October Novel Essential Information

Novel Title: Disconcerting

Time Setting: 2018

Genre: Equine Life

Minimum Word Goal: 90,000

Timespan: June–July

Locations: Stonehaven, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom; Haute-Aboujagane, Westmoreland County, New Brunswick, Canada.

Main Characters: Macaulay Baird, Caetline Griffin

Background Information:

Macaulay is the youngest child of his father's first marriage, which ended when his mother died under suspicious circumstances when Macaulay was three years old, but he ends up being the middle child overall because his father has had two further children with his second wife.

His father works as a surgeon, as well as being a member of the Peerage and running a breeding farm that raises renowned and critically endangered Cleveland Bay horses, and both medicine and horses are interests father and son share.

Initially, Macaulay was going to pursue show jumping to the level of competing in the Olympics, as well as veterinary medicine. He'd become quite involved with the horse operations even to the point of pairing a stallion and mare together to breed and being given full ownership of the resultant foal.

Unfortunately, his colt was stolen just weeks after having been weaned, which distressed him and prompted him to give up everything related to horses, much to his stepmother's dismay, leading to conflict between the two of them.

Macaulay misses his colt — who is now long a full-grown horse — but the investigators came up with no leads as to where his colt could've been taken, and to hide the pain he's thrown himself into more advanced medicinal studies; and not veterinary medicine, but human medicine, with the goal of becoming a surgeon, like his father, in a good fifteen years or so.

Caetline is the second youngest child in her family, which is a mixture of English and French heritage, and her family has been involved with horses since before she was born.

Her great-uncle runs a stable that teaches riding lessons in the community, as well as serving as a training base for his daughter, who also competes internationally.

Caetline's father is one of his cousin's staff who travel with her to her various competitions and look after her horses, especially helping keep her reserve horses in competition-ready form should she need them.

Meanwhile Caetline's mother works as a teacher at the riding school, and so Caetline and her sisters have all received complimentary riding lessons.

Caetline's oldest sister is currently pursuing veterinary medicine, and her next sister is pursuing music, while her youngest sister is as-yet undecided; Caetline has decided that she would like to ride internationally like her father's cousin.

The only thing that she lacks to pursue that, however, is a horse of her own. It's not really that her parents necessarily lack the funds to get her a horse, but they would like her to contribute some money, little of which she personally possesses at the moment.

She will be starting a job of her own at the riding school, teaching early riding — as she is a very good rider — but considering the price tag of the horse she's set her heart on, she knows that three years won't be enough time to raise even a quarter of the money she needs.

The horse she's set her heart on is Queen's Pride, a handsome bay part-Thoroughbred owned by one of the school's up-and-coming young international competitors: Lucas-Oliver Johnstone.

Pride has gone largely unused by Lucas-Oliver because of the fact that he and Pride don't get along well, and, in fact, Caetline's great-uncle is pressuring Lucas-Oliver to find someone to ride Pride so that he will be ready to compete if Lucas-Oliver should ever need him.

Caetline wishes that she could become Pride's rider — being as Pride stays at the school because of Lucas-Oliver's rather brazen confidence in the good health of his main horse — but being as Pride is a stallion, she's pretty sure that she wouldn't be allowed to ride him at this point in time.

Even still, considering that Lucas-Oliver doesn't seem to like Pride, Caetline would love to get enough money to buy the stallion and have him be the horse she rides when she gets to the point of competing internationally at the same level as Lucas-Oliver and her father's cousin.

Pronunciations:

Haute-Aboujagane: h'oh ahboozhahgahn'

Macaulay: mahkohlee

Caetline: kateleen

Novel Begins: Monday, October 1

Broken: Day 15

Word Total: 90,010

Year to Date: 690,060

Summary of Events:

Arina watched as Emil duelled King Sevastian and Samuil duelled Anastasia and pondered using her magical abilities to stop the fighting even though it might kill her to do so. Samuil transported her, Emil, and himself to the lake as dawn neared and they discovered it was still possible to break the spell. Unfortunately King Sevastian and Anastasia transported to the lake and the fighting resumed until Arina decided to use her abilities to stop the fighting, weakening her greatly. Emil tried to help her, but she'd knocked Samuil and Anastasia unconscious and Emil couldn't revive them; he got a charodei to come after she fell unconscious and learned that she could not be helped and would die shortly. Emil succeeded in breaking the spell as she died before ordering King Sevastian killed, lest he kill himself. Once this was all over Samuil regained consciousness and realised that Arina was dead . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Samuil walked around Sevastian and Arina to kneel beside Emil. He tried to pull Emil into an embrace, but Emil resisted, so Samuil just left his arm loosely draped across Emil's shoulders.

"I'm sorry Emil," Samuil whispered. "If I could I would do something. Anything."

"It wouldn't help," Emil replied.

"That we could've hidden our plans from them and succeeded without all this fighting, all this death," Samuil said.

"It is useless to think of such things now," Emil said.

"At least we succeeded in breaking the spell," Samuil said.

"For what purpose?" Emil asked. "It was useless, it was pointless."

"Was it?" Samuil asked.

"Arina is dead!" Emil cried.

"I know," Samuil replied. "But are you sure that all of this was a waste? Was it not a good thing that you were able to find a woman whom you loved?"

"Only to have her robbed from me?" Emil asked. "I would rather never have found a woman to love than to suffer this!"

"Surely there is another woman who can bring you comfort," Samuil said.

"No," Emil replied.

"You did not believe you would even find Arina," Samuil said. "Surely she could not have been the only woman in the world whom you could love. Surely there is another woman who would even be able to solace you in this time of grief."

"I don't care if there is," Emil replied. "I will not seek her out. I will not seek any woman to love. I will not marry no matter how much it would mean to Matushka to have grandchildren. I cannot stand to have this happen again."

"Surely it wouldn't," Samuil said.

"Of course it would!" Emil cried. "It's happened every time! Every time I love someone they are taken from me! I will not doom another woman to suffer this end because I loved her!"

Samuil sighed, but said nothing. Emil put his face into his hands and sobbed. Hardly a week he'd known Arina, and although he'd given her so much hope, he had also crushed it completely.

Oh that he could have known her for a month! That he could've been the one who died instead of her! That she would not have had the secondary curse caused by her parentage!

