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> Teresa of the Faint Smile, Adventures of a Stringy Bosmer
SubRosa
post Mar 19 2010, 10:56 PM
Post #1


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From: Between The Worlds



Hi all, welcome to Teresa 2.0. Some of you may recognize the stringy wood elf this fan fic is about from another forum. I am going to start reposting her adventures here. However, I have taken this opportunity
for a fresh start to go back over the story and do some work on it. Starting with an entirely new scene, which you see below.

I have decided to give up the idea of breaking things up into separate Acts like I did with Not A Hero and Moving Through Darkness. It was probably a little confusing. Instead I am just going to go with a single title and let it go on as long as it needs to, hence the new name.

You will also find that the first half of what used to be called Not A Hero has been heavily edited. Hopefully an improvement! The rest of the story will also receive a facelift, although generally not as great. There will probably be a few more entirely new chapters turning up between some of the old ones as well. So this is not the same story you might have seen on the other forum.


For people new to the TF, you might find it easier to catch up with the cliff notes version in the spoiler tags below:




* * *

Chapter 1 –Warning

12th Second Seed, 3E433

The harsh croaking of a raven prompted Teresa to raise her green eyes from the only slightly bruised apple that she was eating. The alley behind the Tiber Septim Hotel was narrow, a thin gouge cut between massive stone buildings that loomed high to either side and cast its depths into dim shadow. Sacks filled with trash dotted the length of the lane, clustered in small islands near the back doors of every business and home.

The pale wood elf stood at one such mound of garbage, filled with slops and other castoffs. Rich people threw away the best food, she knew, making the back streets here in the Talos Plaza district a practical gold mine for street urchins like herself.

Screenshot

Her scavenged lunch fell from suddenly nerveless fingers however, as she gazed down the alley and saw the figure of a man running in the shadows. He was clad in plain linens, the clothing of an ordinary plebeian. But there was nothing ordinary about the way he held a drawn sword in his hand, nor the blood that stained it.

Before the elf could bolt and run herself, the interloper was upon her. Now she could see he was an Imperial by his olive skin and dark hair. He reached out to her with his free hand, and as Teresa backed away she realized that it was not only his sword that was washed in blood, but the front of his tunic as well.

"You must warn them!" the Imperial croaked through the blood that flowed from his mouth. As she stared with wide eyes, Teresa was certain she could see tiny bubbles of air bursting up from the red flow. She had seen that before, from deep knife wounds to the chest. He was a dead man, she thought, he just did not know it yet.

His hand clutched at the shabby tunic of worn sack cloth that Teresa wore, grabbing a handful of the rough material. Teresa nearly jumped as his fingers pressed against one of her breasts. The sword fell from his other hand with a clatter of steel on stone, and the Imperial dropped to his knees, collapsing into her.

Teresa stared with wide eyes at the dying man, whose head was now buried in the valley between her small breasts. Her heart raced like a wild horse, and she felt her skin grow cold as Skyrim. Try as she might to flee, her feet seemed rooted to the spot however. All she could do was gape in growing horror as the man clutched at her willowy frame and spat blood over her already bedraggled clothing.

The sound of footsteps caused her to lift her eyes and gaze back down the way the Imperial had come. There stood a handful of figures wearing dark red robes, nearly black in the dim light. Hoods of the same material covered their heads, shrouding their faces in darkness. She saw blades in their hands as well. Not mortal steel, but rather monstrous, wavy knives, like the jagged teeth of some fearsome Daedra.

"They're going to kill the-" with that the Imperial's voice gave out, and she heard a rattling noise issue from his throat. It was like a dry breeze through an abandoned tenement. Then he fell limp at her feet, open eyes staring blankly back up at her from the pavement.

"Hey, what's going on back there!" came an iron growl from the other end of the alley. The clash of armored boots rang out between the high buildings, reverberating in the Bosmer's ears. Wrenching her gaze from the dead man, Teresa turned to see an Imperial Watchman charging down the alley toward her, dark eyes glittering like polished ebony within the 'T'-shaped slit in his full-faced helmet.

