Interview With a Centurion

Hi Everyone!

I thought that, since I have been teasing you with hints and mentions of my world and I don't have anything formal published, I would give you a taste with a sort-of interview done for the Regent Park Illustrator. The RPI is the local newspaper for Regent Park Isle and a major one for the two isles protected and governed by Regent Park Isle - Freedom City and Fantasy Isles:

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I was sitting here waiting, believing I was stood up and am about to leave when a tall man with golden blonde hair and dark amethyst eyes, wearing a black tux strides in, followed by a very harried, but shorter man with dark hair, teal eyes and a similar suit. It is somewhat obvious that the shorter man is somewhat used to running to keep strides with the taller man. When I say tall, I mean tall! He’s at least seven feet tall, if not taller. The man at his side is no less than six feet tall!

I establish eye contact with the tuxedoed man striding towards me and find I cannot stop looking at him. His eyes are the amethyst purple you’ll find in a prismatic sunset and they look as if they’re on fire! I’m so riveted I keep staring and watching as he walks up to me. He’s so careful, no, careful isn’t the word. All I know is that he bends down closer to me, never breaking eye contact as he takes my right hand in his right hand, lifts it to his lips while saying, “I’m Brandelbuck. Brandon Brandelbuck,” as he places a caressingly soft kiss that makes my knees so weak I instinctively reach out with my left hand and grab his right arm to balance myself. If he hadn’t bent down, I would have had strained my neck muscles from looking up at him.

His arm is deceptively muscular, making me forget my manners, my name and the reason I’m here. Heat and desire radiate from, somewhere. I’m not sure if it’s just from me or if it’s from both of us until he, in one swift move, releases my right hand and places his right hand on my waist, taking my left hand with him. If it is an effort to steady me, it doesn’t quite work because I stumble even closer to him. Before I can stop him, his soft lips are caressing mine and I feel his arms encircle me, drawing me even closer to him, deepening the kiss.

A moan radiates from deep within me and the electricity flowing between us feels strong enough to power the entire planet of Centurion 54! Just as I am about to surrender to the awesome power of this mutual desire, his lips release mine, breaking the trance, to say in a voice that can only be described as predatory, “You must be Lily.”

Shaking my head and gathering my thoughts while I disentangle myself from him, I respond, “Yes. I’m Lily Straygon, Regent Park Illustrator Correspondent.”

“The camera doesn’t do you justice, Miss Straygon.” The knowing sparkle in his eyes is enough to start the energy flow again.

Blushing as the electricity reaches places I never knew existed, I inquire, “It doesn’t?”

“Definitely not,” he replies with the look of pure predator in his eyes, eyes that sweep over my body as if they could devour me whole, right here and now.

I look down then and am so grateful I had taken the time to set out the note cards with the intended questions on them. If they weren’t there, I don’t think this interview would have continued. “Well, they do say that the camera can add ten pounds and this newer type of viewer screen makes flaws much more visible.”

“You have flaws,” he asks with his eyebrows raised and a dreamy smirk on his face, “I wasn’t aware you had any. I guess I’ll have to conduct my own interview then.”

“Huh,” I blurt out, completely off my guard now.

“Later, much later. I’ll let you ask your questions now.”

Questions, right, questions. Okay. Let’s see, what’s first…. “Do you mind if I record the interview, to make sure that I do not misquote you?”

“No, record away!”

“Okay, great,” I say as I press the button to turn on the voice recording device, “let’s start with an easy one. There are rumors floating around that your bloodline reaches back as far as the original founding families. Is that truth or merely speculation because of those purple eyes of yours? They are real aren’t they?”

With a laugh he replies, “Yes, my eyes are the genuine article. No contacts or transplants here. Yes, my family tree extends all the way back to one of the original founding families.”

“So, which one is it? Come on, we’re all dying to know where our new leader comes from!”

“Well, since this position is usually handed down from father to son, you would know that already, but that’s not the case with me, is it?”

“Definitely not, which is why there’s all this buzz around you! The people want to know who’s leading them and what makes him worthy. So, which founding family member are you related to?”

“Do I have to?”

