Omg!!!
I want to see what happens with them!! :wub:
Great job as always

Quite all right, but this is the reason I dislike arguing about grammar and why I referred to them as grammar suggestions.

You're correct about the exclamation point; although my understanding is this rule applies only when the words that follow are a dialogue attribution (he said, she said, she screamed loudly, he cried like a pitiful baby). Anything beyond that leads to the danger of run-on sentences. Example 1: "Don't run in the house!" mom yelled. Example 2: "Don't run in the house!" Mom's words stopped me cold.

The difference in the second example is that it's an independent clause (the clause stands on it's own without need for the quoted words (or, in your case, the subsequent words). It's basically a complete sentence. Generally accepted usage would have you capitalize the first letter after the exclamation point when what follows is a complete sentence and then put period before the last quoted text.

But there's nothing wrong with your way, so long as you don't end up with a run-on sentence.

As for Legionary, your knowledge of Roman History vasty exceeds mine. About everything I know about the Roman Empire, I learned from Julius Caesar. "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your hears. I have come to bury Caesar, not praise him." (Love that speech.)

In my defense, Merriam-Webster's lists Legionary (adv.) and Legionnaire (noun). But you're right, Wikipedia lists Legionary as a noun, even a proper noun, and dictionary.com lists Legionary as a adv. and a noun. Sorry about that.

I bow to your knowledge of history. :bowdown:

Thank you Jacki, two more posts or so will reveal all (well, all that I am allowed to on a forum for ages 13+ )




I think it was just this afternoon that I was saying to Acadian that I would like to get my hands on the person who invented the English language, so I can wreak a terrible vengeance upon them! It was probably Sheogorath, who else but a lunatic could have come up with it?

I know a lot about history, along with science fiction I was reading it since childhood. I have always gravitated toward anything that was not set in our present world; so the past, the future, other worlds entirely, have always been my playground. I spent the last two years modding the game Rome Total War (and it is probably not too hard to guess what era that is set in...).

Okay, I have to ask . . .

Roma Surrectum?

I stumbled across this mod last summer and was blown away. The textures on that mod, particularly the Romans, were amazing. If I only knew more about Roman history, I might have done more with it.

No, not RS. I did Amazon: Total War. As one might guess, it was a major conversion mod that added amazons to the game. It is something no one had ever done before in all the mods out there for the game (at least not on the scale I did it, adding four new factions. The other people who made amazons only made one or two units, or just made the existing female units naked).

I really liked how you mentioned the little details to make clear how Teresa admires Nerussa's beauty (I don't agree though )
Gonna read it again and learn from it.

What's "sauntered"??

"Doggie-paddling up through the sea of estrogen, our commentor..."

Hee. Sorry, couldn't resist. I actually found the entire installment quite wonderful. It brings back so many memories of the slow, painful, exquisite dance. And you capture it quite beautifully- giving us plenty of insight into Teresa's muddled feelings, while leaving us to wonder (just as the Bosmer does) what Nerussa is thinking.

Despite the overdose of "lady-feelings" (thank you, Adam Baldwin), my marled eye spotted two minor edits:



must- I believe.



"Under" sounds like it would be painful, perhaps "upon" would be more pleasant?

Thank you Remko. It was very difficult to describe Teresa's attraction to Nerussa, as I had to keep it tasteful, yet still convey the power of her lust.

To saunter is to walk in a leisurely manner, very relaxed and unhurried.





Thank you 'o triple-faced, triple-formed canine. I am glad you did not drown in the girly stuff, yet at least...

I have been going for exactly those memories you highlighted. That awkward and exciting first time we all had. Given my age, it has been a while for me, so I really had to search my memories to try to recapture those feelings.

Thank you for spotting those grammar bits too. The second I meant in the manner of "silk under your fingers", rather than in a hypodermic way. But "upon" does sound much better.




This next post will be a long one. I tried breaking it up into two, but then each post seemed too short, and none of the break points seemed right. So I am putting it back as a single post.

* * *

Chapter 7b ? Dibella's Dance

Nerussa led her back down to the common room, where she took up a chair behind the bar and invited Teresa to sit with her and share a bottle of Tamika's. The sweet wine was a pure delight on the wood elf's tongue, and she realized that it was the same that Jauffre had served her when she had been at Weynon. Had that only been two months ago? she thought. Somehow she felt years older than she had been at that time.

From time to time Nerussa would walk to the tables to bring her patrons more ale and beer. On occasion she would accidentally brush against Teresa when she did so, something which the Bosmer found very pleasant.