"You there! Put down your weapons and surrender." The legionary had his arming sword out now, and before the wood elf knew it, he was standing before her. He took a moment to first glance down at the dead man at Teresa's feet, and then the blood that washed her tunic.

"I didn't-" Teresa gasped, feeling her blood turn to ice with the understanding of how things must look to the watchman. Then the steel gauntlet of his left hand was reaching out for her, and the words slipped from her throat.

"You'll hang for this street meat!" the legionary growled.

With that Teresa finally felt her body come back under her control. Twisting away from watchman's grasp, she sprang for the other end of the alley. Her eyes saw that the red-robed figures were gone now. Then her view swam as her foot caught upon the corpse of the Imperial. She felt herself falling, and her head slammed against something hard as she came to a stop.

Her vision narrowed, as if she were within a tunnel. She was vaguely aware of the thin, blue slit of the sky above her, flanked by the grey stone of buildings to either side. She thought she saw a dark bird spread its wings in that sliver of light. But then the shape dissolved, and turned into the steel helmet of the legionary, looming closer and closer. Finally, darkness consumed her.

This post has been edited by SubRosa: Jul 30 2020, 01:31 AM


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Posts in this topic
SubRosa   Teresa of the Faint Smile   Mar 19 2010, 10:56 PM
Fawkes   Poor Teresa, she must feel extremely embarrassed, ...   Dec 20 2011, 10:30 AM
Olen   Quite the part... starting off with them getting r...   Dec 20 2011, 02:06 PM
SubRosa   liliandra nadiar: You know Teresa and Tadrose so w...   Dec 22 2011, 05:39 PM
Olen   ... Poor Teresa, I didn't see that coming at ...   Dec 22 2011, 06:29 PM
liliandra nadiar   Well isn't that a kick in the gut? On the plus...   Dec 22 2011, 06:31 PM
McBadgere   *Nods vigorously*...Yes, yes it is...And I'm...   Dec 22 2011, 09:00 PM
King Coin   Oh jeez I thought that Teresa made it clear that s...   Dec 22 2011, 09:17 PM
Grits   Oh no. How heartbreaking for both of them. As Olen...   Dec 23 2011, 01:07 AM
Acadian   How delightful of you to make several references t...   Dec 23 2011, 01:20 AM
D.Foxy   Life is so full of surprises, isn't it? As Chu...   Dec 23 2011, 02:01 AM
SubRosa   Olen: Teresa certainly could have picked an easier...   Dec 26 2011, 06:51 PM
Grits   What a nice picture of evening at the FG. Dice gam...   Dec 27 2011, 12:11 AM
Acadian   I love Ancondil as the epitome of elegance and str...   Dec 27 2011, 02:00 AM
McBadgere   In a sense...Been there...Done that...And I mean, ...   Dec 27 2011, 07:40 AM
King Coin   Thank you for those quotes. Sounds like a perfect...   Dec 27 2011, 09:29 PM
liliandra nadiar   And from a state of listless disinterest in the ou...   Dec 27 2011, 10:51 PM
Olen   You've certainly hammered home the point about...   Dec 29 2011, 03:49 PM
SubRosa   Grits: Teresa's armor re-growing was an idea I...   Dec 29 2011, 05:42 PM
Olen   There's a lot of emotion in this part. The dr...   Dec 29 2011, 07:20 PM
Glargg   This is a wonderful tale to read. Teresa is a ful...   Dec 29 2011, 07:43 PM
Grits   Oh, what a terrible dream. I'm glad that Teres...   Dec 29 2011, 10:24 PM
