After Tibbers had been let out to blow off some steam today, he had quieted down considerably. He wasn't constantly demanding to be let out anymore, which gave Annie's ears a much-needed rest. But for some reason, Annie had suddenly acquired two big tagalongs.
Sitting across from Annie was Uncle Coulson, who looked a little bald, and Aunt Melinda, who always wore a stern expression, as though everyone owed her millions of gold coins. The two of them had trailed after Annie again after she beat up those two unkillable green monsters.
But Uncle Coulson was a bit of a coward. Tibbers had only glanced at him, and he had been so scared that he ran off. He hadn't been seen all afternoon, not until he started peeking nervously around Annie just before dinner.
Annie sighed. The two people in front of her had just said they were now her full-time guides on Earth. To welcome Annie, the powerful Archmage from the Valoran Continent, to Earth, they were representing Earth's official organization, S.H.I.E.L.D., and would be responsible for taking care of all her needs.
So, for now, she couldn't get rid of them! Well, whatever, Annie thought. She still didn't know much about this world, and if they were willing to provide her with everything she needed, then she might as well let them! Annie quite liked having free servants show up at her door. Otherwise, she had no idea where she'd sleep tonight. She couldn't quite bring herself to do something like set a fire or let Tibbers out to steal some pretty big house!
Still, Annie was feeling a little annoyed again. She had let Tibbers out that afternoon to pin down those two green monsters and give them a good beating, which had improved her mood considerably. She was also slowly coming to terms with the possibility that she might not be able to go home for a while.
But now, sitting in this fancy restaurant and looking at the food on the table in front of her, Annie still felt like burning that chef. He had to be a bad person! He definitely was! And if he was a bad person, then she could burn him. Tibbers agreed, too!
"What's wrong? You don't like the steak?"
Coulson and Melinda sat across from Annie, smiling as they watched her ingratiatingly. After learning about Annie's background and seeing her powers with their own eyes, the two had readily accepted the new task their director had assigned them: dote on Annie and keep her happy, and don't let her cause trouble for the world!
Annie was now an alien friend and the little princess of the mage organization. She was also a powerful mage. S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't afford to make any mistakes. As long as Annie didn't do anything that threatened the world, S.H.I.E.L.D. had to treat her like royalty.
"This beef isn't cooked at all!! Look!"
Annie angrily cut into the steak with her knife, revealing bright red streaks inside. How could that chef serve beef that wasn't cooked through? If she ate it, she'd get worms in her stomach, and worms were the worst! Besides, her mom had never let her eat undercooked food before!
Coulson and Melinda looked at the three steaks on the table. Well, all three were medium! It seemed they hadn't thought things through. They had ordered a child a steak that wasn't well done.
But it wasn't their fault! Coulson was still a bachelor, with no one to feed but himself. Melinda had been married before, but she was divorced now, and she had no experience looking after children. So how could anyone expect two single people to know how to take care of a kid?
"Should we ask the kitchen to cook it some more?" Melinda nodded. It really wasn't good to give a child food that wasn't fully cooked. She was about to wave over a waiter.
"Forget it. I don't want to go to all that trouble!"
Annie refused. That chef was probably an apprentice who didn't know how to cook. It would be faster to do it herself, and Annie was already hungry!
As she spoke, Annie held her little hand about an inch above the steak. Coulson and Melinda felt a wave of scorching heat wash over them. To their amazement, the steak beneath her hand sizzled as it cooked. In no time, the surface had turned golden brown, and the red streaks where she'd cut into it had disappeared.
"All done! Time to eat!"
Annie picked up her knife and fork and quickly cut into the steak. She speared a piece and stuffed it into her mouth, eating heartily. It tasted great! Mmm... what a strange spice. Delicious! Delicious! The spices got a thumbs-up! But the chef got a thumbs-down. He couldn't even cook the beef properly!
Coulson and Melinda stared blankly at Annie as she did all that, forgetting to move the knives and forks in their hands. Mages sure were amazing. Even eating could be so magical! They wondered if they might get a chance to learn a trick or two.
Annie looked up at the two of them, who were still frozen, and wondered why they weren't eating.
"Aren't you going to eat? Oh! Do you want me to heat yours up, too?" She started to reach out with both hands.
"Don't!"
"Please don't! Thank you!"
They both blurted out their refusals at the same time.
Melinda glanced around. Luckily, the high-end restaurant was laid out quite well. Decorative plants around them blocked the view from outside, so no one had seen what just happened. Otherwise, they'd have to go to a lot of trouble to keep it under wraps again.
"Oh, okay." Annie withdrew her hands regretfully and went back to focusing on her plate.
"I want more! Another... um! Three more!"
The steak was delicious, but the portions were too small.
Annie held up two fingers, thought about it, then held up another. She decided to order three more! Then she'd gobble them all down in one go!
Coulson waved over a waiter and quietly spoke to him, asking him to bring little Annie three more of the same steaks.
"Well done, please. It's for a child, so try to make sure there's no pink in it. Thank you!" Melinda quickly called after the waiter as he turned to leave. He nodded in understanding and went off.
