The group could not help but look shocked after they heard Elizabella confess that the girls they saw were all her. How can there be such a difference? Elizabella did not know how to feel when she saw the exaggerated expressions from these people. She felt happy that she could disguise herself so well that people could not see any difference. She also felt like crying since their expressions told her that she could never look like the girls in the video.
Elizabella sighed as she got over her shyness quickly in knowing that these people could not fathom the thought of her looking different from what she looked at the moment.
"I guess it is a drastic change for me since I do not really wear make-up on a given day," said Elizabella as she looked down at her CD.
"Sorry, I was surprised to know that the performer in the video is the same person joining our group today," Leo reacted first as he smiled at Elizabella, who looked up at him.
"I see," said Elizabella quietly as the rest came to and nodded in response.
"Yes. I am glad that you came to join us. I hope that we can continue working in the future together," beamed Bash as they all agreed and looked at Elizabella differently again, making her smile.
"I am glad that you enjoyed my performance," said Elizabella as she glanced at Odette, who did not seem to respond like the rest.
"At least I passed their expectations this time," thought Elizabella as they all congratulated her.
They soon got to work as they planned what their first debut act would be. Now that they understood Elizabella's strengths, they began to see how they would develop themselves as a group. The tryouts would be in less than a month. Time was of the essence for them.
Elizabella was very happy that she would be able to join a group that valued her talents. Also, she was excited to make friends. Odette seemed the most resistant to her wiles as she would ignore her most of the time. She was upset that someone did not like her, but she only pouted for a bit before thinking of ignoring her.
However, she soon learned that Odette was very integral to the group as she could be considered the most talented of the bunch. Elizabella was in awe of all of Odette's accomplishments when she glanced at her. She slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she thought that her temperament could use some improvement.
"At least she is not the leader of the group," Elizabella internally sighed as she learned that Leo was a natural leader of the bunch. "I think Leo makes a great representative. He also seemed charismatic and mature enough to handle all sorts of affairs.
"Then there is Bash. Mysterious with noble vibes. I am sure that he has ties with the Royal Family of Stado. But I have never heard of him. I wonder how he is connected with them? The rest all know to behave themselves like my friends back in the capital. The only difference seems to be that this group is not afraid to speak their mind. Like Odette, who uses her voice to say whatever she wants.
"I do not think she is a bad person, but she does not seem to know how to express herself properly. This group is fascinating. I hope we can grow together and can get along well enough not to treat me like an outsider."
After a day of brainstorming, the group thought it would be good to have a meal together to celebrate Elizabella's official joining. The mention of food made Elizabella feel like she had not eaten in ages, and she quickly agreed to eat with them. Seeing her so enthusiastic about going out to eat made the group speechless as they had assumed that she would be a demure Lady who restrained herself in public when it came to food.
Walliams wearily followed his Lady, who was easily led by Leo, heading to a nearby restaurant on foot. After walking for a bit, they realized that maybe Elizabella might not be able to handle the walk as she would not be used to such a trek.
"I am sorry that the walk is a bit far from here, Bella. I hope that you do not mind," said Leo as he looked back at the petite girl who obediently followed them with a light smile on her face.
"It is no problem. Walliams and I walk to and from home all the time. We live a few blocks away from here. We have even stopped at the same restaurant we are heading to now some days," said Elizabella as Leo smiled with a strange look in his eyes that Elizabella missed.
"I see," said Leo as he turned to look forward and wondered to himself. "What is a proper young Lady like Bella doing walking around with so many Shadow Guards without an adequate escort? I am confused. Is she or is she not a member of a noble lineage?"
They finally came to the restaurant and were seated at a large table that fit them all. As the new girl in the team, Elizabella sat in the middle with Walliams sitting next to her. When ordering the food, Elizabella tried to be restrained as she comforted herself, knowing that she would eat at home if she did not have her fill eating at the restaurant.
However, she still surprised her new friends with the amount of food that she ordered. Elizabella ordered three appetizers, four main dishes, and a fruit dessert. At first, the group thought that she was ordering for Walliams but noticed that Walliams ordered his own food that seemed more reasonable for a person to eat. They stared at each other before continuing with their orders and wondered if Elizabella would eat everything she had ordered.