Emil wished that he never would've met Arina, not because he wouldn't have loved her, but because of the fact that his meeting her had brought about her demise. It was not Sevastian's fault she had died, as much as he'd felt vindicated to blame the man for it. It was his fault she had died.

If he wouldn't have met her none of this would have happened. If he wouldn't have sought the spell to be broken she wouldn't have been broken. He wouldn't have been broken.

That he would've left well enough alone. That he would never have greedily pursued the better swan. But naught could be undone now; it could only remain as it was: irreparably broken.

Next Post: September 29

Broken: Day 14

Word Count: 84,003

Summary of Events:

Arina woke up on the ground having slept through her transformation; Samuil was able to get her onto the roof and into the palace. Emil started into the dancing while trying to think of how he was going to word his pledge of love. Arina and Samuil, having dined separately from Emil, realised they were late for the ball and also realised that King Sevastian and Anastasia must've found out their plan; Arina burst into the ballroom moments after Emil inadvertently pledged his love to Isidora, leaving Emil unsure of whether he'd pledged his love to the right one, so he asked Samuil to uncover their disguises . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Let all who are unnatural in their appearance take on their natural appearance," Samuil declared.

There was a small flash close to Emil and a larger flash at the doors.

Horrified rage consumed Emil when he saw that the girl still touching him merely had her eye colour revert to its natural golden, while the girl at the doors had everything but her eye colour change and stood before him as Arina. The one he'd meant to pledge his love to.

Before he could do anything a chuckle sounded and he snapped his head to look at King Sevastian, who was smiling.

"We're not as stupid as you had thought Your Majesty," he said, still smiling. "Anastasia has been keeping an eye on Arina for some time, and she overheard your plans when you examined Arina to see how the spell on her could be broken, so we came up with our own plan to keep your plan from succeeding, and it is, in fact, our plan that has succeeded."

"How dare you deceive the Imperial Heir!" Emil shouted.

"It was what needed to be done Your Majesty," King Sevastian replied with an air of smug nonchalance. "We couldn't have you go marrying the wrong girl."

"You know not who is right for me!" Emil shouted. "Nor know you who is wrong for me! You know only who is right or wrong for your own selfish aims! I will not do what you wish, I will do what I wish! I do not wish to marry Isidora! I wish to marry the one to whom I pledged my love: I mean to marry Arina Stanislavovna!"

"You really mean to put such a smear on the Imperial House?" King Sevastian asked.

"I put no smear on it!" Emil retorted.

"Oh but you do Your Majesty," King Sevastian said. "I have my doubts Arina told you the truth. She's always been a terrible liar."

Arina looked at King Sevastian with horror. Emil saw tears springing to her eyes.

"I do not believe a word from her mouth to be falsehood," Emil declared; after all, Samuil had told him that Charodei couldn't lie in the presence of another of their kind, and neither in the presence of Samuil when he'd examined her or now — where she was in the presence of Samuil and Anastasia — was Arina confessing anything she'd said as a part of her story to be a lie."

"You believe the word of a murderess?" King Sevastian asked.

Everyone in the room gasped.

"How dare you put such a charge on her," Emil spat. "Who do you believe she murdered?"

"The child I shall eternally rue adopting, Arina Stanislavovna, murdered her mother Rosalia Lazarevna, in childbirth, causing both Rosalia and my only son, Sevastian Sevastianovich, to die," King Sevastian declared. "Because she could not bear to share her mother with me, much less with a brother."

Pronunciations:

Rosalia: rohzahlyah

Lazarevna: lahzahrehvnah

Sevastianovich: sehvahst'yahnohvich

Broken: Day 13

Word Count: 78,009

Summary of Events:

Emil went outside shortly after waking up to see if Arina had arrived yet; she had, and was being gawked at by the nobility for her beauty. Joining the group, Emil got into a heated discussion with a nobleman about ethical hunting that was ended when King Sevastian came to let everyone know breakfast was getting cold. After breakfast Emil told Arina the plan, only to find out from Samuil that there were going to be guards at every door, but Arina showed them a long-unused door on the roof that she could sneak in through; Emil and Samuil agreed that was a good idea and then, for the satisfaction of their own curiosity, went inside to see where the door led . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

The double doors were boarded up. Emil looked at Samuil, who removed the boards and opened the doors, leading the way into another dusty and long-unused room, but this one wasn't a storage room. It was a bedchamber.

In fact, Emil was pretty sure it was an Issue Suite where one of the king's sons or daughters would normally live.

Considering that Isidora was the only issue King Sevastian had to this juncture, Emil wasn't surprised that the room was unused; but then why have it boarded up?

Inside, as Emil looked around, he got the uneasy sense that it hadn't been without a resident for as long as probably every other Issue Suite in the palace aside from Isidora's.

Clothes hung in the closet, books stood on the shelves, other things were laid out on tables that looked like whoever had last been in the room had meant to come back.

In the bedchamber Emil nearly vomited. The bed was unmade and the room was in a scattered disarray, but what sickened Emil was the white feathers scattered about the room, scattered as if they'd been flung there in a flurry of panic, as if they'd been flung there by a young woman who'd woken up one morning and discovered she was no longer a flesh and blood maiden, but was a feather-clad swan.

"This was Arina's room," Samuil whispered.

Emil merely nodded. In his mind's eye he could imagine Arina waking up and suddenly finding that her eyes were mounted on the side of her head, not together on the front, and then finding her hands and arms to now be wings, and finding her body so much smaller, her neck long enough that she could crane around and look herself over to realise that she was a swan.

In horror and panic, Emil was sure she flapped about, probably even unable to leave the room because she couldn't open the door.

He imagined a sinister laugh coming as the door was opened, probably by King Sevastian, possibly by Anastasia, but probably with both of them close at hand to inform her that she was now cursed to live as a swan.

Emil wondered if Arina would've been able to attack them, or if she would've been too uncoordinated, being unused to her new form, to be able to attack them.

If she would've attacked them she probably would've been stopped by Anastasia and taken outside in the hope she would leave. Emil wondered if King Sevastian would've been so calloused as to shoot arrows at her in an effort to make her go away once she was outside.

