Character Encounter: Brant
Today I'm once again participating in Kendra's Character Encounters Blog Linkup. This month, we're supposed to encounter a character at a car dealership.
The sun beat down on the pavement with its normal summer intensity. The sort of intensity that makes me feel as though someone is pressing down on my shoulders with both hands in an attempt to bring me to my knees. The glare of sunlight on a hundred sparkling windshields assailed my eyes and made me squint as I waited for the salesman to return. We have three children in car seats, and our family vehicle is a twelve-year old Ford Escape. We all fit in it, and it runs swell (minus a small oil leak), so we're open to the possibility of a newer car of some kind, one that could carry six or seven people. Especially since we're pretty certain we'd like a fourth child in the next couple of years.
Behind me, I heard something that sounded like an angry growl. I turned and found myself squinting up into the dark-eyes and square chin of a man who could only be Brant. He was dressed in his usual black shirt with short sleeves and black pants, and his folded over knee-high black boots. His sword was strapped to his back, and he wore guards on his forearms and a piece of dark leather armor strapped to his left shoulder.
I might have started grinning like an idiot.
"Can I help you?" I asked, trying to be nonchalant, though I'm pretty sure my voice held a hint of fangirl squeal in it.
"What is this place?" he demanded. "And why do men in strange clothing keep asking me if I want to buy a car?"
"I'm sorry," I said, unable to wipe the grin from my face. "This is my world. Don't worry, you'll be back in your own in a minute or two."
He clenched a fist and his expression grew wary. "Are you a wizardess, then? Have you brought me here for some purpose? I have traveled to other realms before, but this is different..." he trailed off, staring around.
He looked confused, but unafraid. Brant rarely shows fear, even though he does feel it at times.
"I'm not wizardess, not like Dylanna," I said. "I'm just an author. I'm not sure how these encounters work, I've only done a couple of them. If I had to guess, I'd say Kendra is the wizardess. It's her link-up."
Of course, he didn't understand that, but he seemed to relax. "Where can I find this Kendra, then? I must ask her to send me home. Two young men there need my help."
"I can't help you find Kendra, but you will return home. Very soon," I reassured him. "What is happening in your world? Who needs your help?" I had a feeling I knew, but I wanted to make sure.
"My nephew has recently become king," Brant gazed off into the middle-distance, a slight frown upon his face. "I am advising him." He took a deep
breath.
"And Oraeyn, too, of course," I said, feeling relieved. He was right where I'd left him, at the end of King's Warrior, his back-story intact. No surprises like with Karyna.
His gaze turned to me and sharpened. "Are you sure you are not a wizardess, then? I can see you are no dragon. But then, how do you know of Dylanna and Oraeyn?"
I shrugged uncomfortably. My characters hadn't always been receptive to the idea of my authorship of them.
He stared at me quietly, and I started to understand how some of my other characters felt when I turned Brant's gaze upon them. It was filled with a weight more intense than the summer sun above me, but it was chill, not hot. I shivered a bit and then sighed.
"I'm your author."
He raised his chin and cocked his head slightly. "I see." He nodded. "That explains it, then."
"Explains what?" I asked. It seemed my characters were all more than capable of leaving me speechless.
He turned that quiet smile of his on me for a moment. I waited for an explanation, but none came.
"Miss, I've pulled the car up for you if you want to take it for a test drive." The voice behind me was so sudden and normal it nearly made me jump out of my skin.
I whirled, and stared at the utterly normal salesman before me. He held up a key with a friendly grin on his face. I made some sort of inarticulate noise and turned back toward Brant with some idea of asking why nobody seemed to be worried about a man wandering around in strange clothes with an enormous sword strapped to his back, but Brant was gone. As per his usual style, he'd left me with more questions than answers.