Teresa of the Faint Smile, Adventures of a Stringy Bosmer Options

[Acadian]

I had more than a faint smile during this entire beautiful episode. Magnificently done, my friend!

I heartily agree on your well-mangaged switch from Nerussa's pov to Teresa's for the latter part of the chapter. As you say, when changing pov, make it worth the reader's while. You certainly did so here. How wonderful to see both their perspectives!

[Linara]

Sigh. Wonderful, I can say nothing more.

[SubRosa]

haute ecole rider: I loved Memoirs. Especially in high def. It is a treat just to look at. Ziyi Zhang is just mouthwatering, and Ken Watanabe is his usual fantastic self. Even I would give it up for that man. That reminds me, I should watch Letters from Iwo Jima again, now that I have it on blu-ray as well.


treydog: Thank you dog, that was also a poignant scene for me to write as well, for the same reasons.


Acadian: Did I say that? It does sound like good advice, so I guess I will pretend I did even if I didn't!


Linara: Thank you Lin.


Next: Teresa has spent the night in the arms of Nerussa. Now she returns to the Imperial City to catch up with old friends.

* * *

Chapter 20.1 – No Going Back

5th Last Seed, 3E433

Returning to the Market District, Teresa found Simplicia working with Jensine in her shop. Both women made a fuss over how happy she looked, not to mention her new clothing. Jensine said she was practically glowing. Teresa wanted so badly to tell them why, but held her tongue with an effort of will.

Simplicia was not her real mother, but she might as well have been given how the elderly Imperial had taken care of her all of her life. How was Teresa going to tell her mother that she spent the night and all morning romping through the sheets with another woman, and a former courtesan at that? Simplicia's own terrible history in the sex trade would probably only make the news worse, rather than better, Teresa thought.

So the wood elf contained herself and made her way across the street to the Merchants Inn. There she changed back into her leathers, strapped her quiver to her hip, and slung her bow stave across her back. Then she was back on the street and heading across the city to the Waterfront.

She had to tell someone or she would burst, and Methredhel and Adanrel were just the people. It was not like she had any other real friends in the city, in spite of having lived her entire life there.

Pausing to string her bow in the tunnel from the Temple District, Teresa found herself in the Waterfront as the sun dropped over the horizon. Few people wandered the docks at this hour, the stevedores and sailors having long since headed for either their homes or the taverns and brothels deeper inland. The latter two roared with noise and light as she made her way past them through the streets, then continued on to where the cracked pavestones gave way to the simple dirt and mud of the shantytown beyond.

Teresa forced herself out of her thoughts and into the same alertness she maintained while in a ruin. She knew too well the dangers of the shantytown after having three years of living there. The Imperial Legion never went there for a reason. She drew the bow from her back and laid her free hand upon her quiver, just in case.

She received more than one hard stare as she made her way through the maze of dilapidated shacks, crude huts, and even tents. She had become used to that from the gangsters, pirates, and other thugs that haunted the Waterfront. Ever since she had taken to wearing armor and carrying her bow they had been looking at her that way, as they would another predator.

Yet what surprised her was that many of the people who were not fighters by nature were giving her that cold look. They were people whom she recognized by their faces if not their names. Some she had known for years, ever since she went to live on the Waterfront when she was fifteen.

Contrary to what everyone in the better parts of the Imperial City believed, the district was not filled to the brim with cutthroats, Teresa thought. Most people here were simply regular folk trying to get by after losing everything they had, if they ever had it to begin with. The real trick to living in the shantytown was learning to tell one from the other, and staying clear of the dangerous ones.

Teresa was still pondering the strange behavior when she came upon Methredhel's shack and knocked on the door frame. She heard the floorboards creak within, and a few moments later the thief opened the door with a dark look and let Teresa in.

"You won't believe what just happened to me!" Teresa gushed, unable to contain the news of the last night within her any longer. "I met someone, and we spent the night together! It was the most incredible-"

"Well if it isn't the respectable lady come back to spy on the lowlifes!" Adanrel's words spat like venom from across the room, cutting Teresa off in mid-sentence, "how much is your new lover paying you to turn us in?"

"What?" Teresa was too stunned by the vehemence of the blond-haired wood elf's words to fully comprehend what she was saying. "What in Oblivion are you talking about?"

"Oh, we all know about you and your new boyfriend in the Imperial Legion!" the wood elf declared as she crossed the room to confront Teresa directly. "Even the soldiers are saying it!"

"Methredhel, has she gone mad?" Teresa looked to the third Bosmer in disbelief.