Rage filled Emil as he thought of Arina's fear, her terror, her hurt, her devastation as she fled for her life from what had formerly been her home, driven away by the man who had surely pledged to care for her until she was wed.

Broken: Day 12

Word Count: 72,046

Summary of Events:

Emil went out to the stables to visit with Yarina and discovered two men — one of whom was a Royal soldier — plotting to steal and sell the horses; with Samuil's help he got them locked up and on their way to trial in Zolotoi because he knew they wouldn't be punished in Lebed. Afterwards he and Samuil went to check on an abused stallion they'd found running loose a couple days before, with intent to clean him up a little bit . . .

Excerpt of the Day:
Emil opened the stall door, prompting the stallion to raise his head, prick his ears, and crane his neck around to look at them. His gaze was soft and calm, no signs of white sclera suggesting he was alarmed or upset by their entrance.
Taking the hard comb, Emil worked at the caked mud covering the stallion's body; he was watchful of the spot where he'd noticed rawness and wounds from the aggressive spurs of his master and did his best to be light and gentle over that spot, although the stallion still stood up straight and bent around, showing signs of annoyance and displeasure that indicated he felt pain, so Emil didn't dwell there too long.
He worked the mud out of the stallion's coat on his side before passing the comb to Samuil and getting to work with the stiff brush, sweeping away all the dirt he'd now loosened to reveal the stallion's original deep brown colour, again with a light touch over the wounded area, although not tarrying long.
Once that was done Emil went over the stallion with the soft brush and left the stallion shining clean everywhere except where the aggressive spur wounds marred his sides.
Emil then moved on to clean the mud from the fight out of the stallion's hooves and check their soundness.
They were rather sturdy hooves and looked disease-free from what Emil could tell in the low light, but they were on the long side and ought to be trimmed soon.
Emil then began brushing the stallion's mane, which took a lot of effort, as it didn't seem that the stallion's mane had been brushed out in a long time. Samuil finished his side of the horse plus a light brushing out of the tail while Emil worked on the mane.
"He has a pretty good temperament," Samuil said. "I think that if he doesn't have a different owner he might be well worth keeping."
"Do you think we could wash and salve his sides?" Emil asked.
"We should," Samuil replied.
"But I agree that he has a good temperament, especially for a stallion," Emil said. "I think he would make an excellent addition to the stallions back home, and if Matushka says we have too many horses there then I'll send him to Loshad."
"Has she said you have too many horses before?" Samuil asked.
"No," Emil replied. "But she's been subtly suggesting that we're getting close to having more horses than we need considering that we're not really wanting or trying to breed and sell horses for a profit, we're just trying to keep our numbers level."
"With his temperament established," Samuil said. "Do you think you'd consider letting him have his way with Yarina here just to see what you get?"
"I don't know," Emil replied. "I wasn't really planning on having Yarina have a colt next year. But then again, it probably wouldn't take at this time of year, we'd probably want to wait until spring."

Pronunciation:
Loshad: lohshahd

Broken: Day 11

Word Count: 66,031

Summary of Events:

Emil found himself restless with worry because of Samuil's concerns, so he spoke with Samuil's mother, who reassured him. He shared this with Samuil the next morning and they both felt much relieved. After breakfast, being as it was still raining, Emil spoke with King Sevastian, which he found an altogether unpleasant and patronising experience. Following that, he spoke again with Duke Miron, with their conversation turning to stripping King Sevastian of his title . . .

Excerpt of the Day:
"His Highness' son — if he has one — would be fighting a tremendous uphill battle when he inherits the throne then," Emil said.
"No," Miron replied. "He would just take us further down toward the pit of ruin."
"Of course we have already established that His Highness is legally unfit to remain on the throne," Emil said.
"Indeed," Miron agreed. "He ought to be replaced by someone who is not his son."
Emil nodded. "He should not even be allowed to reign for the rest of his days, nor should he be buried in the Royal Crypt with all the honour due a king for his disgraceful conduct."
"If he is stripped of his title before he dies, indeed," Miron agreed. "He should not be allowed to be buried with an honour no longer afforded him."
"Of course he does have issue in Isidora and Boleslava's unborn child who could well be a son," Emil said. "I am sure Boleslava would not incite her child to lay claim to the throne at all, but I'm more than certain Isidora would try for it."
"And she isn't criminally responsible for anything," Miron said.
"However, if her father is stripped of his title and removed from the throne for criminal acts," Emil said. "I would see that as immediately disqualifying any and all heirs he has, male or female, from taking the throne after him."
"That would not stop his siblings, however," Miron said. "And he has several not only who are alive, but who have children and even grandchildren of their own."
"If an Imperial Edict is given saying that what was previously the Royal House of Lebed is no longer, being replaced with a new Royal House beginning with whomever is appointed king by my mother, then surely that would eradicate any and all claim His Highness' siblings might have on the throne as well."
"The more specific and detailed the edict the better," Miron said. "And I would say that any and all who can trace their lineage back to King Filipp's father ought to be disqualified from claiming the throne and contesting this newly-appointed king for it."
"It would probably also be a good idea to have it that some of the Imperial Forces are sent to help establish the new king peaceably, whip the Royal Forces into shape, to make sure that the opposition yields, and the thievery, for one thing, is reined in," Emil said. "They could also police hunting and overhunting as well."
"I think I can rest quite assured you're going to see His Highness stripped of his title and replaced upon your return to Zolotoi," Miron said. "But I advise you not to pick a replacement from among his closest advisors. In fact, I would not be opposed if you selected a nobleman from Zolotoi to replace him instead of trying to find a suitable replacement from among the people of Lebed."

Broken: Day 10

Word Count: 60,041

Summary of Events:

Emil and Samuil went to examine Arina again after dark and discovered that in order for the spell to be broken Arina needed to hear a public profession of love and then be kissed as dawn broke; they then visited for awhile, with Samuil expressing more concerns about the wisdom of their marrying that unsettled Emil. After they left Arina spent some time in thought about quite a few things . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Arina sighed. She had far more questions than answers right about now, and she was sure that she would end up having more of the questions unanswered at her dying day than she would have answered.

The questions regarding how things would fare if she were to marry Emil would have their answers, but the answers as to why things had happened how they'd happened to get her to this point would never be answered.