"You seem kind of out of place here," Teresa observed as Nerussa returned from one of her mug-filling expeditions. She gestured at the velvet gown the high elf wore for emphasis "I mean, you're so elegant and you have such nice things, but in this little village?"

"Oh, well I am not originally from here, and I was not always an innkeeper," Nerussa explained with a smile as she sat down beside the wood elf, "In a way you might say I am retired too, like Aelwin."

"You sure work a lot for someone who is retired!" Teresa exclaimed.

"It is just a different kind of work is all, but I really only do this because I want to," Nerussa said with a smile that echoed Teresa's, "when I was younger I always wanted to travel and meet people. I am not a brave soldier like you though, and to be honest, I am kind of lazy. All that walking and riding around sounds exhausting. Then I realized, people from all over Tamriel come through this little village on their way to and from the Imperial City. So I bought this inn and let them come to me..."

Teresa nodded, it was never something she would have thought of, but she could see the Altmer's reasoning.

"So how do you afford everything?" she asked, "I mean, to buy this place, and your clothes, and all the rest?"

The wood elf instantly regretted her words. What if Nerussa were a member of the Thieves Guild? she suddenly wondered. She could easily be a fence, with all the people coming to and from the city she would have the perfect location. Or maybe she earned her money in something less savory?

"I'll tell you a secret," Nerussa said, leaning closer to Teresa and lowering her voice, "well, it is not that much of a secret, most of the locals know. I do not make any money from the inn. Well, I make enough to keep it going, but not enough for anything else. I earned my fortune when I was younger, and that is what I live off of."

"What did you do?" Teresa asked.

"I was a courtesan," Nerussa smiled.

Teresa nearly spat her wine all over her dress. As it was she had to cover her mouth with one hand and fought to keep from spilling her glass with the other. First Simplicia, now Nerussa! her mind reeled. Was there anyone she knew who was not a prosttute?

"And I used to think that I was full of surprises..." Teresa muttered as she wiped the wine from her chin.

"So why did you give it up?" Teresa asked, once more feeling composed. Now she was starting to see why Nerussa was so good at being... attractive. "It certainly seems to have done well by you."

"Oh it did, financially at least," Nerussa agreed, "in other ways too. I was no street corner or even brothel girl. I was the escort of Lords and Ladies, Councilors, and merchant princes, the elite of society. If you had to ask how much my services cost, you could not afford me."

"It sounds very glamorous," Teresa admitted, admiring the way the velvet of her gown glistened in the dancing firelight, and the delicate patterns of flowers that its lace traced out across the hourglass of her figure. She remembered how soft it had felt under her skin. What might it be like to wear velvet and lace? she thought, to have gold and jewels, and eat in palaces?

"It was glamorous, at first," Nerussa said. Her eyes took on a faraway look, and Teresa wondered what she might be seeing in her mind's eye. "I was taught how to walk, to sit, to stand, all over again, even how to breathe, so that everything I did was with grace and elegance. I was taught to be witty and seductive. I learned to sing and dance, I memorized poetry and classic literature."

"You see being a courtesan is not simply about six," Nerussa explained, her eyes now fixing upon Teresa once more, "it is about being a living work of art. We had to be able to accompany and entertain all manner of men and women at all times and in all places. To be honest, we spent more time talking to people, singing, dancing, reciting poetry, and just making them smile and forget all of their cares, than actually rolling in the sheets with them."

"That sounds wonderful!" Teresa said, her eyes sparkling as she imagined Nerussa surrounded by finely dressed nobles in some great manor, doing all of the things she had described.

"It was, at times," Nerussa's tone lowered now, and her eyes lost their sparkle, "but as time goes by, the less glamorous it becomes. You see how it tarnishes you, and the harder it becomes to put on a happy face for the crowd when you feel like crying. You find that your entire life is nothing but an illusion created for other people's enjoyment, and you wonder if there is any part of you that is not a lie."

"Is that why you left?" Teresa asked, trying to imagine what that must be like. The way Nerussa spoke, it sounded like she was more a doll than a person.

"No, not exactly," Nerussa turned he head, and seemed to be weighing her words before speaking again, "I was arrogant, I thought I was the greatest courtesan in Cyrodiil, and my hubris cost me everything. You see, I made the worst mistake any courtesan can make. I fell in love."

"What happened?" Teresa could not keep her eyes from widening. It all sounded like something from a bard's tale, or one of those silly books by Casta Scribonia.

