traitor" when she deviated from the mission to save her mother. In turn, Rose criticized Victoria's leadership, citing that she did not even bother to explain their objective. Ultimately, their banter was one of the reasons for the operation's failure.

After Perv Asshat and Mordred's death, Victoria nonetheless given Rose another chance, but warned her if she mess their mission again, she will kill her.

664 & 665
Following her induction into Shadow Garden, Rose was assigned to a team that comprised herself, 665, and 664 who is the leader. She developed a close camaraderie with her teammates and is overjoyed that the two came to her aid in protecting the Oriana Kingdom from the magical beasts. After Rose became the new queen of the Oriana Kingdom, 664 and 665 were send by Shadow Garden to serve as her bodyguards, disguised as maids.

Alexia Midgar
Due to their royal backgrounds, Rose and Alexia usually get along and tend to have a friendly relationship, this has led them to form an alliance (along with Natsume) in order to protect the people who are important to them. They are unaware that they are really love rivals for Cid.

When Rose fought against Alexia, in which she and Natsume were looking for her, Rose realized that Alexia was influenced by Shadow, seeing that she was copying his sword movements, which made Rose, in the end, love her. he had to defeat with sheer magical force.

Perv Asshat
Rose was hesitant to have Perv as her fiancé, and tried to petition her father for Cid instead. Finding Perv brainwashed her father, Rose's uncertainty turned to hatred upon this discovery. By wearing the ring Cid "left" for her, which was the king's last will in a hologram recording, Rose exposed Perv's evils and cleared her name to the audience in attendance.

Mordred
Rose had originally heard of Mordred from the intelligence reports within Shadow Garden, knowing he was the Ninth Seat of Rounds and held incredible power. When she met him during the Black Rose event, Rose learned about Mordred's involvement with her father's deterioration, and also the manipulations he did to Oriana for the Cult, Rose held incredible hatred for Mordred. Rose was satisfied when Shadow ended Mordred, and worked to legally undo what she could regarding the Cult's influence in Oriana.

Iris Midgar
Their interactions were little and brief; however due to her status as Student Council President and royal background, Rose was the only known witness Iris spoke to when the Academy was terrorized by Diablo Cult members posing as Shadow Garden. Her testimony confirmed both organizations existence and forced Iris to investigate them and ponder whether Shadow is an enemy or not.

Margaret
Margaret was Rose's personal maid. The two were very close with Rose enjoying her maid's smile. However their friendship took a sad turn when Margaret learnt that Rose murdered her father which lead to their kingdom undergoing civil war. She despised Rose ever since but still did her best to tend to her when she finally returned to Oriana.

Their friendship was restored after Margaret learnt the full truth of Rose's actions and the princess coming to her aid and protected her from a Magical Beast. Margaret tearfully apologized to Rose.

Trivia

 * Rose misunderstands Cid's actions from the moment they meet, believing that he is confessing to her.
 * As the series progresses, Rose's love for Cid only increases, to the point of knowingly ignoring her suspicions about Shadow's true identity.
 * Excluding the "Seven Shadows", Rose is one of the only two people to be personally healed and empowered directly by Shadow himself; the other being Victoria, No. 559.
 * After receiving Shadow's power, her mana color changed from honey yellow to light green.
 * Rose Oriana can be affiliated to the flower her name is based on.
 * Red roses represent love and romance, such as her love for Cid Kagenō/Shadow.
 * Conversely, another type called the Black roses represents loss and sadness, such as her father's death, as well as losing the dream to be with Cid.
 * Similarly, the Black Rose phenomenon also caused great loss and sadness, with the Church branding the kingdom a heretic state, blaming Rose for the chaos, and isolating the nation on the world stage.
 * In addition, the color of the Black Roses matches the aesthetics of Shadow Garden, thus Rose's induction was foreshadowed.
 * Rose's real name and identity are an open secret among the members of the Shadow Garden as most don't mention it until it is specifically brought up when it is needed. The only person that doesn't know about Rose's membership in the Shadow Garden is ironically Cid Kagenō himself, despite the fact that his actions caused her to join them.
 * Her assigned number in Shadow Garden, "666" is often considered the number of Satan, which is what the Cult of Diablos depicts her to the world as an evil queen who is the instigator of a potential civil war and forcibly took over the throne by assassinating her father and activating the Black Rose which killed thousands. The only one who knew the truth behind her action are Shadow Garden and the Oriana Kingdom.