Luke squeezed into the small room and pushed past his dresser, grabbing his notebook. His parents hadn't exactly been planning to adopt him, let alone get married, and there hadn't been much money in the household since the third mouth came and swallowed every ounce of food and energy they had.

So most money went into the small things, like clothes and water and rent.

"Luke!" Autumn called, "You'll be late!"

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Luke shouted back, racing out the door and into the coach with his Mother and Father.

Sometimes having a family was rather annoying.

Luke didn't mind the nagging though, anything was better the dark closet of the orphanage. Not that he had been rooming in there, as far as he could remember her life there had been fairly comfortable, a nice room and warm bed. But there were others less welcoming to orphans.

Of course Luke really didn't remember much, he had only lived in the School till he was about Three. Still the experience was still haunting enough to give him a few shivering nightmares every once and awhile.

Now he sat alone with Eli in the nursery, bored to death as Eli read some book on geology.

"Anything good?" Luke asked slowly.

"Lots," Eli mumbled.

"Can I see?" He asked eagerly leaning forward.

"No."

"Luke!" He heard Ilios called out eagerly through the halls, "Luke she's come at last!"

No answer was given.

"Good choice," Eli muttered with a sigh.

Luke wiped his forehead, he had arrived three and a half hours ago and the first thing Ilios did was jump all over him. He was almost 12, it was embarrassing.

The knock on the door made Ilios forget her absent Luke. The moment had at long last arrived! What would she be like? Would she like her? Would she be rude and course and mean?

"Ilios, Luke. Come downstairs, there's someone who wants to meet you."

Ilios came like a hurricane down the stairs, her shoes flying off somewhere near the third step.

"Eli you won't come?" Luke winced as if he had been blown a punch. "I don't wanna meet some dumb girl."

"You talk you get roped into stuff." Eli shrugged, his eyes fixed on his book, "I don't talk, it's got nothing to do with me."

"Aunt Anabel!" Ilios yelped gleefully jumping into the young woman's arms.

Luke made his way begrudgingly down the stairs.

"Luke!" Fred exclaimed, "How are you?"

"Eh." Luke mumbled.

Fred grabbed him desperately by the shoulder, "You're the only other man I got beside Erik, stick close kid, it's gonna be a bumpy ride."

Luke gave a little laugh and nodded.

"Fred!" Ilios beamed letting Aunt Anabel go and holding tight to his waist. "Oh, Fred I've missed you too. Nearly as much Peter."

Fred wrinkled his nose, "I've got competition? Should I kill em?"

Ilios laughed, "Of course not, you'd always win Fred."

With a hysterical smile, she turned to her father shaking her head. "He wouldn't win," She whispered.

Erik contained his laughter, "I know darling, don't I know."

Eli made his way to the edge of the stairs, a small mask covering half his face.

"Ever the bookworm I see." Fred laughed shaking Eriks hand heartily as his eyes watched Eli, "It's good to see you old friend."

And while the older ones hugged and laughed and chattered, Ilios looked around for the little girl she hoped to call a friend.

Anabel on the other hand, looked down in response to the frantic tugging on her skirt.

"Where's Elizabeth?"

Anabel looked to Fred and smiled softly.

"Eliza who?" Fred teased.

"Uncle you musn't! Is she ill? Where has she gone?" Ilios rattled on full of worry. "Did she die?! Why does everyone I play with always have to die?!"

Erik twiddled with his thumbs, "Just the boy ones.
Christine elbowed his side, "Erik!"

Ilios' little face grew paler and her breathing more strained, "Fred is she dead?!"

"Maybe."

The girls face turned deathly pale and Anabel sighed. "Fred dear, grow up won't you. You'll scare the poor child half to death. Over there Ilios dear. She's a bit shy. Over there, by the curtains."

It was only then that Ilios, Luke and Eli noticed the small figure in the window sill. She was thin, her dress tidy and brown curly hair unkempt. She had a small pair of reading glasses folded onto her neckline just like Erik always did. And for a moment, as she looked up from the very thick book she was reading: Ilios thought she saw the smallest hint of a smile.

"Well what do you think of our girl?" Fred asked with a hearty laugh sweeping her off the ground and into his arms.

For lack of a better expression, she managed to state, "She is not quite at all what I expected."

This seemed to satisfy and Ilios was rather proud of thinking a response neither too enthusiastic or disappointed.

"Come Elizabeth," Anabel called, "Come sit beside me dearest."

Elizabeth tread quickly and silently across the room. Eli, who at this point appreciated the emergence of another ghost like the child, raised his eyes slightly above his book. He would have almost believed it appropriate to say the girl floated.

In Ilios' small mind it had looked as if his feet had lifted an inch or two from the floorboards and coasted effortlessly to the couch where her mother sat.

There was a moment's silence as her Christine went for the tea.

The Four children stared at each other, each with much to think and little to say. Eli looked to Elizabeth, Luke to Ilios, Ilios to Elizabeth and back to her brother. It was Ilios custom to glance to her brother every so often, just to make sure he was alive and breathing. He could be so silent sometimes she would arise herself to check if he indeed lived in the dead of night.

And while the adults chattered of the economy and times past, Ilips for once seemed to be at a lack of words.

"I'm awfully glad you weren't eaten by a Lion." She finally stated.

"What?" Luke laughed at the obscurity of the question.

"Pardon?" Elizabeth stammered.

"The Lion your father wrote to me about. The one at the circus."

"Oh." Elizabeth shrugged, "It wasn't a lion. It was just a large fat cat."

"How boring," Luke moaned.

There was then some debate on whether Uncle Fred was a credible source of information, and it was ultimately decided he wasn't to be trusted except on subjects like history and the weather.

Seeing the children to be engaged in conversation, Erik happily went off to play a dreaded chess game with Gustave, should he ever have the courage to arrive/

This left Elizabeth to give a hearty sigh, lift her feet onto the coffee table and put her father's hat over her face.

Eli smiled ever so faintly and Luke scoffed in amazement.

This wasn't a girl, this was a psychopath.

Elizabeth was asleep within the minute.

"She's so dull," Ilios whispered disappointedly.

"She's mental." Luke laughed, admiration in his eyes.

Eli gave a small shrug and returned to his book. "I like her."

"Well, you would." Ilios sneered.

Eli shrugged, to each his own.