Rosa

"So, what brings you to me?"

- Rosa, to Ezio

Rosa was a member of the thieves faction led by Antonio in Assassin's Creed II. Ezio first encounters Rosa upon arriving in Venice, where she attempts to pickpocket him out of the money he was about to use to purchase a wooden model for Leonardo. Later, Ezio saves her after she was shot with an arrow to the leg trying to climb the Palazzo della Seta and was unable to run away from the guards. She eventually teaches Ezio the new climb-jump ability which becomes extremely important in the later stages of the game.

Early life
Rosa was born in 1460. Nine months before, a Venetian nobleman paid a prostitute for her services and Rosa was the result of this event. The prostitute probably couldn't raise the child, so Rosa survived in the streets of Venice alone. At the age of fifteen, Rosa tried to steal from Antonio de Magianis, a stranger to her at this point, but was caught. Antonio, being the chief of the Venetian Thieves Guild decided to keep Rosa as his pupil rather than sending her to the guards. Throughout her apprenticeship, Antonio noted many of her talents, especially her high level of agility. Antonio seemed to maintain a very parental relationship with Rosa as he would often call her sweetheart or little darling.

Middle years
By the year 1485, Emilio Barbarigo, in secret a member of the Templars, had complete control over Venice's merchant district. The Venetian thieves weren't satisfied with Emilio's rule and aspired to free the district's inhabitants. Rosa and a group of thieves attempted to infiltrate Emilio's Palazzo della Seta, but Rosa ended up getting shot in her leg by an archer. While trying to run back to the guild, she bumped into the Assassin Ezio Auditore da Firenze, whom she previously robbed, who helped her to fend off the attacking guards and later carry her to fellow thief Ugo, who put Rosa in a boat. Ugo managed to get Rosa to the guild while Ezio took out any archers trying to kill them.

While recovering from her wounds, Rosa taught Ezio how to grab higher ledges and, after having succesfully done so the first time, challenged him to climb the Santa Maria dei Frari in a time limit, which he did.

Rosa then disguised herself as an archer, replacing one who was previously killed by Ezio while the latter assassinated Emilio Barbarigo inside his palazzo.

In June 24th,1488, on Ezio's birthday, Rosa delivered Ezio the shipping manifest of l'Arsenale, detailing the arrival of a Templar boat returning the day after.

Characteristics and personality
Rosa, being the only female of the Venetian Thieves Guild, has a very aggressive, tough personality to match the male-dominated group, overall making her a tomboy. For example, a note from Antonio states that the thieves who tried to kiss Rosa were badly beaten up by her afterwards. She is not afraid to give orders or speak her mind to her fellow thieves (Ugo, for example, receives only insults from her, despite assisting in her rescue) as she will yell and insult them to their faces.

Rosa also appears to have one of the dirtiest mouths in the game after Caterina Sforza; this is shown after she gets shot in the leg, when she shouts "Bastardi!" left and right. Upon her initial run in with Ezio she claims she does not need assistance with her wound and Ezio is forced to follow and protect her until she eventually falls, at which point he carries her to safety. After being rescued, Rosa’s personality and attitude toward Ezio changes drastically, becoming extremely flirtatious and more intimate, such as looking excited when Ezio stated he needed her, only to become disappointed when he wanted to learn her climbing technique. She seems to revert to her true self when around him instead of the tough thief image she maintains most of the time.

Relationship with Ezio
Like a lot of women in Assassin’s Creed II, Rosa becomes attracted to Ezio after their initial meeting, although she tried to pickpocket him by pretending to bump into him, causing Ezio to call her a jerk. However, unlike the majority of Ezio’s other love interests presented throughout the game, Ezio maintains a close, intimate friendship with Rosa and the two are often seen flirting whenever in each other's company, with an implied relationship during that period of their lives. Although, in the novel Assassin's Creed: Renaissance, Ezio and Rosa do have an intimate relationship together, constantly flirting and many cases of kissing.

Trivia

 * Rosa moves and fights like an Agile.
 * In the novel Assassin's Creed: Renaissance, it is said that she is one of the best free-runners in the Venezia Thieves Guild.
 * In Eagle Vision, she will turn red for a split-second after you have assassinated Emilio Barbarigo.
 * Rosa fights with a Sultan's Knife.
 * It is also possible to assassinate Rosa. After the mission Everything must go, you might see her walking past Ezio in the guard armour she wore during the memory. Here, you can assassinate her, however it will not affect gameplay.
 * The arrow that hit Rosa's leg disappears during gameplay but reappears after.
 * Rosa shows many similarities to Faith - main character from Mirror's Edge - in that both of them act tomboyish, both are categorized as outlaws, both have black hair, and they both tried to rob their respective bosses before they joined their respective groups.