The appetizers soon arrived, and the group remained quiet as the plates were placed in front of them. Once the waiters left for their large group, they started to dig in. Elizabella, not caring about any weird atmosphere (especially now that there was some food in front of her), began to eat from her plates of food. The others who were stirred from their thoughts when their food arrived began to eat quietly.
Some had remembered that Elizabella had ordered an excessive amount of food and looked up to notice that although a few moments had passed, her plates were half empty.
Leo, who was sitting in front of her, blinked his eyes a few times as he noticed that her food rapidly disappeared in front of him. He sat there frozen with a spoon in his mouth as he could not keep his eyes from the magical scene in front of him.
Leo felt shocked to the core as he felt his world views had turned upside down.
"Are not Ladies of noble houses always trying to maintain their figure? How can this little Lady eat so much so quickly? Even Walliams next to her seems nonchalant about her behavior. Is he used to seeing her eat this much?" Leo was not the only one in the group confused as they had all stopped eating to watch Elizabella finish her plates of food.
As soon as she finished, Elizabella looked down at her empty plates and seemed sad. Seeing her expression made the others on the table, except Walliams, feel like a thunderclap had struck them where they were. They could not fathom how she finished so fast and still seemed like she was hungry. Finally, Odette found her voice to speak.
"I see you do not care about watching your figure," Odette said, sounding rude, but Elizabella thought she heard concern in her tone, so she smiled at her.
"I lose weight really fast, but I am constantly hungry. Mother almost did not let me join this competition because she thought I would not eat enough. She noticed that I had lost some weight since I started school here," said Elizabella as she elegantly sipped from her teacup. "I think I have lost weight because I always restrain myself in public. Even now, I did not order the exact amount I would at home. But do not worry, I have a chef at home that will make me food when I get home."
"I see," said Odette a bit speechlessly as she did not know how to retort without sounding too caring.
The others looked at Elizabella and wondered where all the food went when the waiters returned with the main dishes. Elizabella's eyes sparkled as she saw she was going to eat more. The others decided to look away and continue with their food. It was hard for Elizabella to hide her enthusiasm for the food as she ate delightedly.
Everyone at the table would peak at Elizabella as she enjoyed her food, making them give weary smiles to each other. Eventually, they let her be and became numb to her food habits. Until the end of their outing when Elizabella said something that left them completely speechless again.
"I wonder what Yacub will be making for dinner tonight?"
**********
Elizabella went home giddy. She was so happy that she felt she was walking on clouds as her steps were ever so nimble. Walliams kept giving her a side-eye as he closely followed her home. He sighed as he thought it would be best to tell her what he has observed about the group she had joined.
They entered the house where the two servants that were at her beck and call greeted her. She grinned at them as she told them to have Chef Yacub make a grand meal to celebrate. The servants would be invited to join, including the Shadow Guards that Walliams had clued her in at the beginning. As they left to help the Chef, Walliams thought it would be the perfect time to talk to her.
"My Lady, would you like some tea while we wait? There is something that I need to tell you as you must know," said Walliams seriously as Elizabella looked at him thoughtfully.
"Alright. Let us talk over tea," agreed Elizabella as she elegantly sat down in a lounge chair, waiting for Walliams to return with the promised tea.
Walliams soon returned and served her first before sitting down and letting her sip her tea. After her drink, Elizabella looked up at Walliams and asked him what he wanted to say.
"My Lady, I should first tell you that this group has a few Beastmen, powerful ones as well. I am afraid that they did not believe you when you made up the story as to why you are here," started Walliams, making Elizabella pause and ponder on his words before letting him continue. "Leo is a full Beastman, whereas Odette is a half-breed. I do not think she can morph into her beast form. I sense it is weak. Bash, I cannot tell what he is, but I would not be surprised if he, too, were like Odette."
"Half-breed?" asked Elizabella surprised. "I have never met one before."
"Most half-breeds are not welcomed in Beastmen territories as they are often weaker. Something about the blood not being pure if two different races of Beastmen produce offspring. In the past, to help with territory disputes, Beastmen tried to produce strong offspring by mating two strong races together. The results were that those offsprings were always weaker than the runts of any litter. No matter what combination, they never proved to be stronger. Most of the time, they were born with different illnesses, like being born sterile and not living to old age. If the races were too different biologically, they would be stillborn or have spontaneous abortions. Most Beastmen today try not to mingle outside their race," explained Walliams as Elizabella listened attentively.
