I've received some very favourable comments on Santa Elena Welcomes You, which I posted to the Queen of Swords fanfiction list. What particularly makes me happy is that Isabelle is an original character that the readers have taken to. It's always great getting comments on your fic, but I'm very fond of my 'originals', so I love it when they get a little attention too.

Rating: PG13
Characters: Dr. Robert Helm, Colonel Montoya, Captain Grisham, Tessa Alvarado, Marta, OFC
Summary: Dr. Helm and Tessa find someone quite unexpected on his doorstep, and Colonel Montoya plots to use her to his advantage.


To Follow the West Wind: Santa Elena Welcomes You

( Isabelle straightened her new hat, a gift from her brother. )


Part One ][ Part Two ][ Part Three ][ Part Four ][ Part Five ][ Part Six ][ Part Seven ][ Part Eight

Rating: PG13
Characters: Dr. Robert Helm, Colonel Montoya, Captain Grisham, Tessa Alvarado, Marta, OFC
Summary: Dr. Helm and Tessa find someone quite unexpected on his doorstep, and Colonel Montoya plots to use her to his advantage.


To Follow the West Wind: Santa Elena Welcomes You

( Isabelle, Tessa, and Marta, to whom Isabelle had just been introduced, congregated in Isabelle’s small bedroom. )


Part One ][ Part Two ][ Part Three ][ Part Four ][ Part Five ][ Part Six ][ Part Seven ][ Part Eight

Rating: PG13
Characters: Dr. Robert Helm, Colonel Montoya, Captain Grisham, Tessa Alvarado, Marta, OFC
Summary: Dr. Helm and Tessa find someone quite unexpected on his doorstep, and Colonel Montoya plots to use her to his advantage.

Santa Elena Welcomes You

( Robert poured more brandy into his sister’s glass. They had returned to his adobe after dinner, and were now relaxing in his small but cozy sitting room. )


Part One ][ Part Two ][ Part Three ][ Part Four ][ Part Five ][ Part Six ][ Part Seven ][ Part Eight

Rating: PG13
Character(s): Dr. Helm, Montoya, Grisham, Tessa, Marta, OFC
Summary: Dr. Helm and Tessa find someone quite unexpected on his doorstep, and Colonel Montoya plots to use her to his advantage.


Santa Elena Welcomes You

( An evening on the town.... )


Part One ][ Part Two ][ Part Three ][ Part Four ][ Part Five ][ Part Six ][ Part Seven ][ Part Eight

Rating: PG13
Character(s): Dr. Helm, Montoya, Grisham, Tessa, Marta, OFC
Summary: Dr. Helm and Tessa find someone quite unexpected on his doorstep, and Colonel Montoya plots to use her to his advantage.


Santa Elena Welcomes You

(  An emergency involving a man who had punctured his foot with a pitchfork interrupted Isabelle’s explanation of just how she’d ended up in California. )


Part One ][ Part Two ][ Part Three ][ Part Four ][ Part Five ][ Part Six ][ Part Seven ][ Part Eight

Rating: PG13
Character(s): Dr. Helm, Montoya, Grisham, Tessa, Marta, OFC
Summary: Dr. Helm and Tessa find someone quite unexpected on his doorstep, and Colonel Montoya plots to use her to his advantage.

Santa Elena Welcomes You

( Tessa sat at her kitchen table watching Marta as she kneaded the evening's bread.  )


Part One ][ Part Two ][ Part Three ][ Part Four ][ Part Five ][ Part Six ][ Part Seven ][ Part Eight

Rating: PG13
Character(s): Dr. Helm, Montoya, Grisham, Tessa, Marta, OFC
Summary: Dr. Helm and Tessa find someone quite unexpected on his doorstep, and Colonel Montoya plots to use her to his advantage.


Santa Elena Welcomes You

( Robert Helm closed the door behind him, leaning against it has he tried to take in the fact his young sister was really standing in the middle of his reception. )


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To Follow the West Wind - Part One: Santa Elena Welcomes You

( In the spring of 1818... )


Notes and background here.

Part One ][ Part Two ][ Part Three ][ Part Four ][ Part Five ][ Part Six ][ Part Seven ][ Part Eight

What follows is my Queen of Swords fic. The overall title is To Follow the West Wind, and my conception of it is something like a serial, with somewhat self-contained segments. The first segment is titled Santa Elena Welcomes You. I have approximately ten segments plotted out, though if all those get written, we’ll all be surprised!

All of the QoS characters will be featured, along with original characters – hey, it’s me, what else did you expect? I’m going to try and stick with the QoS canon as much as possible. The show is really historically inaccurate, so I’m going to try and do my best to blend what the show presented with the reality of Spanish Alta California. Try being the operative word! And first off, that means that the description of the setting is going to be what it actually looks like here, not what it looks like where the show was filmed in Spain. I’m sorry, but as a native Californian, and as someone who lives but a few hours from where the fictional Santa Elena exists, it’s the only way for my muse to function!

The one season of the series was set in 1817, so I’ve decided to pick the story back up in the spring of 1818. In 1821, Mexico declared its independence from Spain, so those four years leading up to that are my setting.

A brief synopsis of Queen of Swords can be found here.

I hope you enjoy the story!

Part One of Santa Elena Welcome You