After ordering their food, the group began to talk amongst themselves. The hottest topic was Elizabella and Walliams, as they were new to the group. Walliams still behaved wearily around them, so he did not speak much. Seeing how Walliams kept to himself, Elizabella was instead bombarded with questions.
"Where do you live, Bella? How old are you and Walliams? Mind telling us why you chose to go to this school?" started the questions that she could comprehend from all the questions that were being thrown at her.
"You guys! Let her breathe! One question at a time, alright?" said Leo as he chuckled at their behavior and noticed that Elizabella smiled politely at all the questions. "So, Bella, what brings you to this school?"
"My father had heard that Mrs. Vita was a good teacher that only taught here. I had asked him if I could learn to act, so he let me come here with Walliams," said Elizabella smoothly as she found her lying had significantly improved.
Leo, who was sitting opposite her, could tell that what she said was not the complete truth. He smiled gently as he understood that she could not say much if his hypothesis was correct about her. If Elizabella knew that Leo did not believe her lies, she would feel greatly disappointed that she had not improved as she had thought. However, she had improved, but to a strong and observant Beastman, it was easy to tell one is lying.
Walliams looked at Leo and understood that he did not believe his Lady. He sighed mentally as Beastmen were hard to deceive.
"I have not had the chance to tell my Lady that these guys are not all human. Beastmen, depending on their race, have better senses than humans. The stronger ones can hear a heartbeat racing when lying or smell them sweating when they are nervous," thought Walliams as he looked up at Leo and Elizabella. "Leo is stronger than me. I do not know what race he falls under, but he is the most dangerous one out of all of us sitting. I hope that he is not a threat to my Lady."
"My birthday is at the beginning of the year, so I recently turned sixteen," said Elizabella, not knowing that her first lie had been seen through by the group. "I have been learning ballet since I was two, started gymnastics when I was five, ballroom dancing when I was six, and picked up the violin when I was three. Over the years, I learned to play other instruments, like the cello, piano, basically all string instruments. I taught myself the guitar at fourteen; my uncle taught me the drums when I was ten… what else," said Elizabella as she wondered if she missed anything that may seem relevant to her joining the group. "I started singing when I was six. I have learned most of all the performing arts since I was young, but I never learned acting. I thought it would be fun to do so now."
Elizabella smiled as she told everyone her credentials while remembering not to say too much about her family. She felt proud that she could say so much about her past without revealing anything about her family background.
"What about your family? Do you have any siblings?" asked Odette as the table seemed to change from a cheerful atmosphere to a dreadful one, though it seemed that Elizabella could not read the mood.
"Yes, five younger siblings," said Elizabella with a broad smile, not realizing that the group look at her with pitiful eyes.
"Wow, your dad has six children altogether," said a girl that had been introduced as Jasmine, making Elizabella look at her weirdly.
"Um, yes," answered Elizabella as she thought that the question had been worded strangely. "My parents have six children together. My younger sisters are twelve, twins, and our younger twin brothers will be turning ten in a few months. The youngest is a girl at seven years of age. I am the eldest out of them."
After she said all this, the group gave strange looks as if they did not understand. They did not voice their thoughts, though, as they looked down in contemplation or busied themselves with their water.
Walliams noticed that they seemed to have changing moods as a collective unit, making him wonder if they have a similar shared history.
"These people are so strange. I wonder what it could be," thought Walliams as he looked up at Elizabella, who did not seem to understand that there was a mood shift again. "My Lady still has much to learn when it comes to social differences in the world. So what if they are all well-mannered and strong? It does not mean that they grew up the same way as my Lady and I did. I wonder if this is what Lord Marquess meant when he said he wanted her to learn about different people? Seeing her being so clueless about this situation makes me want to take her to the side and tell her. But should she learn by herself as Lord Marquess wanted?"
Walliams was in a dilemma. He wanted to explain to Elizabella that different backgrounds make up families in the world. He did not know what the groups' situation was, but he was beginning to understand why they would act so gloomy from the start. It always had to do with families or their stations in life.
"No wonder Odette reacted so fiercely back then; it makes sense now," thought Walliams as he noticed the waiters bringing their food.