Quinn

Twenty minutes later, we were sitting around an open fire near the banks of the waterfall. I painstakingly watched as Vincent stirred a pot of unappetizing-looking soup and at the same time turning over a slab of meat on a mesh griddle. The meat was so thick and looked so tough I thought it'd probably break teeth upon biting.

The sound of horse hooves drew my attention, and since neither Aldric nor Vincent reacted, I suspected it must be the older gentleman.

Indeed, he appeared, and after climbing down and tethering his stallion next to a tree, he came to join us. His eyes on me, he said, "Theo Wakefield."

Finally, a man who was willing to share his last name, and what a cool one indeed. I said, "Quinn Fairchild, sir, and I like your name. Theo Wakefield sounds so... regal, like a grand knight or something."

He chuckled. "Oh, my, we have a lad with a silver tongue."

I narrowed my eyes at him and asked, "Is that supposed to be a compliment, or are you dishing at me, sir?"

"It's a compliment, lad," he said. He turned to the pot of soup and grilling meat. "Smells nice."

I raised a brow. He thought that smelled nice? What in heaven had these people been eating? Those smelled anything but nice.

Despite being damn hungry, I didn't think my stomach could take the bland soup and tough meat. I didn't think my taste buds could take it.

My tummy growled again, and Vincent said, "Your hunger is loud for a pipsqueak."

"Please stop dishing at me, sir," I said. "I'm so hungry and so very low in glucose, my brain has gone numb."

"Glucose? What the heck is that?" Vincent asked.

Aldric reached into a bag and brought out bread—rock-hard, black-as-night rye bread. He passed it to me as he said, "Eat this first."

How truly kind and very understanding of him, but I raised my hand and said, "No, I'm fine, thank you, sir. Since you're sharing your food with me, how about I share mine with you as well?" I pulled around my satchel, opened it, and looked inside.

A crushed flax box along with what used to be my filled roll greeted me. They had been smashed to bits from my encounter with the orcs. I glanced up and saw Aldric, Vincent, and Mr. Wakefield looking at me.

Vincent said, "What's the point in sharing when it's just going to be bread and cheese?"

I said, smirking, "Bread and cheese, eh? If you don't want to, you're welcome to not have any, sir."

With my hand in the bag, I summoned a magic circle and created what I needed as pre-made ingredients. I pulled out a big box, again made of flax, and put it on the ground.

"Oh, a storage bag," Mr. Wakefield said. "I'm surprised you have one of those, lad. Your family must be wealthy."

Storage bag, eh? They did have that sort of thing here.

"Just your average middle class," I said, referring to my family back on Earth. To Vincent, I said, "I'll be borrowing your grill, sir."

"Go for it," he said, stirring the soup, a smirk on his lips. "It'd be interesting to see a pipsqueak cook."

I sighed. "As I said, you're welcome to not have any. That just means there'll be more for Aldric and Mr. Wakefield."

Vincent snorted. "As if a pipsqueak like you can cook. Granted, I'm a horrible one myself, but a kid like you has probably never even stepped foot in the kitchen before."

I turned to Aldric and said, "Sir, can you please use magic or something to shut him up? He's irritating me."

Mr. Wakefield burst out laughing. "Relax, lad, Vincent means no harm. He teases when he likes people."

"Is that so?" I said. "It appears you like me, Vincent?"

"I like you because Aldric likes you," he said. "I wouldn't be speaking to you otherwise."

I widened my eyes and felt my cheeks burning hot. Aldric liked me? How the heck was that shown? All the man had done was save my hide from the orcs and had a few words with me, and that was it.

I glanced at Aldric, noting that he simply had an impassive expression on his face. The man was a stoic type, eh?

I moved near the grill. Now that the fire had died out and left only embers, it was perfect for what I was about to do.

I pulled the box closer and then flipped the lid open.

Ta-da! Inside was an array of very appetizing-looking ingredients. There were thick, big beef patties, slices of cheese, sliced tomato and avocado, lettuce, and of course, burger buns, along with a small jar of mayonnaise mixed with Dijon mustard and a jar of barbeque sauce.

All three men eyed the ingredients. To say they looked stunned was an understatement.

Vincent said, "I've never seen most of these ingredients before."

I said, "They're very common back in my hometown."

I grabbed the tong and started placing the beef patties on the griddle. While those were sizzling away and exuding an irresistible aroma into the air and enticing Aldric, Vincent, and Mr. Wakefield, I put the buns on, the inside facedown. Then I waited until they turned golden before taking them off. By this point, the patties were ready to be turned over as well, and I paid them my full attention. After flipping, I topped them with slices of cheese.

Mr. Wakefield said, "That smells... divine."

Just wait until you taste it, I thought.

Vincent was so attracted to the patties that he had forgotten about his own soup and slab of thick, tough meat. In fact, the meat looked like it was beginning to burn, and I said, "How's that meat doing, sir? If you leave it any longer, it'll surely turn into charcoal."