Before long, three more steaks arrived. Annie kept her head down and focused on eating without causing any more trouble, and Coulson and Melinda were finally able to relax and enjoy the food in front of them.
A man, a woman, and a little girl sharing a meal. It looked so much like a family.
Looking at the heartwarming scene, Coulson suddenly wondered if it was time to step back from the field and start a family of his own. He wasn't getting any younger! Especially after today. Thinking back, if Annie hadn't protected them, the two of them might have been burned to death.
"Annie, since you can't get back to Valoran for now, what are you planning to do next?"
As he ate his steak, Coulson asked Annie. He had just happened to notice some students getting off a school bus outside, and it had given him a brilliant idea!
It was a great idea that would help Annie get to know and fit into this strange new environment without causing a major disturbance! The idea would need to be cleared with the director first, but Coulson didn't think there'd be much of a problem.
"I don't know?"
Annie stuffed a piece of steak into her mouth and answered indistinctly. Back in the Voodoo Lands, all she had to do each day was get up in the morning, eat, and then go out to play. In the afternoon, she'd come back to study magic, and at night she'd bathe and go to bed!
When she was bored, she'd play pranks on those old mage grandpas with long beards, like setting their beards on fire when they weren't paying attention. Or if one of the monsters in the Voodoo Lands forgot to pay its respects to her, she'd go out and beat it up!
"Well, would you like to go to school?"
"School? What's that? A magic school?" Annie asked curiously.
"No, no, not a magic school! They don't teach any magic here. It's just an ordinary school where you learn things! There are lots of children around your age there. They're all classmates, and you can learn things and play together." Coulson hurriedly explained it to Annie.
Melinda's eyes lit up as well. She thought Coulson's idea was pretty good. That way, the two of them wouldn't have to spend all day babysitting the little girl. After all, it wasn't exactly practical for two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to follow a child around like babysitters every day! If Annie was willing to go to school, they could both have a lot more free time.
"An ordinary school? With lots of classmates? Great! I want to go!"
Annie perked right up. Her mom had told her about a huge magic school in Demacia that taught its apprentices all kinds of magic. But Annie had never seen what a school was like. She had figured out some of her magic herself, learned some from her parents, and secretly picked up some from the other stuffy old mage and Warlock geezers in the Gray Order.
She had once told her dad, Gregori Hastur, that she wanted to study at the magic school in Demacia. But her mom had laughed and said that if Annie went to magic school, she would be qualified to be the headmaster!
"Uh, Annie, you really want to go? That's wonderful! But we'll still have to report it to the director and get his approval first."
"That'll be two thousand three hundred and thirty-three dollars. Would you like to pay by check or card?"
When it was time to pay, a waiter stood smiling at the table. He looked at the plates strewn across it, along with all the dessert and drink glasses, gave a slight bow, and presented the bill he'd prepared in advance.
"Uh..." Coulson's hand froze as it reached for his suit pocket, and his expression turned awkward. This was bad. He'd forgotten his wallet! He stiffly turned his head and looked to Melinda for help.
But Melinda glared at him. Her expression said, What are you looking at? I didn't bring mine, either! She was out on a mission today, and she had plenty of guns and ammunition on her, but not a cent of money!
This was bad. Coulson hesitated for a moment. Seeing that the waiter's expression was growing increasingly impatient, he decided he should call for backup with his phone. Fortunately, he always kept a communication device like his phone on him.
Two senior S.H.I.E.L.D. agents having to call for backup to pay for dinner might have been a first! As for the option of flashing their S.H.I.E.L.D. badges and dining and dashing, Coulson hadn't even dared consider it. If they did that, Director Nick Fury would definitely kill them.
Just as Coulson was feeling so awkward he wanted to hide under the table, a few clear clinks rang out. Annie tossed out several gold coins. The shiny Valoran coins spun around in the plate balanced on the waiter's right hand, chiming as they collided.
"Here! This should be enough, right?" After tossing the gold coins into the waiter's plate, Annie grabbed her toy bear, Tibbers, and hopped down from her chair.
Th-this...!
This was enough to blind the waiter's crypto-crazed eyes! He said he had seen all sorts of people during his years working at the restaurant. Plenty paid by check or card, and some rich nouveau riche paid in cash. But! This was the first time he had ever seen anyone pay with gold coins...
Watching the coins spin around in the plate, the waiter, Allen, carefully considered their weight, thickness, and craftsmanship. They were extraordinary! By the look of them, they were probably real. If he sold them by weight, they would definitely be worth far more than the meal!
Should he take them? Or should he take them? If the coins were genuine, maybe he could kindly cover the bill for them. That's right! That was exactly what he should do! Allen thought of himself as a warmhearted person. Covering someone's meal was the kind of good deed he ought to do more often. It was good for the body and soul!
After checking that no one nearby was paying attention and that none of the restaurant's security cameras faced their table, Allen snatched the heavy coins and stuffed them into his pocket with lightning speed. Then he cheerfully signed his name on the bill.
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