Reconciling Circumstances: Day 6

Word Count: 36,006

Summary of Events:
Chapter 11:
Heleighna had her first riding lesson with M. Amyotte and listened as he explained why he trained horses the way he did — which turned out to be quite lengthy, and helped Heleighna not to think about potentially falling off the horse.
Chapter 12:
Étienne flew to BC, where one of his fellow competitors, Amanda Merrick, lived, so that he could breed Sauvage with a mare she had at her request — and he had to deal with some less than enjoyable fellow passengers. Heleighna met Teghanne and watched as Teghanne worked her mare.

Excerpt of the Day:
"Leaning back against his seat, feeling quite certain that his sleep was not going to be restored to him quickly — if at all — Étienne turned his head toward his window. Suddenly he saw a flash of motion out the corner of his eye; the next thing Étienne knew it felt like someone had stabbed him right in his left cheekbone and split it.
Étienne cried out and grabbed his face, muttering curses under his breath. He couldn't imagine what had hit him. He guessed it wasn't a knife, being as all he was feeling was skin as he held his face.
Carefully he brought his hands away from his face and looked. No blood. It sure felt like something ought to be bleeding. He looked toward the children. They were still lost in their argument, the younger one swinging around what Étienne could clearly see now was an iPad Mini.
That would hurt if it hit someone. In fact, Étienne was quite certain that it had been what hit him. Étienne listed to the two children as they argued away in English over the iPad, the younger child alternating between swinging the device around and clutching it to his chest.
The iPad was swung again and Étienne was ready this time. He grabbed the edge of the iPad and pulled it from the child's fingers. Turning it over, he checked and saw the screen was off, and then swiftly set it at his side opposite the child.
Whirling around, the younger child stared at him in horror — as did the older child — eyes wide, jaw quivering. Great. Now the kid was going to cry. As if sitting next to children wasn't bad enough.
"That's ours!" the girl cried. "Give it back!"
The boy blinked rapidly several times before tears began to run down his cheeks.
"I shall return the device to you when you refrain from utilizing it as a weapon," Étienne replied in English. "I should like to maintain the connection between my head and the remainder of my body."
The girl looked at Étienne as if he'd spoken in French and the boy let out a wail that made Étienne wish he could disappear into his seat and hide, or jump out of the plane and go the rest of the way on foot.
A few moments later a couple who looked to definitely be the children's parents, and a stewardess, appeared. The mother took up her bawling son and the girl told the three of them what Étienne had done. Once she'd finished all three adults looked at Étienne, the parents severe, the stewardess like this wasn't the only thing she was having to deal with on this flight that was unpleasant.
"As I told her," Étienne said. "I shall return the device to you when you refrain from utilizing it as weapon, for it is that I should like to maintain the connection between my head and the remainder of my body.""

Reconciling Circumstances: Day 5

Word Count: 30,008

Summary of Events:
Chapter 9:
Heleighna watched as M. Amyotte and Mme. LaBrecque worked with Tempête, the stallion M. Amyotte bought at the horse sale, introducing him to the saddle. Étienne thought about possibly buying himself a private jet and discussed the idea with Chérie and Teghanne.
Chapter 10:
Heleighna called Aléxandra and chatted with her about a lot of things — mostly school related. Étienne ended up getting into an argument with fellow competitor Melissa Bittner-Watt for really no reason and then had to get ready to compete.