Vincent jolted and quickly removed the meat from the griddle. "I don't think we can eat this anymore," he said. "Luckily, we have yours, Quinn."

I raised a brow. "Quinn and not pipsqueak?"

He chuckled, his eyes on the cheese melting over the patties. "Don't test me, pipsqueak. My interest right now is on the meat thing with the cheese on top. Why, I've never seen such a thing and it smells heavenly."

"Nearly done," I said. Then I started the layering.

First, I applied the mayonnaise mixed with Dijon mustard over the base of the buns and then added lettuce, tomato, and avocado. Picking up the cooked patties with melted cheese, I added that on top and then dollops of barbeque sauce before covering with the top bun.

I placed a burger on a small plate made of flax and handed one to each man. It pleased me when I saw Aldric smiling, even just slightly, and his summer-blue eyes twinkling. I knew he was both fascinated and delighted, and that was enough to make me more than a little ecstatic.

Vincent chuckled and said, "I've never seen such a thing before. This is going to be an experience."

Mr. Wakefield said, "The smells. I can't get over the smells."

A burger in my hands, I said, "Let's eat," and then opened my mouth and took a bite.

The taste of the soft, warm buns, the crispiness of the lettuce, the freshness of the tomato, the creamy flavor of the avocado, and the juicy, meaty taste of the beef patty, not to mention the barbeque sauce and mayonnaise and Dijon mustard, were simply heavenly, and I sighed in pleasure.

"So that's how you eat it," Vincent said, and he, Aldric, and Mr. Wakefield picked theirs up and took big bites as well.

The moment he tasted the burger, Aldric widened his eyes as if stunned. He chewed, swallowed, and eagerly took another bite.

Vincent said, his eyes wide, "Holy fucking hell!" He chewed, swallowed, and took more bites.

"This is..." Mr. Wakefield said and then continued chewing. He swallowed and took another big bite. When he managed to speak again, he said, "My Goddess in heaven..." He took another bite and looked like he wanted to burst into tears.

There was no more speaking after that, just four people enjoying lunch and the sounds of eating. A few moments later Mr. Wakefield said, his eyes on the raw ingredients, "Mind if you make me another, lad?"

Since there was enough left for seconds, I turned to him and said, "Of course." To Aldric, I asked, "Would you like another as well, Aldric?"

He nodded. "Mm-hmm. Thank you, Quinn."

I smiled. "You're welcome, sir."

I put my half-eaten burger down and then started with the grilling again. I specifically put two patties on the mesh griddle, and Vincent said, "Why am I not being asked for another?"

I smirked and said, "I didn't know you desired another, Vincent."

"Ah, I see you're teasing me, pipsqueak," he said. "I desired another of that thing... please."

Since he said please very politely, I added another patty, which made him smile. I said, "It's not that thing, it's a beef burger."

"A beef burger, eh?" Mr. Wakefield said. "What a nice dish, this beef burger."

"Patties"—I pointed to the meat on the grill—"are made with ground beef mixed with onion, breadcrumbs, eggs, herbs, garlic, salt and pepper, and Worchester and tabasco sauces."

"That's a lot going into this patty thing," Vincent said.

Once I'd finished making the second round of burgers, more eating enthused, and while that was happening, I thought, why not? One couldn't possibly have a burger without soft drinks, more especially Coke. Although I admit these men would probably prefer beer with their burgers, I was not into alcoholic beverages. Besides, I was still underage as Quinn Fairchild, although I doubted there was a legal drinking age here in this world.

I said, "Would you like some drinks, sirs?"

Aldric said, "You have something special, Quinn?"

I smiled. "Not special per se, but it's something I usually have with a burger. They go together very well if I say so myself." I reached into my satchel and summoned the creation magic circle. Within a split second, I brought out a one-liter bottle of Coke. There was no label, of course, and the dark color showed through the medieval-style glass. I also brought out four cups made of tin and poured the Coke in.

After handing them one each, I said, "Cheers," and then drank.

Ah... The cool, refreshing, sweet taste of Coke made eating a burger even better.

Aldric took a sip, and the moment he did, I could see there were sparks in his eyes. He downed the rest before requesting another by moving his cup toward me. I poured him more.

Meanwhile, Vincent drank his in one go as well, and then said, "Ah, that was refreshing."

Chuckling, Mr. Wakefield said, "One could get addicted to this."

I said, "Be careful, there are a few people who really do get addicted to it."

"I'll be careful," he said.

Once lunch was done, I packed up, and before long, Aldric wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me up onto his stallion.

"Thanks," I said.

His eyes on me, he said, "Thank you for the meal. It was new and very... enjoyable."

The fact that he looked so damn handsome and very satisfied after a hearty meal made me smile in delight. I said, "You're welcome."

And then off we went, toward Bedford.