Elizabella had learned this in the past; however, since her home country did not have many Beastmen, or the ones she had come in contact with were all full-breeds, she had forgotten this fact. She sighed as she held her empty teacup in her hands.
"What is the conclusion of your observations, Walliams?" asked Elizabella as her fingers tapped while she held on to her teacup.
"What I have observed from this group is that they seem to be reasonable and even friendly enough to get along. Being friends with them would not be a problem as they all seem to have a common goal of not only winning the contest but to make this their life work," said Walliams as he looked at Elizabella with a serious look on his face. "The thing that we would need to watch out for would be certain topics to shy away from when conversing. Understanding that some members may have experienced rough childhoods or prejudice within their families, it may be wise not to mention happy family life. Talking about their past may also trigger negative emotions. I am not saying that we should walk on eggshells, but we should be mindful of their plights."
Elizabella continued to be in deep thought as she processed everything that Walliams said to her. She reflected on her previous conversations with the group members and realized that she probably made them very uncomfortable by being there. Coming to this conclusion, Elizbella sighed.
"I understand what you mean, Walliams. I will try to remember not to say too much. I will avoid those topics when around them," said Elizabella as she looked up at Walliams with a curious gaze. "But Walliams, are all of them half-breeds? Can you tell what race they are?"
"I know that Odette is a half-human, but her human blood is stronger than her beast blood. I cannot tell you what she is mixed with; Leo has a feline scent, but I would not be surprised if he were a big cat race because he is stronger than me. If Bash is indeed from the de Olea de Reynoso family, he should be, at least, a half-human. Something seems to mask his scent, so I am not able to tell what blood or if he is mixed with another race," said Walliams as he had a pensive look and frowned. "My guess, since we have not heard of him before, he must either be from a distant relative of the reigning family, or he really is a half-breed. If he were one, it would make sense as to why they would hide his existence."
"Somehow, I think I agree with your second theory. Why else would Bash have the Royal Family name? I think his birth status should have been up there if it were not for his half-breed blood," said Elizabella as she thought with Walliams. "It would make sense as to why everyone seemed upset when I mentioned his family name. Someone that should have been born with a silver spoon grew up being treated as if he did not exist. How sad that would be!"
Elizabella looked upset with the thought of growing up without anyone to acknowledge you; how lonely would that be? Joining a group to travel around the world while performing does seem like a better alternative than living with people who did not care about your existence.
"I think I understand why they did not seem to like me at the beginning. You are right, Walliams. I will definitely try to watch what I do or say around them," said Elizabella as a servant came into view to announce dinner was ready.
"It is good that she understands. It would not be good if she went around blissfully unaware of her new friends' circumstances," thought Walliams as he watched Elizabella walk away to the dinner table where a lovely spread was laid. "What most humans do not know, and what most Beastmen do not want them to know, is that humans are a bizarre breed. Two different races of Beastmen will have complications in their offspring. Humans are different.
"They can be born a full Beastman, a half-breed, or an average human. Each one will lead a normal human length life. They are the easiest to reproduce with but are often wild cards. No one can guarantee that a child born from a human and a Beastman would end up as. It makes their status challenging to accept if they are not born how the parents wanted them.
"I am sure that Odette has experienced those types of challenges growing up and even a few others in the group. I wonder how they all came to be together? How did they find each other in a faraway Kingdom such as Edalelia?"
Walliams frowned as he pondered over his thoughts. Who would believe that it is only a coincidence if they were told that a bunch of unwanted foreign kids came together in a Kingdom to form a group to become traveling performers? Something smelled like a conspiracy, making Walliams' blood boil with excitement for gossip.
"I wonder if it would be possible to follow them around in my shadow form?"
"Walliams, are you going to join us for dinner?" asked Elizabella as she frowned since she was still waiting for Walliams to join them.
"Coming!" replied Walliams as he thought that he was still full from earlier but smiled as he saw Elizabella drooling at the spread in front of her.