Rose was called many things. Knife-ears, bitch, whore, and dirty elf were the most common. Yes, her ears were pointed since she was an elf, for the love of Andraste, but her personal hygiene was actually better than most humans', and what she did or didn't do behind closed doors was no one's business but her own.
The hahrens always said that alienages provided protection for elves, but Rose knew better. Living in alienages her whole life hadn't prevented abuse, but she was grateful that those who knew her best called her clever, scrappy, kind, and brave. Somehow, despite the fact that she lived in the worst of places, and seen her friends and family fall to plague, starvation, and the caprices of humans, she remained unbroken.
Rose was born and raised in the Denerim alienage. The only reason why she didn't die there like so many other city elves during the Battle of Denerim was because of her guardian—spirit of the Fade who watched over her, and was her constant companion.
Rose was a mage, but she hadn't yet taken a single step into any Circle. She knew what those places were like, especially for elves. No, that wasn't an option for her. There were tiers of freedom, and Circle life would take all her freedom from her. Rose knew this.
Besides, she wasn't a threat to others, not like those power-hungry blood mages that seemed to flourish under harsh Circle settings. No, no indeed, such a place was not for Rose. Sure, that made her an apostate, but she didn't care much for the label. It made her sound vicious, a wild animal, and she was far from that. Headstrong and cheeky at times, yes, but not malicious. By no means. She knew what she wanted in life, and she knew how to get it, but if it was at the expense of others? Her spirit frowned on that, and so did she.
And her spirit? He wasn't dangerous either. The Chantry had something wrong. Not all Fade inhabitants thirsted for blood. Not all possessions resulted in abominations. Rose's companion was happy just to be along for the ride. He told her as much several times.
Ultimately, the spirit had always done more good than harm. He was the one who told her to hightail it out of Denerim before the darkspawn attacked. She escaped only hours before the first wave of the horde hit the city, and went north. This was how she ended up in Amaranthine, working as a barmaid at the Crown and Lion. It wasn't glamorous work, but very few elves lived glamorous lives, apostate or not. It was safe, and that was what mattered. She was safe, though her spirit sometimes rumbled in the back of her head. "New people," he said, "will be arriving. Interesting new people, yes, but be careful."
Rose laughed at his warning. "When am I not?"