Excerpt of the Day:
""Yeah, I think so," Aléxandra said. "You've started school now, right?"
"Yes," Heleighna replied.
"So who've you all met so far?" Aléxandra asked. "What are things like there?"
"Well, I've already got my favourite teachers," Heleighna replied.
"Who are they?" Aléxandra asked.
"Mme. Joubert, who teaches grammar, and M. Gagne, who teaches history," Heleighna replied.
"How convenient that this are two of your favourite subjects," Aléxandra said.
"Yeah," Heleighna replied.
"Do you have any friends there?" Aléxandra asked.
"Not really, other than Granville," Heleighna replied.
"Granville? A guy?" Aléxandra asked.
"Yes," Heleighna replied. "Granville Longval, he's from the Trois-Rivières area, but he's living in Québec because he plays hockey with the Québec Remparts of the Québec Major Junior Hockey League. He's actually a grade above me."
"Wow, you've never gone on a date before and here the first person you meet at school in Canada is a guy, and an athlete too, so he's going to be all fit and athletic and everything!" Aléxandra said.
"I guarantee you we're not dating," Heleighna replied.
"Is he cute?" Aléxandra asked.
"He is handsome," Heleighna replied.
"What does he look like?" Aléxandra asked. "Do you have any pictures?"
"No, but even if I did I wouldn't send them to you or goodness knows everyone at school is going to think that I'm dating him," Heleighna replied. "And I'm not. All we do is talk at lunch unless we end up meeting in the halls, but that's not often."
"But what does he look like?" Aléxandra pressed.
"His hair is slightly darker than mine, not by too much," Heleighna replied. "And he has dark blue eyes."
"Oh my gosh, he sounds so handsome," Aléxandra said. "I wish I could meet him!"
Heleighna rolled her eyes.
"You haven't told Jacquelinne, have you?" Aléxandra asked.
"No," Heleighna replied.
"Yes!" Aléxandra said. "Have you met anyone else?"
"Yes," Heleighna replied. "I've met the group like Valérie's."
"They even exist in Canada?" Aléxandra asked — although Heleighna was sure her friend wasn't entirely surprised.
"Maurine Gosselin is the leader," Heleighna replied. "And her two closest followers are Génévieve Roy and Ysabella-Marie Furlotte." . . .
. . . "Oh, dîner's ready," Aléxandra said. "I'll have to talk to you later. Call me when you're hanging out with Granville so I can meet him!"
"Maybe," Heleighna replied. "See you later.""

LaBrecque: lahbrehk
Tempête: tehmpet
Joubert: zhoubear
Gagne: gahnyay
Trois-Rivières: twah rivyehre
Remparts: rehmpar
Valérie: valehree
Maurine Gosselin: Maureen gohsslahn'
Génévieve Roy: ghehnehveeve wah
Ysabella-Marie Furlotte: eesah-bellah Marie fehrlot
Dîner: deenay

Reconciling Circumstances: Day 4

Word Count: 24,004

Summary of Events:
Chapter 7:
Heleighna went to a horse sale with M. Amyotte where M. Amyotte amazingly got the opportunity to buy an excellent prospective dressage horse of excellent blood lineage who seemed to have come available under slightly suspicious circumstances.
Chapter 8:
Heleighna began school and met Granville Longval, a young man in the grade above her; they talked extensively throughout lunch. Étienne competed and then gave an interview before talking with one of his fellow competitors for awhile before going back to the hotel for the night.