She wondered if they hadn't happened the way they'd happened so that she'd meet Emil. If Papa had remained alive she and Mama would never have moved, they would've remained where they'd lived and she would surely have lived out her days without having ever seen Emil face-to-face.

It may've been that she would've seen and admired his image from afar, but he never would've seen her, and would he then have married someone else? Arina wondered, but she knew she wouldn't ever find out.

She wondered what Mama and Papa would think; what they maybe even were thinking, as surely they knew what was going on in her life to some extent.

Were they honoured to think that she had acquired the affection of the Imperial Heir? Were they glad to see she had a way out of this trouble? Did they know already who their grandchildren would be and how many they would have?

Oh, there were so many questions, but she had to admit, the advice she'd given to Emil and Samuil was advice she ought to heed for herself: if Sevastian's balls were as late now as they'd been before, she was going to need to be well rested, lest she find herself so exhausted that she fell asleep either before Emil professed his love to her or before they could kiss at dawn and the spell could be broken.

Arina bundled herself under the blanket Emil had brought her — which she appreciated very much — and gazed at the flames, slowly dying down into little glowing embers that she would nurse back to a flame with some wood in the morning, as she was sure that the rain would be continuing all day tomorrow, thus she'd be spending her time in here, lest she be cold and miserable outside.

Even if she didn't marry Emil because it was deemed unwise, she hoped that she could find a life far away from here so that she couldn't be cursed again or even outright killed by Sevastian and Anastasia.

Pronunciation:

Anastasia: ahnahstahzyah

Broken: Day 9

Word Count: 54,090

Summary of Events:

Emil was asked not to participate in the day's hunt so that someone else could provide him with the swan for his dinner, so Emil and Samuil went to the lake to see if they could find out how to break the spell on Arina; they didn't get any results from examining her and guessed that was because the spell couldn't be broken while she was a swan, so they headed back to the palace to wait until she'd turned back into a human so they could examine her again. While they waited Emil struck up a conversation with one of King Sevastian's dukes who enlightened him to the recent history of Lebed, including the disappearance of Arina . . .

Excerpt of the Day:
Emil nodded. "Did you notice an increase of swan hunts after that point?"
Miron looked at Emil like he was thoroughly baffled. "Why?"
"I heard the amount of swan hunts he went on increased exponentially after the disappearance of his stepdaughter," Emil replied.
Miron turned his gaze to the higher shelves contemplatively before looking at Emil and nodding. "I do believe they increased at that point. Whoever suggested that?"
"One of the soldiers," Emil replied. "My friend has made acquaintance with several of them seeing as he has been unable to be in the palace since my arrival and that was what someone told him there. They suspected it was grief."
"No," Miron said. "It was not grief, I assure you wholeheartedly. His Highness seemed to me quite immeasurably relieved upon the disappearance of his stepdaughter, thus why I suspect he forcibly and secretly married her off to someone who lives far away from here or found some relatives to make her live with, which prevented any and all suitors from being distracted by her from Princess Isidora — not that it's helped Isidora become a married woman at all."
"I should hope His Highness doesn't dare attempt to forcibly marry his daughter to me," Emil said. "That's another rumour I've heard."
"Having you marry his daughter would be the ultimate achievement," Miron said. "I know that if he is not able to have a son, to have you marry his daughter would be the next best thing. I am surprised he hasn't given the two of you as much time together as possible. All you've done is go on the hunts."
"I am not the sort who stays up at all hours of the night," Emil replied. "The banquet is as late as I care to stay up. I will force myself to stay up late for the final ball, but I will not stay up late for any of the other dances."
Miron nodded.
"And even still I have no intentions of marrying Isidora," Emil said. "I don't find her appealing at all, and that's not just because her frame carries more weight than it ought."
"Then what is it?" Miron asked.
Emil startled involuntarily. He was unprepared for the question. Someone actually wanted to know what he disliked in a woman?
"I don't really care for her hair colour, which, being natural, she cannot change, nor would I ask her to," Emil replied. "I also find her rather devoid of personality. She doesn't have anything interesting or compelling to say. In fact, she seems very juvenile-minded, as if her body has matured but her mind hasn't."
"I assure you that His Highness' stepdaughter would've been most favourable to you, for she is the perfect opposite of everything Princess Isidora is," Miron said. "Dark haired, intelligent and mature-minded, although I do believe she doesn't carry as much weight as her frame could, which causes her to look extremely delicate."
Emil nodded. Miron had done a good job of describing Arina.

Broken: Day 8

Word Count: 48,056

Summary of Events:

Emil told Samuil everything about Arina before breakfast and asked Samuil if he knew how the spell on Arina could be broken; Samuil didn't know, but his uncle did, and explained that they would need to magically examine her to determine what must be done. After his uncle left Samuil asked Emil why he wanted to help Arina, prompting Emil to confess that he wanted to marry Arina, which prompted scepticism in Samuil because of Arina's mixed blood . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"You're the one who told me I could very well find my wife here in Lebed of all places," Emil scolded. "Now you don't believe it's possible?"

"It's not that I disbelieve the possibility," Samuil replied. "You've hardly seen her all that much, you don't know her."

"We'll court," Emil said.

"Living with the burden of a secret like that will not be easy," Samuil said.

"So long as it doesn't become public knowledge before we have a son to inherit the throne after me it doesn't matter," Emil said. "Even if we have a daughter to inherit the throne after me. It won't matter."

"It could incite revolt," Samuil cautioned. "Don't forget that there are some who hold us in high contempt because we can heal people without the use of scientific means. They believe our existence continues purely because of the enduring propagation of old wives' tales, not because we are an actual people who have existed from the beginning as much as the lyoodi."

Emil nodded. Many of the rich people in Severnaya believed that the charodei were inferior because they didn't use science, nor could they even explain their abilities with science. It was purely through Father that the charodei were put into the military, with largely beneficial results during the war against the Malenkï.

It was also only because of Matushka's efforts that they'd become more familiar faces in society as well, as if it weren't for the charodei he wouldn't exist, as magic had helped protect Matushka from miscarrying him as she had all of the other children she could possibly have birthed.

Even still, science was considered better than magic by most of the more affluent people in the Imperia, meanwhile magic was considered superior to science by everyone else in the Imperia.