"Oh, it is the oldest story," Nerussa looked back at Teresa, her eyes dark and distant, "his wife found out. Most women know when their husbands are with a courtesan. Sometimes they are even present as well. Most of them don't care. The wealthy marry for power, economics, and status, not love. It is not unusual for one or both spouses to have lovers on the side, so long as it is discreet."

"She was not like that though," Nerussa went on, "she was even more conceited than I was, if that is even possible, and far crueler. She may not have wanted any part of her husband's bed, but she would not allow any other woman in it either. So she destroyed me."

Teresa knew better than to ask who it was. Even born in the gutter, she knew that a courtesan could not reveal who her clients were. She reached out and laid her hand on one of Nerussa's knees and tried to smile. She had always imagined bad things only happened to poor people like herself and Simplicia. It never occurred to her that people living in luxury might be just as desperate and hopeless as she was on the street.

"In the end I came here," Nerussa explained, taking Teresa's hand in her own and gripping it firmly as she looked back into the wood elf's eyes, "here everyone is who they appear to be, and I can be with whomever I choose to, whenever I choose to. I can finally live my life on my own terms."

"I am so sorry," Teresa said truthfully.

"You are a dear Teresa," Nerussa smiled, not the seductive look she had become so accustomed to seeing on the Altmer woman's features, but rather a simple, warm expression of friendship, "I don't usually tell people that much. But you are easy to talk to. You seem like such a lovely person inside."

Teresa felt her cheeks grow warm again, and then it was her turn to look away.

"You are you know, I could tell when I talked you into helping Aelwin," Nerussa said, sliding her chair closer. Teresa was keenly aware of the Altmer's finger as it gently touched her hair and traced a line down the edge of her cheek. Her hand was like a torch, leaving a trail of fire behind it as it awakened a deeper blaze within Teresa's flesh.

"At first I thought you were just a mercenary archer. But only a kind person would have helped Aelwin for nothing in return." Nerussa finished, taking her hand away from Teresa's face as lightly as she had placed it there to begin with.

"Well, he did give me this," Teresa mumbled, twisting the turquoise ring that she wore on one of the fingers of her left hand. Engraved with the likeness of dolphins leaping over waves, the light glittered from its surface as if it were made of water. "It is enchanted after all."

"But you did not know he would do that, did you?" Nerussa pointed out, "I had no idea he even had that ring, or could pay you anything. Face it Teresa, you are a good person."

"Now I'm embarrassing you again, am I not?" Nerussa said, standing up and reaching for a pitcher and filling it from a keg of ale. "You must learn to take a compliment Teresa, because if you keep acting the way you have been, you will be getting them for a long time!"

Then she went gliding into the common room with the ale and began filling mugs again. When she returned she paused beside Teresa and once more let her fingers fall into the wood elf's scarlet tresses.

"I have been meaning to mention since you first came in, I like how you changed your hair," she observed, "and quite an entrancing scent you have on it too, and the rest of you as well. Is that vanilla?"

"Yes, its vanilla," she noticed! Teresa thought with a silent prayer of thanks to Dibella, even as her cheeks reddened from Nerussa's attention.

"That is a lovely outfit you are wearing as well," Nerussa went on, "the burgundy goes so well with your hair. You look so different from when you are in your armor, I almost did not recognize you when you walked in!"

Teresa wanted to close her eyes and just slip away into the feeling of Nerussa's fingers gently stroking her hair. She wished that time would stop, and she could spend the rest of eternity in that moment. It took an extreme effort of will, but she looked up at the Altmer woman and smiled.

"I noticed you use lavender, and is that pomegranate too?" she said.

"You are very perceptive!" Nerussa said, "most people notice the lavender, but not the pomegranate. I use it as a cream, it is very good for your skin."

"I know all about plants, that is what I do really," Teresa could not help but to smile as Nerussa's fingers continued to gently trace their way through her hair. By Dibella that felt so wonderful, she thought. "I gather alchemical ingredients and use them to make potions."

"Oh, you are a mage?" Nerussa looked surprised and drew her hand away, much to Teresa's regret. "I thought you were a fighter? With all that armor you had on the last time, and the longbow..."

"No, I'm no mage," Teresa explained, "I just know how to make some potions is all. I'm still learning really. I'm not really a fighter either. I just carry the bow and the armor to protect myself."