"Everyone's been talking about it," the brown-haired woman spread her hands and shrugged. "From you holding hands with some legionary in their barracks, to Adanrel seeing you with him on the street the other day. It seems hard for me to believe, but what are people supposed to think?"

"Just yesterday I saw you and him holding hands outside of Rindir's Staffs, and then you were running your fingers through his hair!" Adanrel taunted. "Couldn't you have picked a better-looking boyfriend though? He looks like he fell asleep in the fire!"

Teresa felt her cheeks turn hot, but for once not with embarrassment. Her teeth clenched together and her fingers curled into fists. It took her several moments to master the rage building within her enough to form words.

"I don't have any boyfriend," she growled in a low voice. "I went to see one of the legionaries because he saved my life and Simplicia's in the Crisis. His arm was broken, his guts torn out, one of his eyes fried to Oblivion, and his face burned off! He's a damned freak now, all because of me. I went to thank him for saving my life. He was laying in so much pain that they had to fill him with enough opium to flatten a minotaur!"

"You thanked him?" Methredhel said through raised eyebrows, "he's a legionary! What in Nirn has gotten into you? Have you forgotten who they are?"

"He's a bloody person dammit!" Teresa nearly shouted back, jabbing a finger into Methredhel's chest for emphasis, "they all are! and if it wasn't for him and the others like him you would be dead!"

"And you too big-mouth, you would be dead too!" now she poked a finger into Adanrel's chest as well, with enough force to send the curvy wood elf reeling back a step, "Everyone down here would be dead, this whole place would be gone, just like at Kvatch. The Daedra would've killed you all after they were done with the rest of the city. Except the legion went out in the streets and died while you were cowering down here in your filth!"

"Listen to this guar-pie going on about her legion lovers!" Adanrel shouted back, "First you get too good for any of us here on the Waterfront, and now you start whoring for the Imperial Legion! How many of them have you spread you legs for, just the one, or everyone in the Market District?"

Teresa's sight turned red, and before she knew it her fist was crashing into Adanrel's face. The smaller, softer wood elf crashed to the floor with blood pouring from her lip and quickly pooling on the rough wooden boards of the floor. Adanrel seemed too stunned by the sight of it to do more than gasp as she desperately tried to staunch the flow with her fingers.

"Teresa!" Methredhel yelled now, stepping between them and grabbing the forester by the shoulders. "What in the blazes is wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me!" Teresa screamed back in the dark-haired Bosmer's face and knocked her hands away, "I thought you were my friends, and this is how you treat me?"

"Get that legion tart out of here!" Adanrel cried from the floor, crawling to the chest against one wall of the room and pulling a rag from it to hold up against her mouth.

"One more lying word out of you and by the gods I swear I'll..." Teresa shoved past Methredhel to tower over Adanrel, one hand pulling a steel-headed arrow from the quiver at her hip.

"You'll what, kill her?" Methredhel's voice was quiet now, and somehow because of that her words sliced through the lava flow of Teresa's fury to a more rational part of her being. "Is that what you are now Teresa, a killer? What happened to you in prison?"

Teresa shook, staring down at the arrow in her hand as Adanrel screamed more invectives from the floor below. She had not even realized that she had drawn it forth. Would she really have used it?

Teresa stepped back, feeling dazed, and Methredhel once more moved between the two. The thief bent down to look at Adanrel's bloody lip and told the blond elf to shut up. That only brought forth another torrent of curses from the smaller woman, and Teresa shook her head in disgust, at them or herself even she was not certain.

"I thought you were my friends," her voice was shaking now as she looked at the two women who had been her closest compatriots for a decade. "Was I ever stupid. Simplicia was right about you all along. You were just using me."

With that Teresa turned and flung the rickety door open so hard that it threatened to fly from its hinges. She stormed out without another word, and found that people had gathered in small groups in the alley outside. They stared at her with wide eyes, pointed, and whispered among themselves. Teresa even recognized a few of them as being members of one of the local street gangs, dressed in leather and carrying maces at their hips.

"What are you looking at!" she growled, and they all scattered as she approached, even the thugs.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: May 14 2011, 06:50 AM

[D.Foxy]

I kissed you in my dreams before I ever saw your face
I wrote you in my heart before I held your flesh as art,
In sparkling light I held your eyes as coals of my desire
And have spread their jewels wide to reflect of my fire -

Now I tremble. Your face, half hidden in purple shadow
haunts me in reproach of a word I cannot know:
For I wrote your words before you ever knew to speak
And now your mouth finds no truth to set me free...

Kiss me, then, I implore to the speaker of silence -
And she does with all the ardour that my mind has created,
and I know each touch, each tendril of taught texture,
steps in a dance that I created for mine own pleasure.

