Rose

Flower and Smolder

Rose, referred as Flower by Smolder, is a female scavenger who is kept as a pet by Smolder. She is one of the scavengers who killed Queen Oasis, triggering the War of SandWing Succession. She also showed Sunny where the Eye of Onyx was buried during the events of The Brightest Night.  

Appearance

Rose was described by Sunny as having a patch of dark fur that covers the top of her head and runs down like a mane onto her shoulders. She wears a square of white fabric tied around herself that Sunny thought looked like it was "suspiciously hacked off" of one of the Stronghold's main hall curtains and that she holds a bag made of the same materials, presumably for holding her paintbrush and other art supplies. It was mentioned by Smolder that Flower has many other "costumes".

In Dragonslayer, she was described as having a "halo of dark curls" that no one else quite had, and tiny hands. In a photo she has dark, laughing eyes, a mischievous grin, and wild hair.

Personality

Rose seems to be curious and inventive and she enjoys making art such as clothing and drawings. She seems to be quite good at it as well. She is compassionate, feeding many of the native animals and keeping Sunny company, and she is also fearless, having no trouble living with and near dragons. She appears to be tough and physically strong since Smolder almost named her "Stabby" because she was so ferocious with her sword.

History

Dragonslayer

Rose appears in the prologue, helping her two brothers, Stone and Heath, steal treasure from Queen Oasis. She goes into the Stronghold one more time to get more treasure and then begins to go back to the village with Stone and Heath until they are discovered by Queen Oasis mid-escape. She tells Heath that there is a sword in one of the bags, and the trio fights Oasis. Rose in particular throws a bag of treasure at Oasis, and is then the target of Oasis's fire-breath, but then she twists her ankle and is buried in the sand during the confusion, leaving Stone and Heath unable to find her.

Deserter

Rose was found hiding in a sand dune by Smolder, shortly after Queen Oasis’s death.

The Brightest Night

Smolder mentioned in The Brightest Night that Burn had wanted to kill Rose and mount her head on a spike, but Blister argued that doing so would only be a reminder of the queen's humiliating death. Blaze thought that Rose was cute and they should breed her for more scavenger pets. Smolder wanted to keep her as his pet and the other two brothers of the princesses thought that Smolder should be allowed to get something he wanted since Oasis was no longer around, so he was allowed to keep her as his pet instead. She was around 16 at the time of her capture.

Smolder claimed that he had wanted to call her Stabby at first because of her ferocity with the sword she had been carrying, which had been taken away from her. However, Rose had found a tapestry with roses on it and kept pointing to it, suggesting that her actual name had something to do with flowers. Smolder also taught her how to draw, so he could tell what she needed, and to come when he rang a bell and called her name. Rose attempts to communicate with Smolder.

Rose insisted on staying with Sunny when she was held prisoner by Burn. Rose normally didn't trust other dragons, but she felt safe around Sunny. Rose also drew a picture of Sunny using a piece of charcoal.

When Blister was fighting Blaze during the royal SandWing gathering, Rose begins to dig where Queen Oasis was buried. At first Sunny, Tsunami, and Glory were puzzled by this, but eventually helped until half of Oasis' bones were uncovered. Rose had Sunny open the queen's jawbones and two sacks of treasure fell out. In one of the sacks, was the Eye of Onyx, which helped Sunny pick the new SandWing queen, Thorn.

Moon Rising

Sunny very briefly indirectly mentions that Smolder took care of her when Winter finds Bandit.

Winter Turning

Rose does not actually appear in the events of the story, but is mentioned in the letter from Smolder to Vermilion concerning pet scavengers in the back of the book (which also appears in the special edition of The Brightest Night). Smolder also encloses an illustration of them that was supposedly drawn by her.

Darkness of Dragons

Rose is seen with Smolder when Qibli and Winter go to the Kingdom of Sand to warn Queen Thorn of Darkstalker and to prevent any of the SandWings and IceWings from falling under his spells. She appears again with Smolder and Onyx when they take shelter inside the underground prisons of the stronghold.