"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry," Nerussa apologized as she sat next her. "When I talked to you about the wine and Aelwin's slaughterfish, I thought you were, well, a mercenary. I thought you fought in battles all the time. I never would have asked you to do either if I knew..."

"That's okay, I can take care of myself," Teresa replied. A moment later she wondered at that. She never would have said such a thing two months ago, let alone believed it.

"Promise me you will not go looking for more of the Shadowbanish," Nerussa said, once more taking Teresa's hands in her own. "Wine is just wine, but I could not live with myself if something were to happen to you."

"Don't worry," Teresa said, "I can handle it. I've always been good at watching out for myself."

"Oh you have been pulling my leg I see," Nerussa leapt to her feet, fixing her hands on her hips and casting a stern glare down upon the wood elf, "pretending to be a simple potion-mixer when you really are a warrior after all."

"I'm not," Teresa tried to explain, "I'm just an ordinary person, I'm no hero."

"You know what you remind me of Teresa?" the Altmer woman declared, "I have been trying to put my finger on it all this time, and now I see. You are just like the old soldiers I knew when I was in the business. They never talked about their battles, or their honors. The only time you could ever get them to say anything about the service was when they told anecdotes about the places they were stationed or their old friends there."

"Now the young ones, all they would ever do is boast about how brave they were," she went on, "they would never stop telling you about what great fighters they were. They were so full of manure. You could tell who the veterans were pretty quickly, because they were like you. They were quiet, and when they did talk, they said exactly what you do."

Teresa looked down, having no idea what to say, let alone do. She was saved when once again, a table of fishermen called Nerussa over for more ale. Was the Altmer woman right? she wondered, was she really a veteran? She had been in more than a few fights since meeting the Emperor, she thought. She had fought assassins, goblins, bandits, undead, and even Daedra.

But she hardly felt like some veteran soldier, she thought. She only felt like... herself. She was just glad to still be alive. What was a veteran supposed to feel like?

Teresa was glad that when Nerussa returned it was with a smile on her face. This time the high elf did not touch her hair however. She hoped that the innkeeper did not think that she was somehow trying to deceive her. She could see just how much Nerussa valued honesty in people.

"Nerussa I..." Teresa stammered, trying to think of what to say, but the other woman waved her explanations away.

"I am sorry Teresa," Nerussa said, "I'll never know what it is like to do what you do. But I do understand if you do not want to talk about it."

The two of them sat in silence for long moments. Teresa looked down at her feet, and wondered if she had botched everything with Nerussa. She was such a complicated woman, Teresa thought, so much older than herself, and so much more, well, experienced in the world. What could someone like her ever see in a simple girl from the streets like herself anyway?

Yet when she looked up into Nerussa eyes, they seemed so earnest in the way they glowed back at her. Was that nothing but her courtesan training though? Teresa wondered. Was everything just a disguise with her?

"So there is no Mr. Nerussa then?" Teresa finally asked. It had been something she had been wondering since she first set eyes upon the high elf. It had seemed hard to imagine Nerussa without someone before, but given her story, she wondered if the Altmer woman would ever want to be anyone else again?

"Thank Dibella no!" Nerussa snorted, "love is for poets Teresa."

Teresa's heart sank. It was exactly what she wanted to hear, but the way Nerussa had said it sounded so jaded, so cynical, that she wondered if the Altmer woman would ever feel anything for anyone again, such as herself...

"Don't you get lonely?" Teresa practically squeaked as she looked down, afraid of what the answer would be.

"Not at all," Nerussa said, taking Teresa's hands in her own once again and squeezing them gently, "like I said, I can be with whomever I want, whenever I want, with no entanglements. Every day brings someone new, and sometimes they are a real treasure. If I want them, I have them."

Nerussa lifted one hand and cupped it under Teresa's chin, raising her features to meet her own. The Altmer's eyes fairly blazed, and Teresa felt her heart leap as heat spread through her body. No one had ever looked at her that way before. It made her feel nearly giddy.

"Do you ever get lonely, out in the forest?" Nerussa's eyes continued to burn with fire.

"Sometimes," Teresa admitted, lowering her eyes for a moment. Why did she feel so bloody awkward? and worse, how was it that Nerussa's stare was able to strip her so completely bare? "I've never been with...

Her words trailed off as she realized what she was about to say. I've never been with anyone, she thought. It was hardly the thing she wanted to say to a woman so worldly as Nerussa. By Dibella, how clumsy could she be?