Your breath is as warm as the solid flesh that I caress,
Yet I know that nothing which I hold is truly real:
I hear myself in the your moans praising my strength,
I feel my greed in your gifts opened to my loins -

And even in the tidal roar of truimphant flesh
I know lost is the mystery that it should have blest,
while my blood sings with triumph of flesh untamed,
my soul weeps for the mystery which I have shamed -

For I have not only written, but breathed life unto a lie,
And from common clay made a mockery of the divine,
No Eve have I made, but a lumpen, gibbering gholem
but common clay for all that I have painted it gold:

Now weep in silence, for your work is done;
your creation wanders the world in hunger
thirsting for the humanity it no longer has,
seeking water from the desert that once was your heart.

[Linara]

If that's a Foxy poem I want one! Anyway back to the story...Poor Teresa, she so wanted to tell someone. I have to admit, it was a little unexpected to me. Her and Vols?! And shouldn't Methredel and Adanrel know Teresa well enough to know she wouldn't be selling herself to the Imperial Legion? Fools. Now what will Teresa do...

[Acadian]

What a superb display of many things here!

Firstly, nice observations on the Waterfront - Teresa obviously knows it well. Then the wood elf 'party'. Oh my.

Teresa felt her cheeks turn hot, but for once not with embarrassment. Her teeth clenched together and her fingers curled into fists. It took her several moments to master the rage building within her enough to form words.

I swear it is indeed a wood elf thing. My elf was squirming throughout all of this as she could sooo identify.

"Listen to this guar-pie going on about her legion lovers!"

Oh, SubRosa! This is better than your patented imp chips (that I have on occasion borrowed of course).

"You'll what, kill her?" Methredhel's voice was quiet now, and somehow because of that her words sliced through the lava flow of Teresa's fury to a more rational part of her being. "Is that what you are now Teresa, a killer?

Magnificently phrased - both wording and content. Wow!

With that Teresa turned and flung the rickety door open so hard that it threatened to fly from its hinges. She stormed out without another word,

And more temper. I'd say it was the henna-died hair, but ya know, I get the same thing from my blonde.

This episode was a wonderful romp through what an unchecked rumor mill can generate. More importantly of course, it shows how much Teresa has grown/changed and some of the responsibility that comes from her gained lethality and confidence. Sigh, you can never go back. Poor Teresa just wanted to share the excitement of her night with Nerussa. Goodness, it almost seems that Vols might actually have been a more understanding ear hear than her old girl-gang.

[treydog]

Even though I knew what was going to happen, this was a hard episode to read. But, good writer that you are, you do not shelter your characters or your readers from the harsh realities of change. Yes, Teresa has become a killer- but not a murderer. And the sad truth is, the Waterfront is no longer her home. I will spare some sympathy for Methredhel, who played peace-maker as best she was able, and expressed doubts rather than accusations. But Adanrel, though she was never the brightest candle in the sconce, deserved the mash in the mush and a lot more besides. Good writing, like good art of any kind, makes you feel. No one ever said it always makes you feel good, though.

[Destri Melarg]

Chapter 19.3 – Dibella’s Dance

Add another to the long list of reasons why men should be thankful to women. Only a woman would come up with the idea for the Bloom spell. Body, hair, and teeth all sparkling clean with a single gesture. I wonder if it also cures hangovers?

Teresa’s afterglow was perfectly described, right down to the confusion that attended her realization that she had walked to the gates to Talos Plaza without her feet ever hitting the ground. I know that Teresa has the best intentions in honoring the way that Nerussa sees their relationship. But why do I get the feeling that Teresa’s heart might not be listening? Maybe it can’t hear her over that BOING sound that it is making.

Chapter 20.1 – No Going Back

I whole-heartedly agree with everything that treydog said. Like him, I can spare some sympathy for Methredhel, who after Teresa’s explanation expressed some doubt with her accusations. But it seems clear to me that this latest misunderstanding gave Adanrel the excuse to finally let her true feelings about Teresa be known. That little elf is so full of jealousy and hate that it will consume her if she is not careful. The tragedy of this chapter is that Teresa would have done anything for the two. The optimist in me can see room for Methredhel and Teresa to mend their friendship, but it is plain that Teresa’s friendship with Adanrel is at an end. I wonder will this play a role in the future?

[Doommeister]

Rosa I have to congratulate you. I've just finished reading Teresa of the faint smile and I love what you have written.

I see so many people in the game much differently now because of the work that you (and acadian I must add) have put in to lake them seem like real people.

I have laughed, smiled widely, and cried reading your story. You make the world of Tamriel sing.

