Laterose

Laterose of Noonvale, also known as 'Laterose' or 'Rose', is an anthropomorphic mouse in the book Martin the Warrior from the Redwall series by Brian Jacques.

She is a mouse from Noonvale, a secret woodland haven and daughter of the chieftain Urran Voh and Aryah. Rose meets up with Martin the Warrior when she and her friend Grumm are searching for her brother Brome who was captured by Badrang the Tyrant and enslaved in his fortress in the prison pit with Felldoh and Martin the Warrior. As the book progresses, it becomes clear that Martin falls in love with her.

Rose's greatest weapon and talent is her exceptional voice, which she can manipulate to become an "eagle call" and even other peoples voices. She has a beautiful singing voice which is loved by all, and is a very brave youngster. This can be seen progressing throughout the book, as she proves herself more and more in many terrifyingly difficult situations, and her aura of being a true heroine flourishes. Together with Grumm they meet death-defying obstacles, such as surviving out in the rapid waves of the ocean on a destroyed raft (where they separate from Felldoh and Rose's brother) and are caught as slaves, climb high mountains with enemies at their back, with friendship and love they face each trial on there journey to Noonvale. During this time, Martin's character grows to become the saviour portrayed in later Redwall books, the archetypal brave warrior who seeks to live in peace and happiness, but is caught up in a violet age that is not his fault, but which lies squarely with the rising of evil in the world.

The relationship between Martin and Rose can be seen developing early on in the book. When Martin is tied to a stake outside in the open, after protecting a fellow-slave who was being beaten to death by a slave-driver, he comes into contact with Rose and Grumm from a distance. With this crucial meeting, Rose sounds her eagle-call and saves Martin's life by scaring off the birds of prey. Badrang was intent on murdering the brave slave, by tying him to the stake and letting the elements and wild birds take care of him, but this is diverted as Rose imitates an eagle. Afterwards, Laterose hatches a plan to liberate Martin, Brome and Felldoh from the pit, with the help of another slave. After explaining briefly to Martin on the stake, once he is taken down, she listens for the voice of Keyla, an otter with a booming voice, who pretending to be ill with a "sickness" tells her exactly where the slaves are in song. Laterose clarifies this with her eagle-call, and the secret campaign is oblivious to the ears of the guards.

With this Rose's best friend Grumm, the likeable mole, digs deep into the earth and tunnels the trio out of the dark fortress of cruelty and oppression.
Martin is immediately mesmerized by her beauty as he arrives out of the tunnel but at this point they have bigger things to worry about. Badrang and his legions have discovered the plan, and send a large infantry of soldiers out to track down the escapees out in the flatlands. The trio, along with Rose and Grumm, fend them off and just manage to catch hold of a raft, and sail out into the stormy depths of the sea, by fighting away as many soldiers as possible. But the situation gets worse, as the raft is driven by the perilous storm at sea, and the group is ripped apart. Martin, Rose and Grumm land on a separate piece of land from Felldoh and Brome.

Laterose, Martin and Grumm team up with a hedgehog named Pallum who they liberate from capture and together they make the final steps to Noonvale, passed obstacles that take great courage, love and strength that test the four to the best of their abilities, and bring Martin and Rose closer together as they near closer to the place of Laterose's birth and her brother's.

They end up in dark woods, tied to trees by frightening giant "cannibal" lizards, and are saved by the intervention of a heron who calls himself, "The Law" in his land. They climb tall mountain ranges and are attacked by savages, are swarmed upon by many other terrible circumstances as well as beautiful ones, all on their journey to reach Noonvale, with the eternal thought in their heads being set on freeing their friends from oppression and slavery.