She saw Nerussa lean closer to her, and then she felt the Altmer woman's soft lips upon her forehead. The wood elf breathed in the scent of lavender and pomegranates and sighed in contentment.

"Nature's first green is gold," Teresa heard Nerussa whisper softly as she stood up. Then the Altmer's hands were slapping down on the bar and her voice rang out across the common room.

"Last call!" she cried, "drink up now, because I am too tired to put up with the lot of you ruffians anymore!"

A chorus of half-hearted yells and rude gestures erupted from the fisherfolk in the common room. The legionaries had long since retired to their rooms upstairs. Nerussa simply grinned and gestured back at them. Teresa was amazed at how she could go from being the epitome of elegance and refinement at one moment, to being as rough as any street rat the next.

Teresa rose herself as the last of the other patrons shuffled out the door. More than one of them cast a leering glance in her direction, and she caught a few mutters about 'Nerussa's latest...' Somehow she did not feel the slightest bit embarrassed. They could mutter all they wanted, Teresa thought, just as long as it was true...

"So, about that room..." Teresa looked to the innkeeper. Her heart raced as fast it had while staring down her arrows at the ghost in Fort Magia, and she wondered how Nerussa could seem so cool and composed. Did the Altmer really feel anything for her at all?

"Oh no!" Nerussa slapped her palm into her forehead with a look of horror, "The rooms are all booked up! Those legionaries got here before you and took them all!"

"Oh." Teresa whispered. Her heart sank like a stone. It all really had been just game on Nerussa's part after all, she thought.

"There is nothing for it then," Nerussa's voice sparkled with mischief. She stepped closer to Teresa and put her hands on the wood elf's hips, "you will just have to spend the night with me!"

"Why you! I'll get you for that!" Teresa sputtered, feeling her heart leap higher than the Jerall Mountains.

She raised her eyes to meet the fiery gaze of Nerussa. Lifting her arms around the high elf, she laid one hand behind the Altmer woman's head and pulled the taller woman's face down to her own. Nerussa did not resist, and tilted her head slightly to one side as Teresa drew her closer. The scent of lavender enfolded Teresa as their lips met, and the rest of the world just slipped away...



"Nature's first green is gold" is a quote from the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay", by Robert Frost.

I understand all too well. It's hard reflecting lust when you can't be really blunt with it.

Do you have any idea on how many hearts you have just broken

YAY!!! :twirl:

The last sentence described it perfectly. I could sense passion even without it being graphic. I officially love this story even more!

And the dance continues, the steps at once ancient and new. And your writing, even within the limitations of the forum, captures it perfectly. In some ways, those limitations are a blessing to the reader- they push an already outstanding writer into greatness as you find just the right words to paint your picture- and they leave us to use our imaginations...

The Frost also reminds me of Hopkins' Spring and Fall...

I would say almost everyone on this forum has been here before; no one will ever be that gauche again, it is a rite of initiation.

I see you have just decribed all the aspects of a geisha perfectly - in fact I am sure you have both read and seen "Memoirs of a Geisha".

Yes, Nerussa is 110% beleiveable. I have met her type IRL.

Awwwwwwwwww, how sweet! But, is there no hope for a long-term relationship between Teresa and Nerussa? That's way more romantic!

Oh wow, I sound like a chick! Put some manly stuff in, please!

As far as editing goes, the only things I saw were some missing commas throughout the chapter, but don't worry, nothing too bad.

Here's to Nerussa and Teresa having some fun! Cheers! :foodndrink:

RemkoNL: Thank you! Hopefully many broken hearts! :violin:


Jacki Dice: Thank you! I usually try to go for a good sentence with the ending of every chapter or scene. This was one I had to really make work, because it implies so much afterward.


treydog: Thank you dog!

Now that is one sad poem by that Hopkins fellow! :wacko:


mALX1: All of us old folks at least. There are probably some of the youngin's around here that have yet to experience the joy of their first time though, with all of its awkwardness, uncertainty, anticipation, hope, and doubt. Hmmm, looking at it that way, I am glad it is over! Then again, it is nice to look back upon...


D.Foxy: Hi Foxy, I was missing seeing your vulpine self. Glad you are back. :wave:

Of course I have seen Memoirs of a Geisha. The western version of the same tale too, Dangerous Beauty, which is of course the real memoirs of a courtesan rather than fiction. I should pull that out and watch it again...

I envy you for having the pleasure of enjoying the company of one of said geisha. If I ever have the opportunity to visit Japan, I would dearly love to spend an evening, or just a few hours, with one.


