Well, that one was simple enough to answer...

"You don't need to trust me right now if you do not wish to, you merely need to trust in yourself and in the opportunity you were given, my boy, as doing so will lead you to greatness!" Mr. Silke said while looking deep into Nathaniel's eyes with is own piercing stare. The boy would learn and be useful in his scheme, he swore on his name! Now, to get things going, as he was getting tired of this interrogation...

"Now, my dears, you must be tired and wary from your long journey and may be interested in following me to your new room? You may do what you wish, though I would warn you that the basements are still in disreepair and are therefore dangerous! Follow those who so desire!" He finished in a flourish, gesturing to a dimly lit elevator that was to their left, in the main lobby, inviting his new charges to enter it with him as he strolled inside.

Momiko stayed quit at that, having a feeling that if he/she spoke anymore that something bad would happen, so he/she did not what to push her/his luck anymore. To Momiko, it sounded kind of fishy that an old man wanted to take in unwanted children, he/she gave a small cry when Nathaniel pulled away from him/her. It was easy enough for the boy to pull away from the gender confused child, though tears spring into the dress clad kid's eyes as he/she was the last one in the group to follow the elderly male.

Charlie heaved a sigh. She wanted to leave, be on her own for once, but she had no earthly idea of where to go. Where could a girl her age go in this world? Into the hands of another adult, no doubt. The only two options she had was to wait and see how things turned out here or try her luck in the world, having to hide from all authority figures that would try to capture her and put her in an orphanage or, worse, bring her back to her grandmother.

Maybe this place won't be as bad as I am thinking... Charlie tried to convince herself, but she still didn't trust this Mr. Silke and she wanted nothing to do with his circus. If doing that was required for her to live here, she much rather take her chances on the street.

For a moment Charlie looked around and took in all the other kids, they were all in the same boat as her. The boy had also questioned him and the one called Momiko had begged to be returned to her mother. Why would someone want to return to a parent who sold them away? She couldn't help but wonder this with a heavy heart. No loving parent would sell away their child, no matter how influential the newspaper ad was.

Chalrie continued to sit there for another minute or two as she mulled over everything that had transpired in this place thus far. When Mr. Silke went to the elevator and asked those who wish to stay to join him, she stood with a heavy heart. Her conflicting emotions about this man and this place caused her to have trouble moving from her spot. Eventually she made it over to the elevator and her stomach dropped, she had a hard time dealing with her claustrophobia. She paused at the elevator door and she felt like bursting into tears but she stayed quiet, no one could suspect her fear...she couldn't be seen as weak. Fighting with all her might against her body's refusal to put herself in such a tiny place with all these people, she finally managed to step onto the elevator. Once she was inside she found a corner away from all the people and closed her eyes.

Well at least Mr. Silke didn’t expect them to trust him. That was something the Nathanial wasn’t about to make the mistake of doing. He would naively give the man a chance to prove he could be trust which would more than likely end up being a mistake he would come to regret. An opportunity that will lead you to greatness the boy pondered this for a moment. He had doubts about what the old man said, but only time would tell.

Before moving towards the elevator the boy glanced back at where they had entered the room. His gut told him to run away from his father, this old man and this place. Foolishly he ignored that feeling, after all he had nowhere to go and it would only be a matter of time before he was caught then sent to an orphanage or back to his father. For now he would stay here to see what this Mr. Silke had to offer the other children and him. Think of the positive side of this he kept telling himself, though it was hard to see anything positive about his situation.

Once in the elevator the boy moved towards the back. He leaned against the wall slightly, finally looking over the other children. Now that he was actually paying attention he noticed that the boys seemed to be out numbered. Of course this fact didn’t surprise him too much since even in today’s society male heirs were more desirable than female ones.

She listened as the other children around her questioned the true motives of Mr. Silke, and she had to admit that the questions they had asked seemed valid to her. Why did he really want a group of misfit kids? Was it really because he wanted to start some sort of circus? She thought this over in her head turning each question over and watching the other kids making the same decision she was fighting with. Did it seem right to trust the man? What else was she supposed to do? Should she run? But to where?

She heard Mr.Silke say that those who wanted to should follow him. She watched as each of the kids made up their mind about whether or not they wanted to follow. Looking back at the room where her father had disappeared to not minutes ago she rubbed the bruise on her arm involuntarily. Yes, she thought to herself, it had to be better then what she was leaving behind. She strode across the room towards the elevator with the rest of them and, after looking at the elevator in interest for a moment joined those who had already entered. She took a deep breath of air and wondered silently what she was getting herself into.

