Chapter 58: Dilara

POV Eliza

I sat at the cat girl's bed and thought about the situation. What was she doing here? Was she a runaway slave? But then where was her slave collar? All questions I couldn't answer without her. But what I could think about was how to proceed. For now, I'll keep her here in my room until she wakes up. I hoped she didn't immediately panic when she saw me. While I waited, she seemed to be having a nightmare. She tossed and turned on the bed, muttering something to herself. Unfortunately I could hardly understand anything, but she seemed very scared. I grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly, like Mama used to do to me when I was little. I gently stroked her head. Just like she did for me back then, it had a calming effect on her too. She relaxed and slept much more peacefully. It was still early in the morning when she woke up. She jumped up and looked around in panic.

"Hello. You are safe here. Nobody will harm you. The bad men are not here.” <Eliza>

She calmed down slightly when she saw no one except me. She also didn't seem to perceive me as a threat.

"Where am I? And who are you?” <Girl>

“I’m Eliza and you’re in my room at the inn. I found you in town last night being chased. But I couldn't let the men catch you. That's why I took you and healed you.” <Eliza>

“Th-thank you. But why are you helping me?” <Girl>

"You do not have to worry. I have no prejudices whatsoever against beastfolk. Are you hungry?” <Eliza>

"Yes. Very hungry.” <Dilara>

“Then wait here for a moment. I'll go downstairs and get something to eat. Unfortunately you can't come with me. Besides, you’re still too weak and should stay lying down.” <Eliza>

The girl nodded cautiously. I left the room and locked the door behind me. I went into the dining room and ordered a hearty breakfast. I took the tray and went back into the room with it. When I entered the room I saw the girl hiding under the covers. Not very helpful, but cute though.

“You can come out. I’m alone and I have food with me.” <Eliza>

The girl hesitantly peeked out from under the blanket. When she smelled the food, hunger won over her fear and she came out completely. I sat down next to her and put the food on the bed for her. Since I had brought enough for both of us, I also ate some. She seemed starving as quickly as she devoured the food.

"Eat slowly. Nobody takes anything away from you.” <Eliza>

She looked at me with wide eyes but didn't stop eating.

“What’s your name, little one, and where are you from?” <Eliza>

“Dirala. I live in a settlement in the forest. We were attacked by evil people in armor. Mom told me to run away, so I ran as fast as I could. On the way I met others from the settlement and they gave me a lift. We sneaked into the city at night and then hid. Then other evil men came and hunted us. I lost the others in the process. Since then, I hid alone until I woke up here.” <Dirala>

So you could get into the city unseen. Good to know, I should remember that.

“You’re safe for now. If you tell me who came to town with you, I'll go look for them." Eliza

Dirala described five other people to me, 3 beastfolk and 2 humans. Then she got tired again, even though she hadn't finished eating yet. She was very upset by the whole thing and I put her back to bed. She immediately fell asleep again. While she slept, I started asking around the city. I was interested in any rumors that had to do with beastfolk sightings. It took me two days to get the first useful information. If beastfolk weren't so rare, I probably never would have found out anything. Meanwhile, Dirala recovered from her injuries while I provided her with food and drink. So that it wouldn't be noticed that I was feeding another person, I went to eat somewhere else in town. She quickly built trust in me because she followed my instructions and didn't leave the room. It took me 4 more days to get a clue to the hiding place where Dilara's companions were supposed to be. I planned to look around there the next night.