Upon arriving in Noonvale, Rose's father and mother and all the population welcome them with joy, but Rose is worried to find out that her brother who was separated from them on the raft has not reached home. They quickly forget about this though, instead wishing to focus on the few days they have to enjoy the peaceful haven of Noonvale. Martin, being brought up a slave since childhood, had never witnessed such love and togetherness, as he had been a warrior since the day he learned to walk. This causes antagonism between Martin and Urran Voh, Rose's father, as he is unwilling to give up his sword for even a minute whilst staying in Noonvale, and it becomes clear that he is a born fighter, a conflict which is healed only by the kind words of Aryah, Rose's beautiful mother.

Afterwards, the relationship becomes much more loving, as each of them enjoy the other's company in the happy period they have at Noonvale, and none of them want to leave. They learn the true meaning of their friendship, and reflect on how much their love for each other has been tested over the past period since they escaped from Fort Marshank, and they really understand how far they have come together. They spend many happy days together in Noonvale, Martin becoming its saviour when he is able to uproot a giant tree, and help everyone, making his relationship with Rose's father a good one, as they begin to see how much they have in common. But the joy is short-lived although happy, when they eventually realise that they cannot remain any longer, when there friends are dying in slavery under the evil whip of Badrang the Tyrant.
Rose's parents realise that a war has arisen in a "far away land" and that their daughter is indignant about joining Martin to destroy Marshank and free the slaves. This shows her dauntless courage, but also her love for Martin, even in war she doesn't want to leave his side, and the heroine's feelings for the young warrior mouse becomes completely clear. Her mother Aryah speaks to Martin one morning, whilst he is sitting by the waterfall in the village and voices her concerns for her daughter's life, to which Martin reassures, "I shall take a lot more care watching over her life than I shall my own."

This causes yet another tribulation, when Martin asks for assistance from Noonvale, to which Urran Voh explains that his creatures are not born-warriors like Martin, but happy peaceful inhabitants who have never witnessed distress and misery, Rose included until she ventured out to save her brother, and Martin understands that Noonvale has done as much as they can do by accepting them momentarily into their community. It is clear from certain passages, that Martin wished to remain in Noonvale with Rose and his friends, and eventually settle down with her in marriage, but the evil tyranny of Badrang makes this outcome impossible, as the story takes a cruel twist.

Before leaving Noonvale, Rose's father warns her that Martin is a warrior and will get her into danger and that "death follows such people", but she refuses to listen and jokes, "Dad, you're not a warrior, you're a worrier!" and her bravery in the face of trial does not prepare anyone for the extent to which this statement affects them all in time. Rose assures her Father that one day she will make Martin into the most peaceful mouse in the whole of Noonvale, and then she leaves and never sees her family or friends ever again, and does not return to Noonvale. She follows Martin to war as he and his friends assemble their Fur and Freedom Fighters with the help of armies and strong generals and commanders they meet along the way, standing beside him watching with admiration and awe the warrior she loves (depicted on UK front cover). The war commences, and a savage killing of both friend and foe alike follows, as Rose and her friends are finally reunited with Felldoh and Brome on the eve of war, having assembled their own army and had their own amazing journey. Felldoh, a major character of the book and friend of Martin and Brome, who set up the "Fur and Freedom" fighters bravely faces Badrang and wants revenge for the childhood he lost under his slavery. But sadly, although he fights well the young warrior is slain, leaving his old father, the squirrel slave whom Martin had saved that fateful day at the Marshank when he met Rose, at the cost of his own life, truly heartbroken. Then in a bizarre and cruel twist of fate, as Matin faces Badrang head on in his fortress, Rose sees that Badrang the Stoat is set on killing Martin and in one final surge of valor for her warrior's heart, love for Martin, and liberation of the land she raises her sling and strikes a strong swing of her sling at Badrang. He in turn then swirls around and grabs Laterose's neck, raising her fragile body into the air he throws her viciously against the fortress wall, slaying her instantly and her body, "falls like a broken doll." Martin then screams in rage and grief and charges at Badrang, who cowers away in a corner and pleads for mercy like a true coward. Martin then avenges Rose, Felldoh and every individual who has suffered at the hand of the tyrant, killing Badrang and ending the awful regime once and for all. In the final moment of war, he falls down next to Rose's pale, deathly corpse, her beautiful face strewn in horror and speaks to her like he always did saying, "Rose, we could have brought the sycamore down with us." This is implying to an event back in Noonvale, where Martin was able to shift a near impossible to move sycamore tree, basically saying that they could do anything together and get past any trial or tribulation, and so their young love ends in its infancy with Rose's heartrendingly premature death and does not grow to fruition, and Martin loses his greatest friend and the love of his entire life.
Brome, Laterose's brother, tends to Martin's wounds with tear-strewn eyes. He blames himself for his sister's death, insisting that it was all his fault in the first place for getting captured, to which his friends reassure him that it was Badrang's fault alone, and that Martin has put an end to him.