Love your work, and keep it up.

Ps: please keep a certain stringy bosmer alive and well

[SubRosa]

D.Foxy: Looks like someone was reading Mary Shelly lately! Thank you for the inspiration!


Acadian: The whole time I was writing Heart of Steel I was thinking of how it would look to Adanrel's eyes. It is amazing how things can be construed to mean something entirely differently from a different point of view! You are right, Vols might have been a better ear for Teresa to share her good news with than her old pals!


treydog: This was certainly one of Teresa's lowest moments yet. Although sad to say, it only gets much worse in the future.

I loved your line about the torch in the sconce (not the scone), so much that I had to steal it!


Destri Melarg: BOING is right! You gave me a good chuckle with that. I think the hangover cure would be a separate spell, that also sobers people up at the same time. That is probably one all the Legion Battlemages have to learn!

I had not really thought about doing anything special with Adanrel after this. But now you making the wheels spin in my head. Perhaps after being bitten by a magical rat she will gain super-powers, make herself a costume, and become Rodentia Maximus! Naturally she would have to begin a reign of terror upon the Waterfront. Then Methredhel and Teresa would have to team up to stop her before it was too late.


Doommeister: Hi Doom, welcome to the TF! We don't have a wavey smiley, so here is Santa:


Next: In our last episode Teresa returned to the Waterfront to find she was no longer welcome among her old friends. Next she faces Methredhel once more.

* * *

Chapter 20.2 – No Going Back

"Teresa!" Methredhel's voice rose up behind her, "wait!"

Not more, Teresa thought as she stalked through the winding path between hovels. Her knuckles were white as she gripped her bow stave, and her limbs still shook like a leaf. By Raven she felt like she had fought a battle, a real battle! Yet this did not end with the usual rush of euphoria that survival always brought her. Instead she only felt more dark and angry with every step.

"Teresa, stop!" Methredhel's voice was closer now, coming between gasps for breath. A moment later a hand tugged at her sleeve, and Teresa wheeled to face the other woman in the street.

"What's wrong, you haven't insulted me enough?" Teresa railed.

"I'm not insulting you," Methredhel said as she caught her breath, and it was plain to Teresa that she had been running to catch up. "I'm just trying to figure out what is going on with you."

"What's going on with me?" Teresa was still shaking, and she felt her eyes welling up with tears now. "I came here to share my good news with the people I thought were my friends, the people I trusted since we were kids, and how do you treat me?"

"Adanrel was out of line. I know, I'm sorry. She's never been the brightest candle in the sconce, and you know how high strung she is." Methredhel spread her hands in a conciliatory gesture. "But you were hardly diplomatic either. You didn't have to hit her, or draw an arrow on her. You have been so strange lately."

Teresa stood silent and closed her eyes, willing the anger to flow out of her and into the mud beneath her feet. She thought about the arrow that had been in her hand, and how it had gotten there without her even thinking about it. Was she really a killer? Is that what she had become?

"I guess you're right," she sighed and looked back up into Methredhel's eyes, "I shouldn't have. But what was I supposed to feel when she was saying those things? What would you do if she were screaming that at you?"

"I dunno," Methredhel admitted. "But I know I wouldn't be chumming around with the Imperial Legion either."

Methredhel held up her hands as Teresa's fingers curled into fists once more. "I know, I know, you aren't sleeping with one of them. Adanrel may be too thick to notice, but I know you're only interested in women."

"You know that?" Teresa was dumbfounded. It was not like she had ever shared her feelings about that with the other wood elf, or anyone else really.

"Well, it's kind of obvious," Methredhel chuckled. "I mean, you won't even touch sausage, let alone eat it. It's only fish for you…"

Teresa did laugh then, as did Methredhel. With that the tension from the fight began to finally ease out of her.

"Why didn't you say something then?" Teresa asked.

"Well, I didn't think you really wanted it going around the Waterfront, and if Adanrel heard it, then half the city would know," the brown-haired Bosmer shrugged. She gently put an arm around Teresa's waist and led her through the tangle of broken-down buildings that made up the Waterfront shantytown. "C'mon, let's go sit by the water and talk."

"I know I've been different from how I was before," Teresa said as they walked, trying to make sense of what was happening. "I guess I really am a killer now. In the last few months I've killed goblins, undead, imps, Daedra, and even people. Things happened to me when I went to the prison. I wanted to tell you before, but I couldn't. I couldn't say anything to protect Martin. Then afterward I didn't think you would believe me."

"Martin?" Methredhel asked, "who's that?"