Excerpt of the Day:
"Applause still rang out as Étienne rode out of the ring. He saw a familiar figure wave and he nodded. Reining Sauvage in, he walked over to Félix and dismounted. Félix smiled at Étienne and then spoke into his microphone to let the network know Étienne was with him.
"Good ride," Félix said.
"Merci," Étienne replied.
Félix put his hand to his left ear and listened. He nodded. "After the next rider's done," he said.
Étienne nodded. He turned toward the ring and watched as one of the Americans who'd been riding Grand Prix since before Étienne had been born rode his rookie horse in a pretty difficult pattern — for the horse's current calibre.
Once he was done the crowd applauded and Étienne turned back to Félix, who turned to face his cameraman. After a few moments he spoke.
"Yes, we're down here with Étienne St. Zépherin-LaFramboise," Félix said before turning to Étienne. "Congratulations on the good ride."
"Merci," Étienne replied, avoiding looking in the camera lens.
"Everyone's still talking about your phenomenal ride from back in Florida," Félix said. "Are you still on a high from that performance?"
"No," Étienne replied. "I've got more important things that need to be done than thinking about what's already happened."
"Will you be performing that routine here, or do you have a different one in your pocket?" Félix asked.
"If the need arises I will do it," Étienne replied. "And no, I do not have any other routines."
"Competition is tight and you're right in the thick of it," Félix said. "That's got to be somewhat stressful, what do you do?"
"Think of other things," Étienne replied.
"Looking forward to the Olympics next year," Félix said. "Do you feel that you need to get to another level for that competition?"
"No," Étienne replied. "No one else competing in dressage elsewhere is going to be any more difficult to compete against than those I already compete against. There's just going to be a lot more better ones, and if I have the calibre and capability to defeat veterans who've been riding longer than I've lived then I have the potential to defeat others from elsewhere. If I don't defeat them at the Olympics, then I'll just have to try again in four years."
"Are you feeling any added excitement going into the Olympics next year?" Félix asked.
"Not now," Étienne replied. "There's too much that has to be done between then and now. Maybe closer to next August. It's too far now to really feel any excitement."
"Thanks for your time Étienne, good luck in the next round," Félix said.
"Merci," Étienne replied, nodding.
"Étienne St. Zépherin-LaFramboise, and the incredible and imposing Sauvage Vent d'Espange, currently sitting in a three-way-tie for first place here . . ." Félix said, trailing off as Étienne got further away."

Granville Longval: grahnveel longvahl
Félix: feelicks
Vent d'Espagne: vohn d'espanye

Reconciling Circumstances: Day 3

Word Count: 18,015

Summary of Events:
Chapter 5:
Étienne woke up and called his mentor to talk with him about his ride on Sauvage the day before. Heleighna called home and talked with her parents more for the sake of just being able to talk with them than anything else.
Chapter 6:
Étienne, Teghanne, and Chérie were flying to their next stop at a much more reasonable hour, but due to the late night before that Étienne was rather disagreeable. Heleighna watched M. Amyotte work one of the horses with great interest. Étienne went for a morning ride with Sauvage at one of his competitor friends' house.

Excerpt of the Day:
""Does it take much work to train a horse like that?" Heleighna asked.
"It depends on the horse," M. Amyotte replied. "A horse like Ex, who's an eager and quick learner doesn't take so long, but there's other horses, such as Matin, who are lazily inclined horses; once they learn what they have to do they do all they can to take shortcuts, and they need to be worked with a bit more."
Heleighna nodded, thinking a bit before she remembered which horse Matin was, she was the same colour as Couronne.
"It also depends on what any former owners have done to a horse," M. Amyotte added. "It's faster to train a horse to respond without ropes if you're starting with a horse who's never been trained than working with a horse who's been neglected or abused."
Heleighna nodded. "That makes sense."
"But even if one were starting with the ideal: an eager to learn young horse who'd never been trained before," M. Amyotte said. "Not every eager to learn young horse trains the same, they have different things that they grasp easier, and different things that take a bit more work to accomplish. Of course, it's the same with people, really."
"Yes," Heleighna agreed.
"You seem rather interested in training horses," M. Amyotte said. "If you want, I could teach you."
"You would?" Heleighna asked.
"If you want to learn," M. Amyotte replied.
Heleighna looked to her left at the sand, lightly biting her lower lip. It would definitely be interesting.
"You don't have to decide now," M. Amyotte said. "Think about it. Let me know when you want to, and we'll start.
"I don't have to start at a specific date?" Heleighna asked.
"No," M. Amyotte replied. "You're living here, and you'd be the only member of the class. In fact, I don't run classes on how to train horses, although it wouldn't be like it would hurt any. Of course it would be kind of difficult. I don't think a person can accurately teach more than one person how to train a horse right at the same time in a personal scenario. But anyways, think about it, and if you're interested, let me know."
Heleighna nodded and watched as M. Amyotte signalled Ex and the two of them walked toward the exit side by side. It would definitely be interesting to learn how to train a horse. Heleighna wondered what she'd do with that kind of an education, though, she wasn't going to have a future with horses . . . was she?"