“Please, Mr. Brandelbuck, we’re all dying to know, so yes, you have to tell!”

“Only on one condition.”

“What condition is that?”

“You stop calling me Mr. Brandelbuck. Mr. Brandelbuck is my father. I’m Brandon.”

“Okay… Brandon, tell me what founder you come from.”

“This is going to be as much a shock to you as it is to my family because I just don’t fit the mold for this line.”

Oooh, juicy scandal possibilities and he hands them to me! “Well, how much of a shock?”

“Well, you know that as far as founder blood goes, it’s the most dominant and usually everyone has the same abilities and tendencies. So, it follows that whatever the parent does, that’s what the children do.”

“But that’s not the case with you, though, is it?”

“No, it’s not.”

Okay, the suspense is killing me, but I need to draw it out for the story, so I continue this dance by probing this a bit more. “My sources tell me that both of your parents are highly ranking scientists with the FF. Is that correct?”

“Yes, it is.”

“What kind of scientists?”

“Marine biologists.”

“Wait a minute! That means you’re related to,” I can’t even finish the sentence I’m so shocked.

“Yep, I’m related to Chuck Jones, marine biologist. According to records, he didn’t marry until after he arrived on Centurion 54. He married Selena Arcononi and they had a daughter. That daughter became a marine biologist and married a marine biologist and it has been that way in my family line with every branch, except me.”

“Where does your height come from? Chuck Jones was, what, five foot seven as the history books record it?”

“Yes, and no one else in this line was anywhere near this recorded height that I have been told.”

“That name, Selena Arcononi doesn’t sound familiar. She’s not listed in the history books that I recall. How did you come by that name?”

“No, I don’t expect it would be in any history books.”

“Why not?”

“Well, because, she was a native.”

“A native! Native to what?”

“She was a native of the dark twin planet.”

“Well, that’s not something we were expecting!”

“Well, I don’t think anyone was expecting the daughter they had either since everyone, including Selena herself, thought she was infertile.”

“Wow a miracle child!”

“Something like that, I guess.”

“Your family has managed to keep this a secret for centuries. Why tell us now and why to me?”

“True, my family has kept it hidden and I’m not sure why. Speculation has been that the noble bloodlines occurred because of the intermixing of the transplant human species with the dark twin species, but I don’t think that’s really the entire case because, even in his journal, he talks about things happening well before coming together with Selena.”

Jackpot! “His journal! Oh, would we love to get a sneak peek into that. While it’s a nice diversionary tactic, you still haven’t answered my question. Why tell me, Brandon, and why now? It’s not going to affect your status as Regent. You easily could have refused to tell and maintained the family secret.”

“True, Lily, it’s not going to affect my status as Regent, but it’s been long enough and it’s just time to get the truth out there, especially if I am to truly understand where I come from.”

“Can the public expect this kind of candor from you as Regent?”

“Yes, because I believe that truth solves more problems than it creates. Lies don’t help anyone.”

“Again, why tell me when you could just as easily have made a tri-isle wide announcement?”

“Because, I know you’ll treat this matter with respect and won’t sensationalize it.”

“Honey, I’m a reporter and it’s my job to sensationalize everything!”

“Yes, but you’ll do it with class!”

“Flattery will get you everywhere and a peek at that journal will get you everything!”

With a boyish grin that makes me quiver, he replies, “That’s what I was counting on!”

Before I know what his immediate intentions are, he turns off the recorder, places it in his pocket and latches on to my right hand with his left. Damn, his hand is so large that I can barely see my fingers. I feel like a child being pulled along by a parent. What’s worse, I begin to wonder what wondrous things those hands could do to me as we entered the elevator with doors that seemed to open on cue, just for him! I soon realize I didn’t even have enough wits to collect my belongings, when I notice that the harried man I saw earlier following Brandon around, was still with him, my things in tow.

He pushes the button for the Dragon Suite! It shouldn’t really be a surprise to me that he is staying in the best room of the hotel, but I can’t quite help it. I really hope that I’ll get to see that journal!

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To be continued at a later date!

Okay, while this happens to be the first piece I am putting out there, copying is strictly prohibited without express written consent of the author, Carrie Hinkel-Gill