"Martin Septim," Teresa said as they broke from the last of the hovels and strode out along the shore of Lake Rumare. The water spread out before them like rippling black silk under a canopy of stars. Far in the distance across it she could see a tiny cluster of lights. That was Weye, she knew, and somewhere in there Nerussa was pouring ale for thirsty fishermen. Was the high elf thinking of her?

"What?" Methredhel exclaimed. "You mean the Emperor Martin? Saint Martin? What do you have to do with him?"

"I was there when his father - Emperor Uriel - died," Teresa said, turning to look into Methredhel's eyes. "I was standing just as close to him as we are now. He gave me the Amulet of Kings, so I could take it to the Grandmaster of the Blades, and then he could give it to Martin."

Methredhel looked stunned as Teresa told her the entire story, from waking up in the prison, to meeting the Emperor, seeing him die, her harrowing escape through the tunnels, and the following journey to Weynon Priory. She did not leave out any details, and Methredhel sat in rapt attention beside her at the water's edge, until finally Teresa was finished.

"It's all true, it really happened," Teresa said as Methredhel looked at her with wide eyes. "I know it sounds like a load of guar-dung, but it did. I wasn't able to tell anyone because I thought if the Mythic Dawn found out about the amulet they might have killed Jauffre to get it before he found Martin. Turns out that happened anyway, sort of, because they had a spy at Weynon. I only found out after I talked to Baurus again a little while ago. They had to trick them into opening the Oblivion Gate at Bruma so Julian could get a special sigil stone from it, and use that so she could get to the leader of the Mythic Dawn and get the amulet back."

"Baurus, you mean the new Grandmaster of the Blades? And Julian of Anvil, the fetching Hero of Kvatch herself? You know them?" Methredhel cried. "If it was anyone else telling me that I would say they were full of imp chips. But now at least some things are starting to make sense about the way you've been acting."

"It is our choices in life that define us, that is what the Emperor told me," Teresa said, "everything we do, or do not do, makes us what we are, makes the world what it is. Some people choose poorly. Some choose to be something better."

"All of my life I chose poorly," Teresa continued. "Well, no more. Emperor Uriel trusted me. He believed in me. I can still see him when I close my eyes. I won't betray that faith he had in me."

"You know who you sound like?" Methredhel cocked an eyebrow, "those priestesses of Mara who come down here every month to 'save' us all."

"Yeah, well maybe you should listen to them some time," Teresa said. "Some of them might act all high and mighty, but they are right. No one ever solved their problems in the bottom of a skooma bottle, or at a card table, or in a brothel. If you don't take responsibility for your actions first then no one else can ever help you."

"You really have changed," Methredhel said, "Adanrel was right about one thing, you've gotten respectable."

"I've gotten respect for myself," Teresa replied evenly. "I suppose that makes me the enemy now?"

"Of a lot of people, yes," Methredhel said honestly. "You know what it's like down here. You're either one of us or one of them. Now I know why you left that morning, after you came back. You really don't belong here anymore. I guess I just didn't want to see it."

"So then that's it then," Teresa sighed and stared out at the dark waves, understanding that her oldest friend in the world had slipped away forever.

"No," Methredhel said. "I don't plan to spend my entire life is this dung heap either. I just have a different way out than you."

Teresa turned back to face the other Bosmer, not sure what to think. Her heart was a swirling mass of conflicting emotions. This morning she had soared in the paradise of Nerussa's arms, this afternoon she had floated on the afterglow of her memory, and finally this evening she had lost her only friends in screaming and a bloody fist fight. How was she supposed to feel? What was next?

"The Thieves Guild accepted me a few days ago," Methredhel proclaimed with a grin. "I am now officially a Pickpocket!"

"They did!" Teresa's eyes brightened, and she clasped her hands around the other woman's with a faint smile. "That's great. I know how long and hard you've worked for this, you finally did it. How did it happen?"

"They had a contest between everyone up for membership," Methredhel continued to grin, "It was me, that Argonian kid Amusei, and some Redguard I never met. We had to steal this guy's diary. The first one to get it got in the guild. Let me tell you, that guy had some weird dreck in his house too. He was growing vampire plants in his basement!"

"What!" Teresa cried, still smiling ever so slightly as well. "Vampire plants? You didn't get bit did you?"

"Hey, I'm not the one here with the pasty white skin who never goes out in the sun!" Methredhel laughed, and her hands shot to Teresa's pockets. "Let me look at those plants you've been gathering. Do any of them have fangs?"

Teresa actually found herself giggling as she struggled to fend off Methredhel's mock pick-pocketing attempts. The two of them collapsed in a heap of laughter on the lakeshore moments later, and in those short moments all the troubles of the last hour slipped from Teresa's mind.