Broken-Scale: Nerussa is not one for long-term relationships. Unless you mean boffing someone once every month or so when they pass through Weye... She is a cougar, through and through.

Next chapter will have a punch and some blood, that might help balance your testosterone out a bit. Then the one after that will have a real fight again, with arrows, swords, the works. :toughninja:

If you can recall those missing commas, could you point them out? I found one right when I posted it. I would like to fix all the others too.

Well, this ^ was me after reading your story. I mean... if I was a wood elf instead of just being fortunate enough to travel with one....


SubRosa, this was beautiful. I much prefer a lighter and more subtle touch when it comes to romantic interlude depictions, and frankly find no constraints within the forum limitations. Your touch was, as always, perfect here.

Simply delicious! What a fabulously fascinating depiction of Nerussa. Matched (or exceeded) only by Teresa's internal dialogue, self-doubts and ponderings. Everything flowed from everything preceding it perfectly.

It seems Teresa is wise (lucky?) enough to improve her, um... 'interpersonal' skills at the bed of a master trainer. Is that a major or minor skill for her? :lmao:

I'm glad you kept this all together in one story. It certainly fit into the 'couldn't stop reading till done' category. :read:

Let me mention a couple tiny nits:

-'I am not brave soldier like you though,...' {not a brave...?}

-'Then she went gliding into common room with the ale and began filling mugs again.' {into the common...?}

Normally I would never, ever pester you with commas. Frankly, I find them pretty subjective and believe your skill with them far exceeds mine. Now... however, since you specifically asked, I must admit I had to read this sentence twice to get it - I suspect a comma or two could have prevented that?
-'She was saved when once again a table of fishermen called Nerussa over for more ale.'

- H yes glad it's over, think how much trouble I would have explaining these children, ROFL !! !


- I spent the day with Xaviera Hollander, does that count?

I am very glad that you decided to leave this in one post. There is absolutely no way that you could have broken this up without destroying the whole lead and build up to the story.
And what a marvelous piece of theater it turned out to be. Wow.
You have perfectly captured every nuance of those awkward steps of courtship and have done it within the boundary of the 13+ forum. That is no easy feat.
Well done, oh secret rose.

It is scary to think how much background info you might continue to add to the land of Cyrodiil.
By the time you have finished wandering the land we will never be able to look at the NPCs in the same way again. Lol.


I would consider splitting up the use of the word 'deep' so close in unison.
Perhaps something like 'awakened a yearning,' or some such word instead of the first use of deep.

Thank you. This is how I intend to do the future romantic scenes I spoke about.



It is a minor skill for Teresa, a Major for Nerussa. It did occur to me that because of her time with Nerussa, Teresa will enter subsequent relationships with high skills in... speechcraft , athletics, and acrobatics. One of the bonuses of a same-six pairing is that if the person you are with does something you like, you can just do the same thing in return and they will probably like it just as much. That makes learning easy. That is often impossible with opposite-six pairings because of the different equipment.




It is a relief to hear so many people say that. I was very worried about creating an intimidating wall of text.



Thank you for spotting those. All fixed!




You wild minx you! :twirl:



Thank you lupus of the frozen world. Given the lack of depth that a lot of the npcs have (and I am not bashing Bethesda, it is a video game after all, and they gave them what they needed for that), we writers have no choice but to add piles of new stuff onto them to flesh them out. In a way it makes things easier, because writing in another person's universe can be very constraining. This way we can really tailor people like Nerussa and Simplicia to suit what we want them to be without changing anything already established about them.




Thank you for finding that! I just dropped the second instance of "deep".

This is debatable, but the argument against it would not suit a forum, lol.






Naaa, I was around 15, but she is one of the nicest people you could meet.

Now the final post of this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 7c ? Dibella's Dance

Nerussa woke with the sun in her eyes. That meant one thing, she thought, she had overslept. She should have been up and making breakfast for the legionaries hours ago. Well, they were probably not only awake, but long gone on their mission by now, she realized. She would just have to listen to them grouse about it the next time they stopped for the night.

Teresa's arms were still around her, and thanks to decades of practice Nerussa was able to gently disengage herself without waking the wood elf. Sitting up in bed alongside the other woman, she let the silk sheet fall from her bare chest and stretched her arms above her with a silent yawn.