"Do you really think it's wise to marry her?" Samuil asked.

"She has had nothing good in her life to this point," Emil replied. "She's only been ostracised, reviled, resented, and cursed. She needs to have something good in her life. She needs to know that she is loved and not all those who love her will be separated from her by death to leave her vulnerable to any and all sufferings that could be afflicted on her."

Samuil still looked unconvinced.

"If our union isn't to be then our courtship will tell it," Emil said. "But I don't want to think about that. I want to think that I have finally found a woman I believe worthwhile of my lifelong affection and that we will not be separated or troubled."

Samuil nodded, although his countenance was still quite sober. Emil looked away from Samuil. He didn't want to see his friend looking so sceptical. He wanted to have Samuil behind him, willing to help him and to see his dream of making Arina his wife come to be a reality.

Pronunciation:

Lyoodi: leeoodee

Broken: Day 7

Word Count: 42,037

Summary of Events:

Emil found Arina and learned from her that King Sevastian was her stepfather — her widowed mother having become his second wife — and that he had cursed her to be a swan by day and a maiden by night because she kept winning the hearts of all the men he wanted to marry his daughter Isidora; determined to get her out of the curse, Emil pledged to marry her and find out from Samuil how the spell could be broken. Arina, overcome that she might possibly escape the curse — forget someday becoming the Empress to his Emperor — cried for some time in Emil's embrace . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Emil looked down at Arina, her head resting against his shoulder, the rest of her diminutive frame gathered into his lap, looking completely at rest in his embrace. He hoped this was a sight he would see many, many times, many nights, in the future, as he shared his life with her, his love with her, and gave Matushka her beloved grandchildren not at his expense, but at his pleasure.

He was sure Matushka would like her very much, for she was pretty, intelligent, and seemed to him like the perfect wife. He'd never dreamed he'd have met a maiden twice and become convinced she was going to be his wife, but, with how many women he met even in a night sometimes, he wondered if he wasn't expected to have found a wife at least this fast, and then to develop a relationship with her through courtship.

Admittedly, though, Emil wasn't sure he wanted to go through courtship. He didn't want to wait that long to marry her. He wanted to marry her now, but he was sure doing so would be a rash thing. They ought to give their relationship time to grow and show them whether their initial sentiments were correct.

Emil nearly shuddered to think that they could possibly find with the passage of time that their relationship would not be a good one, that they would not be well-suited to marry and live out their days together.

As much as he dug in his heels about meeting women who might make worthy wives, it wasn't because he didn't want to get married, but because people didn't understand or even respect what he wanted in a wife. They weren't interested in giving him a woman he loved, they were interested in him giving them a good sleep at night by fathering a son.

Everyone of any noble position in Severnaya had been seeking to get him married for these eight years because of what it benefitted them: grandchildren, an heir, his settling down into married life; they'd thought nothing of the fact that he might want some things out of the marriage that were different from what they wanted.

It had been a long eight years to get to this point, in part because finding a woman like Arina wasn't as easy as he'd hoped it might be, but he felt it'd been long even more so because everyone else had been in a rush to see him married too, and they'd been trying to match him up with women he didn't love or even find remotely appealing whatsoever.

But, finally — by himself — he had succeeded. He had found all that he wanted in a woman, even if she was half Charodeika, and he was going to marry her. Everyone would be satisfied — aside from maybe King Sevastian, but he wasn't worth pleasing in Emil's mind — and he would be happy. It was the perfect situation.

Pronunciation:
Charodeika: chahrohdyekah

Broken: Day 6

Word Count: 36,006

Summary of Events:

Emil encountered the attack swan several more times during the day before finally it was time to head back to rejoin the other hunters; on his way there he passed a lake full of swans, including the attack swan; he went to shoot at it when it disappeared beneath the surface, so he moved to get closer and get a better angle on the swan, only to encounter Arina emerging from the water again; he was astonished when she launched into a virulent and angry tirade against him, saying that he was greedy, selfish, and that he had attacked her . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Surely I am not the selfish and greedy person you think I am," Emil said. "And assuredly you are grossly mistaken when you claim that I have attacked you. I have done no such thing to you."

Arina lowered her hands from her mouth, a simmering of rage showing in her eyes.

"You are blind," she said.

"To what?" Emil asked.

"If you are a master huntsman then you surely know how animals behave," she said.

Emil looked out at the water, then back at Arina. He looked out at the water again.

The swan he'd been seeking hadn't reemerged from the water since diving down.

A sudden sickness attacked his stomach and he looked at Arina: or had it?

"You are the swan," Emil said. "The fast-flying, beautiful creature with the bright white shimmering feathers that has my horse petrified of the sound of wings flapping. You did this to me."

The rage faded again and she bowed her head, her hands clasped in front of her, contrition coming over the whole of her countenance. "It is as you say Your Majesty."

Emil turned away, running his fingers through his hair, ignoring the fact that doing so knocked his hat back to hang around his neck. He felt ready to vomit. He'd been seeking to hunt an animal that was really a living person — the very maiden he'd been petrified would freeze to death last night — in disguise.

Never before had such an anguish filled Emil. He'd never dreamed that he would ever threaten a maiden. He'd been taught that women were not to be threatened with abuse and bloodshed, and yet he had threatened worse: he'd threatened death against a woman, and he'd done so with ruthlessness.

Finally Emil turned around and looked at Arina, whose gaze remained steadfastly down at her toes. Emil grasped her shoulders tightly, even though the wet fabric was quite cold.

"Look at me," Emil said.

She did so, her light blue eyes still looking contrite.

"Words cannot convey the horror I feel," Emil said. "The disgust I feel. That I should've dared to threaten you, that I should've pursued you with such ruthlessness, believing myself to be pursuing an animal for death and consumption, when in truth I was pursuing a human, and much more than that, a human woman."

Moisture made Arina's eyes glassy.

"What, what can I ever do, to show you how truly grieved and sorry I am for what I have put you through, even in these last minutes having drawn back my bow at you, intent to take your life?" Emil asked. "How can I prove to you that I hate myself for having dared to do such a wretched thing?"