"We are sure some pair," the forester breathed after catching her breath. "I am now officially respectable, and you are officially disreputable!"

"Promise me something," Methredhel said as she regained her composure and looked Teresa in the eye, "no matter what happens, we'll always be friends?"

"That's a promise." Teresa did not hesitate to answer, and put her arms around the other woman and held her tight.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Oct 21 2010, 01:48 PM

[Acadian]

I was laughing, then crying, then laughing, then crying again, before finally sighing in appreciation of your skill here. Fittingly then, let me use your own wonderful words:

. . . Instead she only felt more dark and angry with every step. . . .

"What's wrong, you haven't insulted me enough?" Teresa railed.

"I'm not insulting you," Methredhel said as she caught her breath, and it was plain to Teresa that she had been running to catch up. "I'm just trying to figure out what is going on with you."

"What's going on with me?" Teresa was still shaking, and she felt her eyes welling up with tears now. "I came here to share my good news with the people I thought were my friends, the people I trusted since we were kids, and how do you treat me?"

This passage shows the swirling turbulence found inside the brain of a young she-elf. Anger to tears at the speed of an arrow.

"Well, it's kind of obvious," Methredhel chuckled. "I mean, you won't even touch sausage, let alone eat it. It's only fish for you…"

Ah yes, the shot heard round the world. One of the most memorable passages in all of TF.

"Martin Septim," Teresa said as they broke from the last of the hovels and strode out along the shore of Lake Rumare. The water spread out before them like rippling black silk under a canopy of stars. Far in the distance across it she could see a tiny cluster of lights. That was Weye, she knew, and somewhere in there Nerussa was pouring ale for thirsty fishermen. Was the high elf thinking of her?

"What?" Methredhel exclaimed. "You mean the Emperor Martin? Saint Martin? What do you have to do with him?"

Again, the young elven feminine brain - see how it creatively flits by obtuse association in a way that makes perfect sense?

And Julian of Anvil, the fetching Hero of Kvatch herself?

WooHoo! The fetching hero herself!!!

Methredhel laughed, and her hands shot to Teresa's pockets. "Let me look at those plants you've been gathering. Do any of them have fangs?"

Teresa actually found herself giggling. . .

This was not only cleverly done, it brought . . . wait for it. . . a giggle to the face of faint smiles!!!!

What a joy to read!

[Destri Melarg]

Perhaps after being bitten by a magical rat she will gain super-powers, make herself a costume, and become Rodentia Maximus! Naturally she would have to begin a reign of terror upon the Waterfront. Then Methredhel and Teresa would have to team up to stop her before it was too late.

This made my day! Maybe she should be the Antagonizer, I hear the job is open!

I am so glad that you did not leave Teresa and Methredhel at odds for too long. The affection that the two elves have for each other is apparent in every sentence. You once remarked to me how you could tell that I really enjoyed writing about Cyrus. Let me return the favor, it is easy to see how much you like writing about Methredhel.

"We are sure some pair," the forester breathed after catching her breath. "I am now officially respectable, and you are officially disreputable!"

This was perfectly said!

A nit:

If you don't take responsibility for your actions then no else one can ever help you."

Teresa is so worked up that she is reversing her words.

[haute ecole rider]

As heartbreaking as the scene with Adanarel was, it was fate. I never liked her in the TF anyway.

Methredhel, on the other hand, is one savvy chick, and it's hard not to respect her.

I'm glad the two of them (Teresa and Methredhel) made up after Teresa punched out Adanarel (she asked for it anyway!)

One nit:

He heart was a swirling mass of conflicting emotions.

It looks like Teresa was so conflicted she lost her 'r'!

[treydog]

If I can write a line good enough for you to steal, I can think of no higher compliment.

Teresa stood silent and closed her eyes, willing the anger to flow out of her and into the mud beneath her feet.

That is so perfectly written that I can feel it.

This is an important crossroads for Teresa, as she brings her old life and her new to- not harmony- but closure. She has changed, but so have the people she knew. We want our friends to stand still, so they will be exactly as we think we remember them, but the world does not work that way. Bless Methredhel for her persistence and her loyalty. I hope the promise is one they both can keep.

[Linara]

Reconciliation. We knew it was coming, at least with Methredhel.

"We are sure some pair," the forester breathed after catching her breath. "I am now officially respectable, and you are officially disreputable!"

My favorite line, for sure. I never like Adanrel either, there was something about her smugness... A nice chapter. I'm glad Teresa still has her friend.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: Thank you paladin. Hope your trip to see your father is going well!