Matin: mahtahn'
Couronne: kuhrun'

Reconciling Circumstances: Day 2

Word Count: 12,014

Summary of Events:
Chapter 3:
Heleighna arrived in Québec and met M. and Mme. Amyotte who took her to their house; Heleighna was impressed by the space not only in their house, but throughout Canada, and was quite looking forward to telling her family and friends about it.
Chapter 4:
Étienne competed in the final round at the competition and succeeded in winning it — much to his own surprise. Heleighna had dinner with the Amyottes, a meal of Canada Goose, and was given the neck, which didn't taste as bad as she'd feared.

Excerpt of the Day:
"Riding into the ring once again, Étienne regarded the judges. This was the final round of the competition, and if he nailed this — which he was really hoping he would — he would win the competition. If he even made the subtlest of mistakes he could lose out. His margin of error was minuscule.
Settling Sauvage into place, Étienne took a deep breath and exhaled. He fixed his eyes on Sauvage's poll, right between his ears, looking at the little braided knob that was Sauvage's forelock.
Giving the cue, Étienne started Sauvage off on the routine. It was one of the most difficult routines Étienne had ever attempted, but he needed something of its calibre to get the points he needed. Sauvage had been doing magnificently at the routine, but Étienne usually ended up miscuing Sauvage whenever he tired to do it without someone watching who could cue him in.
Sauvage moved excellently, with smoothness like flowing water, Étienne kept his breathing deep and even and tried to keep his white-gloved hands from quivering — as it would stand out against the back of his stallion, his coat, and his saddle.
As they moved around the ring Étienne tried to remember what they were doing next, but it wasn't coming. Étienne worked to keep his breathing even, but he was starting to get tight, and he could tell Sauvage knew as he swivelled his pointed ears back, listening.
Seamlessly, Sauvage moved on, Étienne didn't even cue him. Sauvage seemed to know exactly what he was supposed to do. Étienne relaxed somewhat, but his mind was still racing, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do, his mind had gone completely blank.
Part of Étienne wanted to stop Sauvage, get off, and watch his stallion do it alone, but he knew he couldn't stop. If he stopped it was all lost. He wanted this. He wanted this bad. He had to keep on going. He had to trust that Sauvage knew what he was doing.
Sauvage continued moving, turning, going, his ears forward, it was almost as if he knew that Étienne was absolutely lost, and that he had to do it all on his own. Étienne woke on taking deep breaths and relaxing himself.
As they rode around the ring, Étienne couldn't hear anything aside from Sauvage's breathing and hoofbeats, and his own heart thudding in his ears. It was almost as if they were all alone, completely isolated from the world. It was just them, and no one else.
Finally Sauvage came to a stop, his hooves square, his neck arched. It was done. Sauvage had done it. All on his own. Applause to a volume Étienne had never heard before after one of his rides burst out as sudden as a light illuminating a room when the switch was flipped.
Taking a deep breath and exhaling, Étienne regarded the judges, and the crowd, all of whom were on their feet applauding like Étienne had never seen before for him. It was like he'd just performed an incredible solo with an orchestra or something.
Étienne rode Sauvage around the ring gazing at the crowd with rather dumbfounded awe, wondering if maybe he should see if he could get recorded footage of his ride or something, with their response to it."

M. = Monsieur (mihs'yeur)
Mme. = Madame (mahdahm')

Reconciling Circumstances: Day 1

Word Count: 6,004

Summary of Events:
Chapter 1:
Heleighna woke up in the night, feeling unsure about her leaving the next day. Étienne and his traveling companions — Teghanne and Chérie — arrived at their destination at a late hour, which didn't impress Étienne. Heleighna woke up later and had breakfast with her family before they set out for the airport.
Chapter 2:
Étienne worked with Sauvage as a little bit of a warm-up before talking with one of his fellow competitors and trying to help a rookie who was having some troubles. Heleighna said goodbye to her parents, sister, and friends, before finally setting out for Canada. Étienne competed and got fifth in the round, then he and several fellow competitors went out for supper together.