Broken: Day 5

Word Count: 30,011

Summary of Events:

Emil got as far as the stables in his efforts to help Arina when he fell asleep; Samuil found him there and sent him back to bed. The next morning Samuil pressed Emil for an explanation of why he'd been sleeping in the stables, to which Emil refused to respond. They set out on another hunt and Emil got a swan, although it wasn't the one which attacked him, as he headed steadily onward toward the lake to check on Arina . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

It took them some time heading northward before they finally found a softer slope — as evidenced by the fact that trees actually grew on it — and Emil started Yarina up the hill.

They then headed southward for a ways, with Emil looking for the mud pit so that he could determine when they should start heading east again to be on something of the right track.

Wings flapping overhead turned Emil's gaze skyward and he saw the swan, it was the swan which had attacked him yesterday; without a doubt he knew it was the same swan, and it was the speed at which it flew which gave it away.

Emil immediately sent Yarina after it while readying his bow, determined to get a better shot in on his first opportunity. He made Yarina go as fast as he dared on the terrain and did his best to manoeuvre her in such a way as allowed him the most good opportunities based on where he guessed the swan was going.

Even though he was going faster and keeping the swan better in his sights, it still took him forever to get something he considered to be a shot opportunity, but when he did, he fired, only to have his arrow go whizzing over the swan.

Immediately Emil reined Yarina in and braced as the swan turned around and surged at them.

Yarina screamed and bolted. Emil kept his seat and worked to rein Yarina in as the swan pursued them.

Emil cried out when suddenly and unexpectedly he felt a sharp and foreign pain in the back corner of his neck. Yarina fought to get her head as the swan nipped at Emil, also flapping and thrusting its webbed feet at him.

It bit at Emil's face and actually got a couple of good strikes in while continuing to flap at him. Yarina screamed and bucked, giving Emil a frightful challenge trying to defend himself and keep himself in his saddle.

Finally he hauled Yarina around in a circle with one hand and drew out his sword with the other, prompting the swan to depart immediately.

Cursing under his breath, Emil sheathed his sword and then worked on settling Yarina down, which took a lot longer than it had when he'd killed the other swan.

He rubbed gingerly at the back of his neck and found no blood came away on his fingers, so that was good, except that the bite hurt ferociously.

His cheek, on the other hand, had two places where it was bleeding, one just under his cheekbone, the other down by his chin. All in all his face smarted terribly. He really wanted to bring that swan down to stop the attacks if nothing else.

Broken: Day 4

Word Count: 24,011

Summary of Events:

Arina, warming herself up in her home, thought about the encounter with Emil and realised — with shock and mild horror — that she'd been in the presence of the Imperial Heir of Severnaya. Emil, having felt rather dazed by his encounter with Arina all through dinner, excused himself to bed and told of the swan attack to Samuil, reluctant to tell his friend about Arina, before getting ready for bed, pausing a moment to look out the window . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

The palace wall loomed in the foreground, shuddering and shivering orange dots showing where torches hung; the forest stretched out beyond, a deep, dark blue, a jagged texture to the edge where it touched the sky, which looked light compared to the landscape below it, but that was because it was a clear night, with stars spread like fine glitter across the heavens.

Far out there — how far Emil didn't know — was the beautiful and mysterious young Arina.

Now his mind pictured her shivering, cold, wet, water droplets clinging to her skirts until they couldn't cling any longer and were forced to drip down onto the stony beach around her bare feet.

Emil felt a sickness within himself. He felt tortured. He shouldn't have left her. He shouldn't have allowed her to prevent him from helping her. For all he knew she could be turning blue with cold and starting to lose function in her body so that she would be frozen stiff by morning.

He shuddered to think of the beautiful form laying so cold and lifeless. It would be his fault because he didn't help her. He would've killed her. Even if he hadn't directly done so, the fact that he'd given in to her would leave the blame squarely on his shoulders.

Should he go out there? Should he take Yarina, some blankets, maybe a hot soup if he could find one, and make sure that she would survive? Would it be too late now?

Emil felt his stomach twist within him. He'd be lucky to be awake in time for breakfast tomorrow if he helped her, and breakfast was even two and a half hours later here than it was at home. How would he explain himself?

Did it matter? She was a person in need of help, help he should've given her hours ago instead of letting her convince him to leave. Why had she made him leave when she'd been in such need of help?

He stepped up to the window and put his hands against the glass. He stared out at the thick woods, the spruce trees pointing tall into the air, while the poplars made more rounded shapes connecting the spruce spires.

It would be unfamiliar territory, in the dark, and there was no way he was going to be taking a torch with him, lest someone see him and think he was a thief or an attacker.

He hadn't even ridden Yarina all the way to the lake, it wasn't, thus, like she'd know where to go; and what of wildlife? Surely bears, foxes, wolves, wildcats, and the like called the woods home, and if he were to bring a hot soup along the bears for sure would love to taste a morsel of it.

There was no way he could leave her to die. He couldn't do it.

Broken: Day 3

Word Count: 18,182

Summary of Events:

Samuil pranked Emil by making Emil think he was late for the hunt when he was really early, so they went and visited the horses and then scoped out the landscape with the guards Samuil had befriended the evening before while they waited. On the hunt, Emil found a beautiful and large swan, which he pursued diligently but had his only shot at miss, prompting the swan to attack him — highly unusual behaviour — which made his mare run off on him. On foot, Emil found another swan he initially thought was the one who'd attacked him, but discovered wasn't; shortly afterwards he reached a small lake where he found a young woman soaked from head to toe whom he gave his jacket to so that she could warm up . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Who are you?" Emil asked.

"My name is Arina," she replied, a slight edge to her voice.

"What are you doing here?" Emil asked.

"I live nearby," she replied.

"And why are you so wet?" Emil asked.

"The boat I was in capsised," she replied.

Emil looked out at the lake. It looked like it ought to be deep enough to require a boat toward the middle. He looked at her.

"You need to go," she said.

"But you've hardly warmed up at all," Emil said. "You're still shivering."

"Your friends are looking for you," she said, her gaze going past him. "They're very worried."

"Then come with me," Emil said.

She looked at him with what seemed a mixture of fear and rage. "No."

"You need dry clothes," Emil said.

"I have some at home," she replied, her voice tight.

"Keep my jacket for warmth until you get there," Emil said.