Destri Melarg: But Oblivion does not have giant ants! Unless they are the result of foul sorcerous experiments? Perhaps Ancotar fled from Aleswell before the mob could get him, and turned his research to animals rather than invisibility?

You are right indeed, I do enjoy writing Methredhel. She is one of my favorite characters in Oblivion.


haute ecole rider: I never liked Adanrel much in the TF either! But then again, I was always writing her with this in mind.


treydog: Indeed, Teresa closing the book on her past and setting her eyes forward was what that chapter was all about. It is something she always knew from early in the TF, but something she could never really accept until now.


Linara I always liked that line too. It was actually inspired by a line from Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome. When Auntie Entity says "Well, ain't we a pair, Raggedy Man." to Max at the end.


Next: Teresa has learned that she is no longer welcome at her old stomping grounds of the Waterfront. Next she turns her eyes forward, starting with a conversation with Simplicia.


* * *

Chapter 21.1 – The Last King Of The Ayleids

6th - 8th Last Seed, 3E433

"So when are you going to tell me who this man is that you are seeing?"

Teresa nearly spat her milk all over her new clothes. The white chemise and brown bodice were not the same smooth and downy soft material as her burgundy outfit, but still linen nonetheless, and far from cheap. Stalling for time, she made an effort to smooth the gentle material of her brown skirt around her legs before looking back across the table at Simplicia.

"I'm not seeing any man," she insisted. It was true too, she thought gratefully. Granted, she was seeing a woman…

"Teresa, you will always be my little cherry blossom," Simplicia said with a smile that quickly fell into a frown. "But I wasn't hit in the head like Jensine was. I know when you are hiding something. Now out with it!"

"Honest mom," Teresa felt like she was ten years old all over again, and had been caught sneaking off to run interference for Methredhel as the thief picked pockets. "I'm not seeing any man. I never have, and it's not like I would ever want to."

"Well of course you do dear," the old Imperial said in softer tone. "You've been old enough to notice men for a while now. I'm not so old that I've forgotten that! I just want you to be careful is all. A lot of men only want one thing from a girl, and they won't take 'no' for an answer. And they all lie. Believe me, they'll say whatever it takes to get in your skirt."

"It's ok mother, really." Teresa took a bite from the green pepper she was eating. Stuffed with rice and slathered with tomato slices and a tangy red sauce, it was simply delicious in her mouth.

"Just tell me you're taking silphium," Simplicia went on. "Even though you're an elf, you can still get in a family way after just once, especially if it's not with another elf."

"Silphium!" Teresa nearly choked on a spoonful of rice and pepper, and she was keenly aware of how other patrons of the Feed Bag were turning to stare. "The last thing I need is that," she said in a hushed tone. "Honest mother, I am not seeing a man."

"Well you sure as Oblivion are seeing someone!" Simplicia declared. "A girl doesn't get all Dibella'd up and disappear all night just to sell a few wine bottles."

Teresa bit her lip, and wished she had an invisibility potion with her.

"Just tell me cherry blossom," Simplicia said in a soothing tone. "You used to always tell me everything."

"It's a girl, alright?" Teresa sighed. "I'm seeing a girl. A woman really."

"Ohhh…" Simplicia's eyes widened in shock for a moment, but quickly settled back down. "I guess you don't need the silphium then! Well that's normal. Elf girls all like to play the field when they're young. Look at Queen Barenziah. From what that book about her said, she probably put her legs apart for half the girls in Skyrim when she was your age!"

"Simplicia!" Now it was Teresa's turn to be shocked. She had been expecting a lecture on Imperial morals, not a full-fledged acceptance of her sex life. Well, Teresa found herself thinking, Simplicia had been a brothel girl when she was young after all. She must still have the same open mind that she had then.

"Oh don't give me that," the elderly Imperial waved her hand for emphasis, then set it down gently on one of Teresa's. "I'm old, but I'm not dead! Like I said, I remember what it felt like to be your age. Enjoy it while you can. You're young, you should be out living life. Now tell me about this woman."

"Well, her name is Nerussa," Teresa said, feeling a smile form on her lips as she thought of the golden-haired Altmer. "She's a high elf, and she runs an inn just across the lake, right at the other end of the west bridge."

"So what's she like?" the Imperial asked, "is she attractive?"

"Oh she's beautiful," Teresa felt warmth flush through her features as she pictured the elf in her mind. One of her fingers slipped into her hair, and began twirling her crimson tresses as she stared into space. "She's tall, and has hair like spun gold. Her eyes are the same color too. She smells wonderful, and her skin is as soft as cream. And she's kind too, and thoughtful, and smart."