liliandra nadiar   I'm going to go with... "ouch". Had...   Dec 30 2011, 01:14 AM
Acadian   I won’t say I enjoyed it any more than Teresa did,...   Dec 30 2011, 01:29 AM
McBadgere   Bloody hell... :blink: ... There were several con...   Dec 30 2011, 07:13 AM
Jacki Dice   Good heavens! I think my New Years Resolution ...   Dec 30 2011, 08:10 AM
SubRosa   Olen: I would say it is a little too early to say ...   Jan 2 2012, 07:52 PM
Acadian   So, we gain some limited and tantalizing perspecti...   Jan 3 2012, 01:28 AM
Grits   It was great to hear Pappy’s take on matters! ...   Jan 3 2012, 03:32 AM
Jacki Dice   These are the chapters where I always have this im...   Jan 3 2012, 03:50 AM
McBadgere   Ah, after a couple of lengthy and intense ones, a ...   Jan 3 2012, 04:37 AM
Olen   Short, but I suspect one of the more important par...   Jan 3 2012, 01:48 PM
King Coin   I’m finally back from a trip to visit family...   Jan 3 2012, 04:23 PM
ghastley   New mod just turned up on the Nexus - interesting ...   Jan 5 2012, 04:51 PM
mALX   New mod just turned up on the Nexus - interesting...   Jan 5 2012, 05:04 PM
ghastley   Presumably an activity that doesn't Assist in ...   Jan 5 2012, 05:55 PM
mALX   Presumably an activity that doesn't Assist in...   Jan 5 2012, 06:43 PM
SubRosa   Acadian: Big T and Little T, I like that. I might ...   Jan 5 2012, 06:57 PM
ghastley   I like the idea of the feather enchantment on the ...   Jan 5 2012, 07:14 PM
Olen   A very horsey part. I'm impressed with the ba...   Jan 5 2012, 08:24 PM
McBadgere   Cool!!...Likes the horsey chapter!...   Jan 5 2012, 08:39 PM
Grits   How nice that Valerius and Ancondil were so please...   Jan 5 2012, 11:57 PM
Acadian   A wonderful taste of Bravil outside the gate! ...   Jan 6 2012, 01:05 AM
King Coin   Teresa spends so much time looking at her feet, it...   Jan 6 2012, 03:32 AM
SubRosa   ghastley: I always have trouble with how "low...   Jan 9 2012, 06:00 PM
McBadgere   *Applauds heartily*... Loved it...In a sombre, he...   Jan 9 2012, 08:42 PM
King Coin   I can’t help but grin at Teresa’s imit...   Jan 9 2012, 09:59 PM
ghastley   A wiser person than I once said that the reason ...   Jan 9 2012, 11:23 PM
Acadian   Delightful! Some horse stuff, a revelation an...   Jan 10 2012, 01:19 AM
mALX   Chapter 41.11 - URK !!! What Teres...   Jan 10 2012, 01:55 AM
Grits   "I disagree," Ancondil insisted. He step...   Jan 11 2012, 02:48 AM
Olen   Well Ancondil certainly did well. I think Teresa ...   Jan 11 2012, 05:16 PM
Tábrasa   Just thought i'd let you know I'm still ca...   Jan 12 2012, 02:18 AM
SubRosa   McBadgere: I worked to come up with an ES-version ...   Jan 12 2012, 09:29 PM
D.Foxy   *Sings* We have all....the time...in the world......   Jan 13 2012, 01:36 AM
Acadian   Beautiful! We finally learn who speaks the Ch...   Jan 13 2012, 01:45 AM
Grits   At least it was not locked, Teresa thought. That s...   Jan 13 2012, 03:13 AM
King Coin   Teresa wandered in just in time. I have no doubt t...   Jan 13 2012, 03:52 AM
Olen   Wow. A very important part, both as a turning poi...   Jan 13 2012, 02:12 PM
McBadgere   *Bows down to greatness*... Flipping heck* that w...   Jan 13 2012, 02:31 PM
Glargg   For some reason my eyes are tearing up. It must b...   Jan 14 2012, 03:11 AM