Excerpt of the Day:
"There was no way Heleighna was saying anything, she was too close to crying to dare try, being as she didn't want to burst out into tears. Swallowing, she embraced Jacquelinne — who was already in tears — tightly.
Jacquelinne held on longer than Heleighna had intended to embrace her, but finally released. Heleighna then embraced Aléxandra tightly. Aléxandra's ribcagee moved like she was taking shaky breaths as soon as they embraced.
Heleighna smiled at Aléxandra and then hugged Yzabelle. Yzabelle made her hug rather succinct. Heleighna then embraced Maman, who squeezed her tightly — she was almost concerned that Maman would squeeze her in half.
Maman kissed Heleighna's cheeks before releasing her to hug Papa. Papa kissed her cheeks before embracing her tightly. Heleighna could tell he was on the verge of tears, just like everyone else.
"Learn lots my darling," Papa said.
Heleighna considered replying, but didn't know what to say, so she didn't reply. She released Papa and then looked at all of them. All five of them were in tears. It was taking all of Heleighna's strength to keep from releasing tears of her own, although she was surprised that she wasn't weeping.
A boarding call for her flight sounded over the loudspeakers. Heleighna took a deep breath and turned toward the next part, the part she had to do on her own. She heard sniffling and crying behind her. She glanced over her shoulder at all of them, Jacquelinne hanging off of Aléxandra bawling — but then again, she'd always been dramatic — Papa with his arm around Maman's shoulder, rubbing it gently. He smiled at her.
Heleighna smiled in return and continued on, pulling one of her suitcases behind her, holding another in her hand, and her backpack in its natural place. She went through everything and finally got out onto the tarmac where the plane, huge, long, smooth, and white, with rows of little rounded rectangular windows — one of which she'd be seated alongside — along the body.
Arriving at the stairs up to the plane with many other people, Heleighna got into line. Most of the people around her were engaged in conversations, some in French, some in English, and probably others in other languages too.
The line moved steadily forward and soon Heleighna was advancing up the steps, and then she was in the plane. She quickly found her seat and put her backpack into the overhead compartment.
Sitting down, she buckled up and looked out the window. The sun was up and shining brightly on this warm, August day. Heleighna waited for awhile before finally she saw the stairs being wheeled away, then there were several announcements before the plane began to move.
Heleighna bit her lip as she stared out the window. The ground moved rather slowly as the plane taxied, then finally the ground started to pick up speed and then it started to get further away as the plane took off."

Teghanne: Tegan/Teghan
Chérie: shehree
Jacquelinne: zhahk'lahn'
Aléxandra: ahlexahndrah
Yzabelle: eezahbell
Maman: mahmohn'

April Novel Essential Information

Novel Title: Reconciling Circumstances
Time Setting: Modern
Genre: Equine Fiction
Minimum Word Goal: 90,000
Timespan: August to December
Locations: Orléans, France and St-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Québec
Main Characters: Heleighna Boisvert, Étienne St. Zépherin-LaFramboise
Background Information:
Heleighna has made the choice to become an exchange student to Canada for the sake of improving her future outlook over what it would be in France. She doesn't expect to go to the French part of Canada, but she ends up coming into the home of a decorated — although now retired — dressage rider, Patrice Amyotte, and his wife at their dressage school in St-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Québec. One would think that the adjustment would be easy, but appearances are deceptive.
Étienne is a rising star in the world of Grand Prix Dressage, and has done quite well in this pre-Olympic season, having successfully qualified to ride as a member of Team Canada coming up at the Olympics next August. The future looks bright and exciting, or at least until he checks on his stallion Sauvage after he comes back from his latest competition trip.

Pronunciation:
Orléans: oarlayanh
St-Gabriel-de-Valcartier, Québec: sahn gahbree-ell deh valcar-t'yay, kehbek
Heleighna Boisvert: Helena bwahvehr
Étienne St. Zépherin-LaFramboise: ehtyen' sahn zehfehrahn' lag frahmbwaze
Patrice Amyotte: patreece ahmyaht
Sauvage: sovahge