Alice curled up under the blanket, she was still feeling cold just like the day before.

Tired she could hear how they were moving around in the house. Not even trying to move around silently, instead they walked around just as loudly as ever, if not even worse.

“Why can’t they be silent?” she muttered for herself and curled up even more under the covers.

She felt a little better than the day before, but she wasn’t well yet. It was a pain to be sick, it was just boring. Even cleaning would have been more fun. Which she now left for poor, poor Ellen to do alone.

A light guilt built up in her. It really wasn’t fun to clean the house, and even less to do it alone. Yet her beloved sister, that didn’t even do it well, had to do it alone while Alice herself was just taking it easy.

Alice spent some time to build up and try to ruin the same guilt before she heard that Jack left the house.

She couldn’t spend the whole day in bed, so now it was time to get out of bed. Freezing she left the warm bed to go and get dressed. Silently she cursed the cold rather then her own warmer body.

“Good morning Ellen,” she greeted when she arrived to the kitchen.

Ellen had already started to wash the dishes, but as the kind person she is, she had left some food at the table for Alice.

“Good morning Alice, are you awake now?”

Ellen sounded uninterested in her voice. Maybe she was bored of taking care of Alice already, or it could be that she already had start to drown in her own thoughts.

“Did father said anything about that I hadn’t got up when he left?” Alice asked when she took her place around the table.

Not that she really cared about it, but it could be a good question to start up a conversation with her sister. Ellen did after all cared about their father by whole her heart, so it could be a good opportunity to start it.

“Jack asked me to let you rest and to take care of you.”

He didn’t said anything in other words. Not that it really mattered a anyway. All that mattered was that her sister was there for her. Everything else was nothing of interest.

“Will you occupy the sofa today to?” Ellen asked when she got the dish from Alice.

“It is really relaxing to have you around me, so I will use the sofa again.”

Alice had decided to rest in the sofa before even leaving the bed. She did really relaxed in an other way when Ellen was around, in comparison of if she would rest in the bedroom, alone.

To her surprise Ellen had already put a blanket and an extra pillow on the sofa. She was really caring for her, even if it could be because father told her to, but still.

Alice took her place in the sofa and covered herself with the blanket. It was still just as cold as it had been in the bed, but it felt so much warmer.

Slowly she sank into slumber, listening to Ellen while she cleaned the room. Alice couldn’t have been happier, she was not alone in the house anymore.

Alice didn’t know how much time that had pass when someone woke her up.

The one that woke her up was no other then The annoying woman Taija.

“What are you doing here Taija.”

She didn’t know if she was having a bad dream or if that woman had sneaked in with or without permission. Either way Alice didn’t like it.

“I can to see how you was doing little Alice. I heard that you had caught a cold and decided to bring you some good tea.” Taija didn’t seem to care that she could be sick by staying close to her. But in case she got sick later, it would be her own fault later.

At the table beside the sofa were two steamy cups of the.

“Want to try some?” Taija asked and leaned over Alice to help her up.

Alice gave it a thought. It could maybe do her well with some tea, otherwise it at least could be nice. If it was the right kind of tea, that is.

Taija helped her when she would sit up. It was a gently but unnecessary act by her. Alice could have handled it herself, but she was still somehow happy by the act.

Alice took a sip of the tea, it tasted better then she had been expected. Someone had probably already add honey to it, just to her taste. She took a look at Taija, that woman couldn’t have done it, right?

Taija asked if it had be to her taste and upon agreement said that it seemed that Ellen likes to pamper her sister. According to her Ellen had ask if the tea was bitter and put honey in it after she got to know it was.

Alice smiled for herself, her beloved sister really, really cares for her.

Taija gave Alice advices about how to stay healthy. Almost nagging it into her.

That was until Ellen left for buying food at the market.

“Are you still worried about your sister's studies?” She asked Alice as soon Ellen had close the door behind herself.

“ Yes, but at the same time she do seems to love studying it.” Alice feelings about it was split. She did want her sister to stay there and to be happy, but she seemed to be as most happy when it came to study cog and gears.

Taija seemed to understand the dilemma, at least to a point there she could calm Alice worries.

They talked about it for a while until Taija decided that Alice needed to rest.

Alice found it fascinating that the woman that once only had bothered her was able to help her calming down. Someone seem to have gone through a change.

When Taija would leave Alice stopped her to ask for one last thing.

----------------------------------------

Ellen came back home and noticed that Taija had left the house. Alice in other hand was still occupying the sofa and slept loudly.

That little “princess” was acting like a spoiled child today, getting up late at totally ignoring everything that needed to be done. If it wouldn’t been that Jack had told her to take care of her sister, she would have put the princess into cleaning duties right away. Not to mention that it was a chance that the “princess” not even was sick anymore, she could just use it as an excuse to not do the cleaning.

Ellen's thoughts changed very quickly when she laid her hand on her sisters forehead. The girl was more or less burning up inside. Maybe she wasn’t really well after all.

She let out a sigh and walked to the kitchen, starting to preparing the dinner. She would wake Alice up a while before the dinner was done so she could get herself washed of before joining the table.

If that sick little “princess” was like now, then she probably wouldn’t have recovered by the next day. Which meant that Ellen would need to do everything by herself, AGAIN.

While preparing the dinner Ellen couldn’t help but to think of how it would be if Jack got sick. It at very least had to be better than taking care of this little “princess”. And in difference from now, she would have enjoyed every second of it.

She could almost see herself taking care of him in any cloth that he wished her to wear, if any at all. Ellen would have done it, no matter of how embarrassing it would have been. All for him and only him.

Even if she didn’t want her beloved to be sick, it was a wonderful thought.

Ellen woke up Alice before dinner just as she had thought of doing and sent her to wash herself off.

