Rose Oriana

Rose Oriana (ローズ・オリアナ) is the former Student Council President of Midgar Royal Spellsword Academy. After being a victim of the Cult of Diablos, she joins Shadow Garden under the alias 666 and later becomes the new queen of the Oriana Kingdom.

Appearance
Rose is a beautiful young woman with bright, yellow eyes and long blonde hair that formed into drill-like curls. She has an ample bosom. During her time as the Student Council President, she was often seen wearing her school uniform.

She cut her hair short after becoming the new queen of the Oriana Kingdom (after she joined Shadow Garden in the anime).

Personality
Rose has shown to be cool, strong, selfless, and charismatic. All qualities befits for someone born of royalty and a Dark Knight. She has a strong sense of honor, willing to stand up for those who are unable to. She admires those who have a strong sense of determination, as 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 than a hobby but an art form with wondrous potential.

The most noteworthy trait about Rose is that she is very passionate. It's because of it that pushed her to excel in her tasks. However, her passions can be a detriment to her. Ever since killing her father, Rose harbors deep fear of losing those closes to her, making her do reckless acts.

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. Due to her extravagant clothes, she caught the eye of bandits, being kidnapped and held for ransom. 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, sprouting her to develop 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. She strived to prove her country wrong in believing that swordsmanship is uncivilized. Becoming a teenager, Rose entered the Midgar Spellsword Academy as an exchange student, where she would later become a powerful swordswoman and Student Council President.

Midgar Academy Terrorism
Entering the Bushin Festival tournament, she first encountered Cid Kagenou in preliminaries. Rose dominated the duel with her vastly superior skills, overpowering the boy. However, the boy never yielded, impressing her with his seemingly unending willpower. Choosing to finish the fight quickly, she decided to end it all in one attack. However, before she could launch her attack, the referee stepped in, concluding 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 organization. However, she did not 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. Mourning over his death, she vowed to avenge him.

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

The Holy Ground 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 proceeded to hold Cid's hand the whole time while voicing her affections for him and saying that they will overcome the adversity that their "relationship" will bring, though Cid is clearly dismayed by this and tries to shake her off, to no avail.

At night, she tried to sneak into his quarters to sleep with him but disappointed he was nowhere to be found, when really he was hiding on the ceiling.

The God of War Festival
Rose has gotten word that her father will be visiting her with the presumed intent of taking her home and being placed in an arranged marriage. She attempts to convince her father to allow her to have an engagement with Cid. Unfortunately, things took a downward spiral for her when she uncovers the truth that her father was brainwashed by her fiance, Doem and that he plans to use her father and her to take over the kingdom. She tried to stop it 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 where she found Shadow playing the piece. Then, Shadow offered her his power as if he knew the difficulties she was experiencing. Accepting his proposal, the man disappeared with her pursuers closing on her tail. Defeating her pursuers with her newfound power, her friends Alexia and Natsume emerged to question her actions. Met with no choice, Rose fought against Alexia as she was preventing her from leaving, overwhelming her with her now superior strength and magic.

Reaching the tournament, Rose confronted her father, apologizing to him before assassinating him, ensuring that her kingdom will not become a puppet state for the Order of Diabolos. At that moment, she accepted her fate, attempting to commit suicide. Shadow intervened, saving her once again, and allowing her to escape.

She then found herself in a forest, where she was discovered by Alpha, the second-in-command of Shadow Garden. Alpha presented her with two choices: join them or fight alone. Reminiscing Shadow's determination to thwart evil, she decided to trust him and join the organization.

Red Moon Incident
Rose under the name No. 666, was assigned her first on-field mission to research Demonic Possession and Progenitor's blood utilizing the vast library under the Crimson Tower. She was accompanied by her squad leader No. 664, No. 665, and commanded by Beta. In the underground library, she met with 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. After they departed with the duo, Rose was immediately chastised by her Beta and her squad members for her outburst.

Afterward, she participated in the battle against the Vampire Progenitor and Blood Queen, Elisabeth. No. 666 and her squad tried their hardest to fight against the revived progenitor. Regardless, they were all powerless in the presence of an immortal vampire and were knocked unconscious.

Awakened by Beta, Rose noticed that all her wounds were healed and that the Crimson Tower was annihilated, reduced to mere dirt and rocks. Following Beta's orders, she returned with her squad back to their headquarters.

Oriana Kingdom Civil War
Rose's team's next assignment was to travel to Rose's kingdom, Oriana, and aided Victoria in the recovery of 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 Kagenou 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. Completely shocked, Rose collapsed 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. 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 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.

Swordswoman
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

Magic Power Increase
After joining Shadow Garden, however, she found that her skills are only those of a recruit by their standards.

Cid Kagenō / Shadow
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 (although they were fake) received. During the terrorist attack, he quickly got in the way of an attack meant for her and she cried after Cid's (fake) death and she interpreted this was his love for to her. After the attack was over and she learned that he was still alive, she went straight ahead to his hospital beg and hugged his hand while thanking him for saving her. This event made her start harboring romantic feelings for him, as she stated he earned her love.

Since then, Cid became one of Rose's most important emotional drives. She constantly showers him with affection and holds 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, the fact that her clothes was torn to pieces did not harm her emotionally as much as the fact that Cid's "gift" was destroyed in front of her eyes. During the Oriana Kingdom Civil War event, when a despaired 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. It was because of the Shadow that Rose developed her love for swordsmanship. Her admiration increased when she listened to Shadow's Moonlight Sonata on her fleeing way, crying for her misery. When Shadow rescued her from her suicide in the Swordsman championship event, she thoroughly believed that Shadow was the hero, "the sole light" fighting for justice. After abandoning Shadow Garden, Rose regrets never paying Shadow back for all the goodwill he had done for her. Following the Oriana Kingdom Operation, Rose briefly deduced that the Shadow and Cid are the same person, but ultimately concluded that she was overthinking things. Currently, she has joined Shadow Garden and will likely figure it out.

664 & 665
Following her induction into Shadow Garden, Rose was assigned to a team that comprised herself, 665, and 664 who is the leader. Rose 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.

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.

Perv Asshat
Rose was hesitant to have Perv as her fiancé which then turned to hatred upon her discovering that the man brainwashed her beloved father.

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

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.

Victoria
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.

Trivia

 * Excluding the Seven Shades, Rose is one of few members that had been personally healed by Shadow.