"No," she said, pulling up the sleeves so as to unfasten the buttons.

"Please, I insist," Emil said, reaching out to stay her hands.

"No," she repeated, moving too quickly for him to catch and sliding off the jacket, which she held out to him.

"You're nothing short of willful aren't you?" Emil asked.

She said nothing, but her gaze was cold and fixed.

Emil sighed reluctantly and took his jacket back. "You look like you're half-frozen."

"I'll be fine," she replied tautly.

"Where do you live?" Emil asked. "Can I at least escort you there?"

"I'll be fine," she repeated.

"You're in bare feet," Emil said. "Please, can't I help you?"

"I don't need help," she replied. "If you wish to have that swan for dinner you need to go back to your friends. They have your horse and are looking for you. They fear you dead."

"But I can't leave until I know you're safe," Emil protested.

"I am safe," she replied.

"You can't tell me that when you're soaked to the skin on an autumn's night with bare feet and expect me to believe it," Emil scolded.

She met his eyes with hers. "I. Am. Safe."

Emil suddenly felt a sense of detachment, as if his senses had been robbed of him.

"Yes, you're safe," he said, although he felt like someone else was speaking the words.

Despite his consciousness screaming to him that he needed to put his foot down and escort her to her abode, he turned around and went back for his things. He put his dampened jacket back on, then strapped everything back over it, and walked into the woods, not once looking over his shoulder at the maiden.

He felt like the woods whizzed past him despite his feet feeling leaden before suddenly he saw Samuil; Yarina's reins tied to his saddle, a torch in hand, concern like he'd never before seen etched onto his best friend's face.

Upon seeing Samuil Emil felt like his senses returned to him. He looked over his shoulder and saw nothing but woods when he felt like his leaden steps shouldn't have carried him beyond the sight of the clearing's edge.

Broken: Day 2

Word Count: 12,028

Summary of Events:

Emil arrived in Molodonoi, the first stop on his tour, and was upset to learn that King Sevastian of Lebed was convinced that Emil would be marrying his daughter, Princess Isidora, whom Emil didn't really find all that attractive; he excused himself as soon as possible to talk things over with his lifelong friend Samuil . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

Emil sighed. "I don't want to be on this tour, I don't want to have to be spending a week here, I don't want to have to dance, I don't want, I don't want any of it!"

"I know," Samuil said soberly.

"Can't I just wait for the right woman to come?" Emil asked. "Why do I have to go find her?"

"Maybe because she wouldn't ever meet you otherwise?" Samuil suggested.

"Then maybe I'm not supposed to be married!" Emil protested.

"Would you really want that Emil?" Samuil asked. "To never be married? To have the whole palace to yourself when Her Majesty dies?"

Emil sighed. "You're on Matrushka's side, aren't you?"

"I want to see you happy Emil," Samuil said. "I want to see you at peace, not in this constant state of turmoil. And I believe that your marriage will be a benefit in that. It may not be the ultimate, it may not completely satisfy you, but I am convinced it will help you in some measure, and therefore I hope to see you wed, but I do not mean to force you and you know that. I've not been pressed to marriage although Tatiana is wed and Venyamin looks well on his way to the same, so I shan't press you to the same end, even if others are more inclined to put such a pressure on you."

"If there were a woman worth marrying in this Imperia I would marry her," Emil said. "I truly would. But there is no woman worth marrying."

"Have you met all the women?" Samuil asked.

"I certainly feel as if I have," Emil replied. "But apparently there are still women to meet."

"And maybe you'll meet the one you're looking for," Samuil said. "And maybe even here."

Emil exhaled scoffingly. "Among these prodigiously droll people?"

"Are you certain they are all actually droll Emil?" Samuil asked. "You haven't met them all. Surely there is more colour in the kingdom than you have seen in a handful of hours."

"It matters not if there is," Emil said. "As far as His Highness is concerned I'm marrying his daughter."

"You are the Imperial Heir," Samuil said. "You need not bow to the will of a mere king."

"I have a week," Emil replied. "And I will be staying here the whole time. What else can I do? Who else can I find? Nothing and no one I can assure you."

"Don't despair so Emil," Samuil said. "You are not a pessimist by nature in most things, why need you be such a pessimist in this?"

"Because I am tired of it," Emil replied. "Everyone else has plans for my life and they mean for me to fulfill their plans. What of my own plans? Surely my own plans are the most worth following instead of everyone else's plots and machinations."

Samuil sighed. "The disadvantages of a high position."

Pronunciations:

Sevastian: sehvahsteeehn

Isidora: eezeedohrah

Samuil: sahm'yooeel

Tatiana: tatyahnah

Venyamin: vehnyahmihn

Broken: Day 1

Word Count: 6,007

Summary of Events:

Emil found out from his mother that he was to set out the next morning on a tour of the Imperia in celebration of his birthday; unimpressed that he was being sent on what he was pretty sure was largely a wife-finding tour, he went out on a ride to try and clear his head . . .

Excerpt of the Day:

"Yarina moved easily along the tree-lined trails, her ears forward and her nostrils flared, alert for any wildlife that might threaten them, while Emil breathed deep the revitalising and refreshing scent of conifers.

There were some days, like this one, when he wished he could construct a secondary palace higher up on the mountains and far away from the bustling pass city which provided eastward travellers with supplies for their journeys through the pass, and resupplied westward travellers upon their having journeyed through the pass.

Not that Zolotoi wasn't a nice city, but to be somewhat more distant from all of its bustle, to be closer yet to the mountains and trees whose company he so enjoyed, would be much nicer in his mind.

He rode on until they reached the tree line, at which the air was thinner and colder than among the trees. He looked up at the great, craggy peak that extended beyond them, snow filling in crevices and softening edges, as well as making the whole thing look strikingly clean and crisp.

An eagle called and he soon spied the great golden bird skillfully soaring in lazy circles on a pocket of warm air overhead. Emil scanned the rocks for goats and sheep that ate lichens off the rocks, but he saw none of the adept, surefooted creatures.

The distant chime of a church's bell informed him of the hour. He rode along the tree line, heading northward.