Later, she is mentioned in Winter's thoughts about Sanctuary and how Qibli would visit him and bring Rose along with him so Winter may study scavengers more closely.

Quotes

"Heath, [...] There's a sword in the bag nearest to you."

"Not at all, [...] This is my dragon, Prince Smolder."

"Well, he thinks I'm his human, [...] It's basically the same thing in the end."

"I think she thought you were me. She's driven me out of her kitchen more than once, and I think she's also yelled at Smolder about keeping me away from her food. She thinks I'm a mouse, basically, who's going to leave holes in all her cheese. I mean, fair, I do actually do that, sometimes. Anyway, so she saw you, thought you were me, brought you over here to yell at Smolder, and then discovered that I was already here. Which meant she'd picked up a wild human, which apparently gave her quite a fright."

"Not really, [...] I only know a few phrases, and apparently my pronunciation is 'abominable.' Also, I'm pretty sure Smolder thinks I'm just an adorable mimic. He keeps laughing at everything I try to say! So I think I told him to get me some dried apricots, but we'll see what he actually comes back with. Who are you, by the way?"

"Seriously? Heath had kids? Who was silly enough to marry him?"

"Aw, Lark, [...] She could have done so much better."

"You know what I mean. So, wow. I have a niece! Nice to meet you, Ivy. And who's this?"

"This is wild, [...] I haven't seen another human being in twenty years, and suddenly it's like the palace is full of them."

"But I don't need rescuing, [...] I don't want to leave."

"I don't, actually, [...] Because of exactly that tone of voice, Stone. Why would I want to go back to the people who spent my whole life telling me what to do and who to be and what not to do and what was wrong with me? Dad had a husband all picked out for me-- someone who could finally 'calm me down,' in his own words. Someone who could trap me in a boring life in a boring little village-- everything I didn't want."

"Yes! [...] Life in a dragon palace, Stone! It's never ever boring here. Who else can say they've lived with dragons?"

"You can tell him I'm alive, but I'm not coming back. Whatever's going on with him, it's not about me, kid. Heath never listened to reason and he was always losing his temper over little things. Me being there won't change him. I'm not going back into a situation where he's the new boss of me, same as Dad, the old boss of me."

"What makes you think humans can? [...] Dragons are no worse than we are. Smolder has taken care of me for twenty years, and I'm happy here."

"The queen knocked me into a sand dune, [...] I landed weird and I must have sprained my ankle. There was so much fire, and smoke, and sand flying everywhere-- remember? It was hard to see anything. By the time I striggled back to the queen, she was dead, and you guys were running for the hills. I knew I couldn't carry the rest of the treasure and follow you. I didn't even think I could catch up to you at all, especially since, like, a million dragons were coming out of the palace to see what all the noise was about. So I hid the treasure-- in a most excellent place, if I do say so myself-- and I buried myself in the sand, hoping they wouldn't find me."

Trivia

• Rose is the sister of the scavenger that started the war.
• In the letter, it says that Rose has a pet desert mouse that Smolder originally gave her to eat, but she took it as a pet.
• Rose was able to hold the Eye of Onyx when she stole it. It is unknown if this is simply a case of the eye's magic not activating for scavengers.
• Rose may likely be able to draw on a similar skill level as dragons, considering her drawing of Smolder and herself is similar to the drawing of SandWings in A NightWing Guide to the Dragons of Pyrrhia. It is unknown if this is done intentionally or not intentionally by the illustrator of the books, Joy Ang.
• A rose is a thorny plant, most known for its flowers. They are used for perfumes and for decoration. 
• Rose is seen to act similar to Ivy, her niece. They are also both artists.

Gallery

• Flower and Smolder by Biohazardia
  Flower and Smolder by Biohazardia
• Flower (Colored) by SunsetArtist
  Flower (Colored) by SunsetArtist
• A real life rose
  A real life rose