Satisfied that all his new charge followed him inside the lift, Silke closed the light sliding inner life gate and pressed the top most button labelled with the number three, making it light up and the outer lift doors close as the elevator slowly ascended the two floors separating them from their target.

The low light made his extravagance of expression rather sinister, and all the children must have been glad when the lift finally arrived at it's destination, the doors once again opening as they all stepped into what seemed to be a rather luxurious lobby with two corridors leading left and right respectively.

Gesturing to right, he smiled genially as he said; “Your rooms awaits you at the end of this corridor. Please get settled and come see me in my room,” there he pointed to the opposite corridor, “that is situated a the end of this hallway if you have any other questions. I bid you all good night!” he exclaimed with his usual extravagance.

He would have to wait for his charges to be asleep before he took care of his... guests... after all.

Momiko had a depressed look upon his.her face as he/she just nodded, watching where the other children had gone before walking out of the lift, looking back at Mr. Silke. He/she swallowed, moving out of the way of the older male before darting down the hallway and into a bedroom. Blinking in surprise that it seemed to be a unisex room, well it looked a lot better then the rat room that he/she had to stay in while living with the woman that gave birth to him/her.

The gruff, old man that she called father was looking rather gleefully at the paper in his lap. That was clue number one. The reflection off of his glasses revealed fully what he was reading, and therefore, what he was intending to do. Thalia had what most referred to as an "old soul." She was far more mature for her age than was considered normal, which was what scared her father, though her strange abilities didn't help. Most people assumed witchcraft, but they were far off the mark. Thalia was hyperobservant. Every little detail was picked up and stored in her mind for later use. It was how she could tell the basic history of a person just by looking at them.

Before he put the paper down, the coppery-haired little girl was pulling on her shoes and coat, ready to go. He just blinked a few times before muttering something about how he would be glad to get rid of her and her weird behaviors. It said something that he didn't even bother asking her what she was doing. He knew full well that she knew what he was going to do and had accepted it as inevitable. And it wasn't like she cared either. She had never really had any bond of love with either of her parents, so it wasn't hard to think about breaking them.

In almost no time at all, she stood in the main entrance of her new home, her father tapping his foot impatiently for someone to come and assist him. That was another of his problems, the man could never wait for anyone but himself. It was almost going to be a relief to be separated from him. Hopefully she wouldn't have to cook her own meals while at the strange place.

The trip up in the lift was anything but fun for her. She felt closed in by the other kids and most of all frightened of the expression on Mr.Silke’s face. She wondered heavily if she had made the right decision when she had decided she would not run. Closing her eyes she tried as hard as she could not to let her knees tremble, but she knew she was failing in the most miserable sense of the word. When she heard the door to the lift open she was the first of the kids to pile out. Looking back at the elevator she heaved a heavy sigh and waited for the rest of the kids to emerge.

She looked around the extravagant lobby and heaved another sigh. Maybe she had been wrong to doubt herself in the lift; after all, this place did not look so bad. Certainly looked better then the place she had just left. She waited until Mr.Silke had walked from the lift and stood once more before them. He did not look as frightening here as he had in the lift. “Your rooms awaits you at the end of this corridor. Please get settled and come see me in my room,” she watched as he pointed down a corridor. “that is situated a the end of this hallway if you have any other questions. I bid you all good night!”

Vaguely a smile played her lips. A room, they would actually be getting rooms to sleep in? Would the room have a bed? She thought about her home, no, she corrected herself, this is your home now. She thought about the place she had come from and the cold hard floor she had called a bed. She headed curiously down the hall and chose a room that was not the first one the white haired girl had taken.

The young boy looked down the hallway. He still didn’t trust what the man said. There had to be more that he wanted from them then he was letting on right? Adults didn’t really care for the company of children and they never gave anything without expecting something in return. If you didn’t do things the way they wanted or do what was expected then you’d be punished. That was just the way that the world worked in Nathanial’s mind. The boy glanced once more at the old man before he headed down the hall. The further away he was from this man or any other adult that might be in this place the better. As he walked slowly down the hall, paying little attention to the other children, he headed for the far end to the very last rooms. Walking he made small observations. When he reached the last door on the right side of the hall he turned the knob, opening the door and disappearing inside.