"My goodness, you certainly are quite taken with this Nerussa," Simplicia said. "She certainly sounds incredible. Well they say a girl's first is always Dibella incarnate. It never was for me, but I'm glad she was for you little blossom. It was your first wasn't it?"

"Simplicia!" Teresa felt herself pulled back down to Nirn once more, and stopped playing with her hair. "Yes, she was my first. It's not like that's ever been something people would want from me."

"Oh don't say that," Simplicia frowned over her milk. "You are the most beautiful girl in the world, even if I say so myself. I see how the men look at you, especially since you changed yourself and all. They're sniffing around you already no doubt."

Teresa shrugged. She had never really paid any attention. Although there had been that Redguard in the tower barracks, and that one guard at the Cheydinhal gate… "I don't really think about men," she replied. "I don't see why so many women get so excited about them."

"Well you just wait until you're a little older, and you want a family." Simplicia explained, and now Teresa did feel the lecture coming. "You'll want to find a good man then, and get married and have a baby or two. You'll see."

"But I don't want a man," Teresa made a face at the very thought of being in the same bed as one. "They're all hairy, and coarse, and smell bad, yuck! Besides, why would I want to get married anyway? I have all that I could ever want right now."

"You will feel different later Teresa." Simplicia chuckled across the table from her, as if she had just heard some secret joke. "You just wait. When you find the right man, everything will change."

"Well how do I know the right one?" Teresa asked, already knowing it would certainly be no man. Men had never caught her eye, but women on the other hand…

"For starters he will treat you right, instead of just taking you for granted," Simplicia paused to take a bite from her roast pork, then continued. "But most of all, you will love him."

"So how do I know when I love someone?" Teresa asked.

"You know how you can just look at someone and they make your blood boil with passion?" Simplicia asked. Teresa found herself nodding as she remembered Nerussa walking up the stairs in front of her. "Well, that's not it. That's just lust. Young people get their first taste of lust and always think it's true love. It never is."

"If all you ever do is roll around in the hay with someone, that is just lust," the Imperial went on. "Love comes from what you do after the rolling. A lot of people find out they don't particularly like the person they are with when that happens. Sometimes they cannot even stand them! Love comes from getting to know someone, and finding that you were never really complete until after you met them. It's like they were something important that you spent your entire life without. Sure, you will not always get along. You will argue, and some things about them might get you furious, but in the end, after all of that, you still feel the same way for them. When it's just lust, it's over when that happens, because there was nothing to your relationship than sex to begin with."

Teresa stared down at her half-eaten stuffed pepper and thought about what Simplicia had said. Did she love Nerussa? Or just lust for her? "Love is for poets Teresa," the forester heard the words of Nerussa echo in her memory. She knew right then that the Altmer was not the one for her. Not the special one. She liked Nerussa, quite a bit, but would never love her.

Teresa set down her knife and fork and reached out to take Simplicia's hands in her own. "Have I ever told you what a great mother you are?"

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jan 7 2011, 04:04 AM

[D.Foxy]

And have I ever told you, Rosy, what a great writer YOU are?

[haute ecole rider]

And I echo Fox here.

I found myself nodding along with Simplicia. All she needed to do differently was switch the male pronoun for the female and everything she said is perfect advice for Teresa (except for the silphium, natch). It doesn't matter what your sexual orientation is, love is love, and lust is lust. Two very different things. Something Simplicia obviously learned a long time ago. Some people, though, never learn that most fundamental of lessons.

Seems to me that Teresa is humble and wise enough to listen carefully to the words of someone who's been there, done that. If I'm right, then Teresa will be fine in her romantic endeavors.

[treydog]

“A girl doesn't get all Dibella'd up and disappear all night just to sell a few wine bottles."

Two things- first, Teresa does! Second- I love the line!

Our parents often surprise us the most when we discover that they are more open-minded than we expected.

And it is good to see that Teresa grasps Simplicia’s wisdom.

And the ending was perfect.

Nits:

“Just tell me your taking silphium,"

You want the other “you’re” there, I think.

Elf girl's all like to play the field when they're young.

No need for a possessive.

[Destri Melarg]

I bet that wasn’t as uncomfortable a conversation as Teresa imagined it would be. Simplicia shines again in this chapter. We should all have someone like her to set us straight on matters of the heart vs. matters of the . . . er . . . loins. And I think that Teresa is in love with Nerussa, even though she knows that the Altmer doesn’t share the feeling. I see heartbreak in Teresa’s future. Even though the lesson learned may wind up being harsh, time will forever gild the memory of it in Teresa’s mind.