RainbowVeins   Yaaaaaaaaaay! :lol: Amazingly well-done...   Jan 14 2012, 11:37 PM
liliandra nadiar   Well, I was right in who asked the title and who i...   Jan 14 2012, 11:44 PM
Jacki Dice   Finally. :) ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥   Jan 16 2012, 03:10 AM
SubRosa   D.Foxy: Sing it Louie Armstrong! Teresa is no ...   Jan 18 2012, 02:19 AM
Acadian   Thanks for letting us know your plans. I wish you...   Jan 18 2012, 03:51 AM
McBadgere   *Pouts*... *Goes over there to sulk*... *Attempt...   Jan 18 2012, 05:03 AM
mALX   :O :mellow: :| :( URK !! ...   Jan 18 2012, 03:08 PM
Grits   Thank you for letting us know! Much anxious cl...   Jan 18 2012, 06:36 PM
Jacki Dice   :sad: -sniff, sniff- I have that problem too whe...   Jan 18 2012, 08:27 PM
Olen   :( I'm sure it will be good when it comes tho...   Jan 19 2012, 10:59 PM
mALX   Urk !!   Feb 8 2012, 01:55 AM
Andrea   Although many fans here are saddened to see no new...   Apr 11 2012, 11:09 PM
Lady Saga   It's slow (actually dead) at my job today, and...   Apr 12 2012, 06:36 PM
Doommeister   *head hits brick wall repeatedly* I hate romance.....   Apr 28 2012, 05:52 PM
Lady Saga   *head hits brick wall repeatedly* I hate romance....   May 7 2012, 07:26 PM
SubRosa   After a long wait, Teresa returns. I would like to...   May 5 2012, 04:50 PM
Jacki Dice   New chapter!! :panic: I generally don...   May 5 2012, 06:01 PM
Acadian   Woven within this delightful interlude was a maste...   May 6 2012, 12:47 AM
McBadgere   You spent an extra moment or two with Morghak – a...   May 6 2012, 03:31 AM
Grits   Yay, Teresa is back! She looked down at the ...   May 6 2012, 10:03 AM
Olen   Woooo :D Teresa is back! Great to see this c...   May 6 2012, 05:30 PM
ghastley   Glad to see Teresa hasn't changed in the inter...   May 6 2012, 06:46 PM
RainbowVeins   TERESA! :panic: Woo! This makes me so hap...   May 7 2012, 08:03 AM
Fawkes   Chapter 42.6 : I'm...I'm not crying, darn ...   May 7 2012, 09:50 AM
King Coin   Yeah! Teresa’s back! :D Night eye, shock ...   May 10 2012, 01:07 AM
haute ecole rider   I'm back, and I'm caught up! What can...   May 10 2012, 03:25 AM
SubRosa   Jacki Dice: Most of the guild did see it coming. A...   May 12 2012, 06:44 PM
Jacki Dice   Teresa sighed, and closed her eyes. Here it comes,...   May 12 2012, 07:09 PM
haute ecole rider   I rather quite enjoyed the little byplay with the ...   May 12 2012, 09:33 PM
Olen   "Don't forget to bring your cucumber....   May 12 2012, 09:40 PM
Acadian   Kisses. Then smiles all around. Nice job with t...   May 13 2012, 01:24 AM
King Coin   The wood elf made an effort to avoid looking down...   May 13 2012, 03:25 PM
McBadgere   Is it me or is it warm in here?... :P ... Aamywho...   May 14 2012, 06:33 AM
ghastley   Slightly surprised at Morghak not commenting on Te...   May 14 2012, 04:12 PM
Grits   "I missed you this afternoon," she breat...   May 14 2012, 10:49 PM
SubRosa   Jacki Dice: Yep, Tadrose knows exactly how to give...   May 19 2012, 02:34 PM
McBadgere   Uncle Jessie!!... :D ... And Henry the ei...   May 19 2012, 02:53 PM
King Coin   I wonder how long before Teresa’s skin will thicke...   May 19 2012, 05:12 PM
Olen   This was sort of funny in a dark way. I wonder h...   May 19 2012, 07:46 PM
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