Still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Nerussa slid from the wide bed and gracefully walked to the full-sized mirror beside her wardrobe. She looked at her naked body in the mirror. She was certainly not the woman she was twenty years ago, she thought glumly, time and gravity had seen to that. But she still had a few more good decades left before her elven body began to really show age, perhaps even longer if she continued taking good care of herself.

Closing her eyes, she focused her mind upon the symbol of her Bloom spell, an unfolding rose whose petals beaded with moisture. A moment later she raised a hand over her head and closed her fist, imagining it clutched within her fingers. Drawing forth the magicka within her and channeling it through the rose, she opened her fist and let the glowing white energy fall around her body.

Suddenly she felt refreshed and clean all over, as if she had just emerged from a warm bath. Her ivory teeth sparkled in the mirror as she smiled, her breath felt fresh, and her hair took on that glossy sheen that only comes after washing.

Stepping to the dressing table, she drew forth a jar of dark cream and began applying it to her skin. The smell of pomegranates filled her nostrils as she worked the lotion into her flesh, and she did not stop until every inch of her skin had been covered with the balm. Then she turned to her hair while her body dried, dipping a comb into a solution of lavender and water and running it through her golden tresses.

Turning to the bed, she saw that Teresa was still fast asleep. The wood elf lay on her side, one hand under her head and the other stretched out across the empty bed. Her red hair was spilled across her pillow, the sunlight turning it a brilliant crimson as it trailed across the silk and velvet.

She looked so peaceful and content, Nerussa thought as a feeling of warmth spread through her briast. The pale elf had seemed so very sad the first time they had met, as if she had forgotten how to smile. Then even when she did the joy never reached her eyes. What pains have you endured, that their ghosts still haunt you so? Nerussa wondered as she stared down at Teresa.

Yet now there was no trace of darkness in her features now, Nerussa observed. She could not stop herself from stepping to the bed and reaching down to run her fingers through the wood elf's hair, gently drawing the errant locks from her face. Teresa's nose wrinkled a she did so, and her body shifted under the silk sheets. Yet she did not waken, leaving Nerussa to simply bask in the warmth she radiated.

Nature's first green is gold, the high elf thought, and you are golden dear Teresa, at least for now. Even in spite of the darkness that followed her steps, the wood elf still retained the glow of innocence, at least where the heart was concerned. She wore it so plainly on her sleeve, Nerussa thought, there for all to see. After so many years of artifice, seeing such honest emotion in another was more seductive than the softest skin or most curvaceous body.

Had she ever been so young? Nerussa wondered, so awkward and wonderfully naive? It had been so long ago that she could hardly remember. Yet when she gazed upon the wood elf's sleeping form those memories did come rushing back. It was a time when the world seemed wide and filled with wonder and possibility; a place where anything could happen, where she could be anyone or anything.

Nerussa sighed. By Dibella this girl was beautiful, she thought as she stared. Not physically, her body was too wiry and hard, her face too angular, and her skin far too pale. But the brilliance of her spirit shone through all of that, and Nerussa pitied those who could not see it.

Nerussa walked to her wardrobe and slipped into an outfit of green velvet. Moving back to her dressing table afterward, she sat and began pulling her hair up behind her head. That is when she saw Teresa looking back at her in the mirror and she nearly jumped from her seat. She had not even heard the wood elf get out of bed, let alone step across the floor.

"Teresa!" the high elf exclaimed, letting her hair drop around her shoulders and twisting around in her delicately curved chair. "You nearly scared me to death!"

"I'm sorry," Teresa bit her lower lip for a moment as she came up behind the chair and slid her arms around Nerussa, "I guess I am used to being quiet, long years of habit."

"I forgive you," Nerussa smiled as she looked up at the willowy elf. Goddess she was so adorable when she bit her lip like that, the Altmer thought, and she probably had no clue that she was even doing it.

Then Teresa leaned her head down closer and their lips met. Her kiss was gentle and soft, like silk across her heart. Nerussa closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling. She felt Teresa's hands sliding across her chest and her heart began to race. The forester's kiss turned more insistent, and Nerussa was intensely aware of how warm and firm her skin was against her own. She gave herself completely over to the feeling as Teresa pulled her from the chair and back into the bed...

* * *

The noon hour had come and gone before Teresa finally took her leave of the Wawnet Inn and Nerussa. She could not stop smiling as her feet took her across the great western bridge and back to the Imperial City. The sun had never seemed so bright and warm on her skin, the birds had never sung so clearly, and the water below had never shimmered so delightfully as it did at that moment. For the first time in her life, everything seemed right with the world.