Although Matrushka had no intentions of cancelling the tour she'd planned, Emil didn't want to go on the tour of the Imperia. As much as there would be other things to do, he couldn't escape the scheduled balls; but then again, what good host didn't entertain a visiting dignitary with a ball?

Balls were held at every well-moneyed man's estate at least monthly, if not more regularly, whether there was an official justification for it, or if it was just to get together with people and socialise.

The worst thing about balls, in his mind, was that he, as an unmarried young man, was expected to dance, and not just to dance once, but to dance in most every dance, and to dance with all the women he could find.

This pressure was especially strong on him because he was the Imperial Heir, and he, more than any other man in the Imperia was expected to find a suitable young woman, wed her, and sire a child with her as quickly as possible.

Emil shook his head. Not even coming up here could help him put aside the thoughts and frustrations. He turned Yarina around and started back home. There was no sense staying up here if he couldn't keep his mind off the things he wanted to keep it off of."

Pronunciations:

Yarina: yahreenah

Matrushka: mahtrooshka

September Novel Essential Information

Novel Title: Broken

Time Setting: 1759†

Genre: Fantasy

Minimum Word Goal: 90,000

Timespan: September 23–29

Locations: Zolotoi, Korolevstvo Oryol, Imperia Severnaya; Molodonoi, Korolevstvo Lebed, Imperia Severnaya

Main Characters: Velikï Gertséog Emil Rudolfovich, Printsesssa Arina Stanislavevna

Background Information: 

Seventeen years ago the Malenkï people, who live to the east side of the Imperia Severnaya's long southern border launched a large-scale and vicious attack on the Korolevtsvo Koza immediately north of them that quickly overwhelmed the Kozski troops.

Famed for his skill in war — much less considered the sole reason why the Imperia no longer had wars with the Kochevnyk people to the west of the Malenkï — the Imperskï Korol, husband of the Imperatritséa and father of the Velikï Gertséog, quickly rallied an army of all the available Severnayski men to combat the attack; and did so with ease.

The Severnayski were optimistic that with all of their best men going to attack the small and primitive Malenkï, the war would soon be over.

Despite the fact that the Severnayski army — by virtue of laws, as well as the exhortations of the Imperskï Korol — had charodei in its ranks that had been previously much maligned by the elite in Severnayski society due to their abilities to heal without using the science that was considered superior by these elites, the Malenkï had a larger population to draw from, and so the war dragged on for four years of impasse.

Being as the Malenkï had no charodei in their country they were at the disadvantage of running out of people, whereas the Severnayski wounded could be healed in the middle of a battle due to the charodei in their ranks. This, unfortunately, didn't prove to have effect on the war as soon as people had anticipated — possibly compounded by the fact that the Malenkï were quick to kill all the charodei they came into battle against.

Finally the Imperskï Korol received word that the Malenkï were really running low on men willing to fight, and so were rallying all the men they had into one last do-or-die charge.

The Imperskï Korol sent word to all units to report to the area directly across from the Malenkï camp from which the charge was to originate in all due haste, and due to the Malenkï not charging as soon as had been expected by the Severnayski, more soldiers were able to arrive than had initially been anticipated.

Despite the exhortations by his soldiers to dress as a common soldier and hide in their ranks, the Imperskï Korol dressed in his full regalia and put himself front and centre of the narrow, thick ranks of Severnayski cavalrymen astride his handsome grey stallion.

Letting the Malenkï charge first, with their wide, narrow rank of cavalrymen, the Severnayski were able to effectively rout the Malenkï, but at a great and terrible cost, as far as the people of Severnaya were concerned.

Severnayski soldiers found the body of the Imperskï Korol run through with his own sword so as to be fixed to the ground and he was numbered among the dead.

The Imperia plunged into mourning and his wife named the day of the battle as the Imperial Day of Remembrance for the Dead of War and promised her distraught young son that she would not remarry out of love for her husband.

Since then, the Imperatritséa has become symbolic of the strength and resilience of the Imperia as peace has reigned since, and more connections have been made with the nations to their west.

Having a woman helming the largest empire in the world is a source of pride for the Severnayski, as she has not given up despite the loss of her husband, who had sustained her through the deaths of her father and brother, and the difficult pregnancies which yielded only miscarriages prior to their son finally being born.

In fact, some of the rural-dwelling citizens of the Imperia have taken to calling the Imperatritséa Mother Severnaya, and she has permitted them to call her such in her presence, but to call her just Mother or any other maternal title is reserved for her son only.

In recent years the Imperatritséa has started to involve her son more and more in the affairs of the Imperia, in which he has taken great interest. The only thing that is causing any conflict between the pair at the moment is the fact that he remains obstinately unmarried.

The Imperatritséa wants to see grandchildren before she dies, most especially because she's loathe to see her next-youngest sister's family take the throne, and wants to know that the future of the throne is securely in good hands.

The singleness of the Velikï Gertséog is both exciting and annoying as far as the eligible maidens of the Imperia are concerned as well, being as he is considered ravishingly handsome, and yet at every ball he may dance with dozens of girls, but not one of them ever gets more with him than a dance.

In fact, the Velikï Gertséog has been single for so long that many of the girls who first entertained the idea of marrying him are now married to other men with children of their own, and some of the noblemen of the Imperial Court are concerned about the ever-widening age gap between him and the suitable young women of eligible age and position.

As for the Velikï Gertséog, those who are intimate with him know better than to bring up the topic of marriage with him, as he has the temper of the Imperial House, and not enough of the control his father was renowned for to rein it in effectively.

Pronunciations:

Zoltoi: zohltoy

Korolevstvo: kohrohlehvst'voh

Oryol: oryohl

Severnaya: sehvehrnighah

Molodonoi: mohlohdohnoy

Lebed: lehbehd

Velikï Gertséog: vehleekee gehrt'sayog

Rudolfovich: roodohlfohvich

Printsessa: prihntsessah

Arina: ahreenah

Stanislavevna: stahnihslahvehvnah

Malenkï: mahlehnkee

Koza: kohzah

Kozski: kohzskee

Kochevnyk: kochevnick

Imperskï Korol: ihmpehrskee kohrohl

Imperatritséa: ihmpehrahtreetsayah

Severnayski: sehvehrnighskee

Charodei: chahrohdye

†not equivalent to 1759AD

The novel begins on September 3.