After Laterose's death, Martin does not eat, sleep or talk to anyone for days. His face just stares out vacantly in shock and he cannot get to grips with what has just happened. His friends grow worried for him, watching as he goes away and cries secretly into the woods, too ashamed to show his face to the others. Polleekin, a kindly old molewife with a psychic intelligence says, "that little mouseymaid be locked in Marthun'eart and thurr she'm bound to stay". With her telepathic skills, this tells us that although Martin suffered memory loss in the following seasons from his fight with a later enemy to save Mossflower, he never really forgot Rose, she was locked in his heart, she would never leave him. Rose's body is then being prepared to be returned to Noonvale, her home.

Martin then decides that he is going to travel south, to the shock of his surviving friends. They speak about all the amazing adventures they had together, and ask how Martin would explain this to others to which he replies that he would never tell anybody about his adventures, and instead create a false story about protecting his father's cave after he left from searats, a story he in time comes to believe is true, after his memory loss. He then goes on to save Mossflower and becomes the most famous founder and first warrior of Redwall Abbey, the saviour of Mossflower woods. As he walks away into the sunset, Polleekin sadly sees a prophecy, saying that she knew what would become of Martin if Rose died, but that happiness would be his in times to come and that all generations shall remember his name, "Martin the Warrior".

He then saves Mossflower and goes on to found Redwall Abbey, and after many years he gives up his sword and becomes a monk, leaving his warrior ways behind and fulfilling the wish that his beloved Rose made to her Father so many years ago in his youth, that he would be peaceful.

The Legacy of Martin the Warrior and Laterose of Noonvale
Many seasons later, when Martin and all his friends have long died, in the now ancient abbey of Redwall which Martin founded, two travellers arrive at the gates. It is they, who when welcomed by Abbot Saxtus (his period of abbey history) relate this tale to the Redwallers upon seeing Martin's tapestry in the great hall. Afterwards, every Redwaller sheds tears at the sad tale of the secret love story of their founder patriot and discover that the mousemaid Aubretia, one of the travellers, is the great-descendant of Brome the "healer", the son of Urran Voh and Rose's brother, and that her hedgehog friend Bulltip is the great descendant of Pallum and that both of them travelled here from Noonvale, where this story has been orally passed down for ages in time. Then the mousemaid takes out a small pretty amulet, which upon opening shows a picture of Martin and Rose, painted in loving detail by a close and wise owl friend, who assembled Martin's army that freed the slaves from Marshank. They then present a seed from the red rose planted by Grumm, Rose's best friend on the top of her grave, which they call the Laterose of Noonvale as it sometimes blossoms later than most. This is planted in the Orchard by an old recorder called Simeon, above Martin's own grave and becomes the Laterose of Redwall, where the first-written book "Redwall" is set, in a period commemorating the growth of the timeless rose of the abbey, where the events of the book take place. The Abbot promises, "This rose shall blossom and flourish in memory of the mousemaid, Rose shall remain precious to Redwall, Martin gave it strength, she shall give it beauty."

Now Martin and Rose are finally united again in the safety of the abbey, but this time their young broken love can stretch out beyond the aeons of time into the tranquil peace of eternity. They are now forever reunited under the shades of Dark Forest, where they will never be parted again.

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