Her eyes glazed as she thought about the night and morning she had spent with Nerussa. The Altmer had sung for her, danced with her, and whispered poetry in her ear. Then there were the other things she did with her in bed. Teresa had no idea that someone could touch her the way Nerussa had. She thanked Dibella for placing those wine bottles in Fort Magia, otherwise she might have never known such pleasures.

Goddess that woman was incredible! Teresa thought. She could understand why someone would pay to be with her. It would be worth every Septim, and more.

She had seen Nerussa looking at her in the morning, when the Altmer had thought she was still asleep in bed. Nerussa had not known that she was watching her in the mirror. The high elf had just stood there looking down, and her face had such a glow to it that Teresa had barely been able to remain still. It was not that fiery gaze she saw during the passion of the night before, but rather something warm and comforting, as if somehow gazing upon Teresa had sparked some memory of happiness long-buried within her.

Nerussa does like me, Teresa thought, she likes me, and that is real.

But Nerussa did not love her, Teresa knew. The Altmer had made that very clear during the afternoon, even though she never said so directly. What was it that Nerussa had said to her?

"The difference between love and lust is that when you love someone, you really know them. You know all of those things about them that you cannot stand, their politics, the stupid mannerisms they have, the way they leave their empty glass on the table for you to pick up, and so on. You argue and they make you insane sometimes, but after all of it you still want them."

Did she love Nerussa? Teresa wondered. No, probably not. But Nerussa would always be special. When she was younger she had heard that a girl's first was always magical. Yet when she grew older she found that Adanrel never acted like her first time was anything remarkable, and Methredhel never really talked much about the men she had been with at all.

Maybe she had just been lucky, Teresa thought, to find someone like Nerussa. Or to be found by her was more like it, she chuckled inwardly. It was not as if she could pick and choose lovers like someone with Adanrel's looks or Methredhel's confidence could. The three of them were all about the same age, and yet those two had been seeing men years earlier.

"Good afternoon ma'am," the voice of a watchman pulled her from her reverie, "I hope you had a good trip." She looked up to see the Talos Plaza gate in front of her, and a single legionary standing beside its open doors. Even under his helmet, she recognized him as the same man who had been there the previous day, when she had left the city for Weye.

"Hi!" she beamed in response, surprising even herself with her cheer, not to mention the wave she gave the soldier. Goodness! she thought to her herself, what had Nerussa done to her?

What had the Altmer woman not done to her, Teresa asked herself, and could not contain a laugh. The legionary gave her a confused stare, but still smiled and nodded as she walked by him and into the city.



"Nature's first green is gold" is a quote from the poem "Nothing Gold Can Stay", by Robert Frost.

Ooh, that was nice. Really great how you described the glow after... well, you know. Erotic, sensual but never vulgar. Lovely.

What Remko said.

You handle the sensuality beautifully. And it is wonderful to get a chance to see from Nerussa's perspective, as well. Especially to have her experienced eye describe the Teresa she sees, the spiritual as well as the physical.

Can't help but hear "Fresh Feeling" by the Eels playing in the background as I read this.

Let me catch my breath for a moment.... I thought only the combat action scenes were supposed to leave one breathless?

I think it was positively BRILLIANT that you chose to tell this story primarily from Nerussa's pov. Partly because the last segment was from Teresa's pov and partly because Nerussa is such a subject matter expert. Learning so much more about her was a bittersweet thrill - you brought Nerussa alive for us. I am very glad you have made Teresa so endearing; otherwise I would want you to write 'The Tails Tales of Nerussa'.

Your touch again was MAGNIFICENT. Light and sensual. As this was the culmination of this three part chapter, it was excellent that you added just the perfect addition of the erotic to this one.

Chapter 7c was nonstop powerful goodness? But if I had to sum things up, the following passage surely did it for me, and speaks volumes:



As this completes your chapter 7, let me say what a wonderful job you did with the whole chapter - Quite simply, it was beautifully done my friend!

Great job yet again. I will never look at Nerussa the same way again. She gave Teresa a waaay better reward for the wine than she gave me! :hubbahubba:

As others have already said, you did a great job being sensual, but not too vulgar. I also enjoyed the way that you went to Nerussa's point of view for the beginning of this last part of the chapter. That was a refreshing change of pace.

Speaking of refreshing, nice touch with the "Bloom" spell. Finally, it's explained why nobody in Cyrodiil bathes!!

Once again, you have amazed me. Great job.