The “princess” had never looked as she should, normal, and looked even worse now. Almost to a point so Ellen felt bad for waking her up. It was easy to see that she really wasn’t well.

Jack hadn’t arrived home when she was done with the cooking and after half an hour of waiting they decided to eat without him.

Ellen felt a little bad for it, but it was nothing she could do about it. Hopefully it was only his work holding him up. Hopefully. Otherwise if anything would happen to him, Ellen didn’t know how to react.

To her happiness Jack arrived while she washed the dishes, unharmed and fine.

The next day was no difference from the day before, Alice was still sick. Sure she seemed to be feeling much better than the previous day, but still sick. So it was ANOTHER day she needed to do the cleaning herself.

She was getting sickly tired of doing the cleaning alone, why couldn’t that little “princess” get over the sickness?

Ellen glared at Alice that laid sleeping in the sofa, sleeping peacefully. It was a view that annoyed Ellen even further. If she could have, she should had forced Alice to help. And if that really hadn’t been possible, Alice would have been sent straight to bed there Ellen didn’t need to see her.

As if it wasn’t enough already Taija came to visit the little “princess” to. Sure that woman was better than the “princess”, but it was still annoying to see them just sit and talking without doing anything to help.

They seemed to be acting strange this day, it was like they kept an eye at her. For whatever reason it couldn’t be good. Could it be that the horrific little “princess” had decided to take help from that woman to take actions against Ellen?

Nothing happened before she got out to buy the food to cook dinner.

During Ellen's time to and from the marketplace she tried to figure out what they possibly could be planning and how she would escape if they did anything.

Hadn’t that little “princess” done enough by just taking it easy while Ellen worked her rear off?

Back at home again she was greeted by Taija and Alice in the living room. Taija looked worryingly glad, at least in comparison with Alice. She looked like she wanted to run away, far away.

“ Your sister wishes to tell you something.” Taija chippers happily and pushes Alice to the front.

A rarely shy view of the shameless “princess” could be seen as she wriggled uncomfortable.

“Since you have taken care of me during this days I have been sick” she started before turning to Taija. All the response Alice got was to be pushed closer to Ellen.

“As thanks I want to give you this working cloths.” She said out loud and reached out a pair of clothes to Ellen.

Surprised by the act, she only looked at Alice for a few seconds before she caught up what just had happened.

“Thanks.” Was the only thing she could say right off. Not that she wasn’t grateful, but how would she react by this act. It could be a kind of trap, but at the same time it didn’t feel like that. The “princess” shyness seemed far to realistic for it to be a trap.

Ellen took the cloths and felt the was heavier than normal clothes, even the texture was different.

And with those clothes she had what she needed to spend time in the workshop again, even if she needed to first finish all her duties.

She had finished the book she bought from Chris just a few days earlier and had found the information simple. It wasn’t more then simply lay a puzzle, without an image. A burning interest lit up inside of her, she wanted go to the workshop. NOW. Even if she knew that she still needed to both cook, eat and take care if the dishes after the dinner.

Ellen cracked a smile for herself and thanked Alice once more. Even if her sister act like a spoiled little princess from time to time, maybe she had some good sides. Giving her own sister a well needed pair of working clothes, just because she took care of a sick little “princess”.

After everything was done for the evening, Ellen walked and changed to her working clothes. They was truly heavier than the other cloths, and a bigger size then they needed to be. Of which didn’t bother her at all, it was instead almost better that way. Now it was so she could keep them for quite a while, even if she grew a little. But the very best with that the cloths was bigger than necessary, was the fact that they hide her disappointing and rectangular body. The more that was hidden, the better.

It was both inspiration giving and disappointing for Ellen to come back to the workshop.

The little more organized chaos that she had done, before Alice picked her up that day, was still there as she had left it.

Little by little she began to organise and out everything at place there she knew she could find it later. After quite some time it looked like someone really was working there, at the very least it looked like someone spend time there. It was a lot better then when she first had got allowed by Jack to spend time in the room.

During all the cleaning Ellen thought if she really could help Jack, could there really be a chance that she could help him with some simple cogs? Could that really be the answer to whatever he was doing?

She meant whatever Jack now was doing maybe couldn’t be help by it, what he did could be so much more advanced than Ellen ever could think of. Maybe it would be best to ask him about it later. But at least not until she had come somewhere with her studies, by doing like that she probably could help him own money at very least.

By the time she finally was done with the cleaning of the room it seemed to very silent in the house.

Ellen felt tired, whatever the clock was, it was time for her to get some sleep. She took the candle she had got from Alice, if it would be dark when she was done, and lit it before she turned off the light giving gear in the room.

It was all dark in the house. The darkness gave the whole house a different atmosphere, almost chilling as if Ellen would have taken a role in a horror movie.

She was glad that her sister had given her the candle, otherwise it would have been terrifying to walk through the halls.

At last she arrived to the bathroom and looked at her reflection in the mirror, gently shined up by the candle. She wasn’t as dirty as the first time she had cleaned the room. But she still needed to wash off her whole body before going to bed. She still needed to wash the dress that she had got dirty during the first time, so she didn’t needed to do the same thing with the bed.

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After getting herself washed off she sneaked to her and Alice's bedroom, in her underwear. She had been an idiot to not bringing her nightclothes to the bathroom before starting her work in the workshop.

The whole room felt unusually cold and she really looked forward to take her place in the warm bed, even if it was beside Alice.

Ellen had to make sure to get a clock in the workshop. She couldn’t be up this late every day since she after all still needed to do the house chores the next day. Even if Alice would stop being sick, Ellen still needed to help. She had after all noticed how much of a pain it was to do them herself, so there was no longer a chance she would be thinking of letting her sister doing them alone. Not only because of the pain of doing it alone and that Jack had told her to help Alice. But she also had to do something to thanks her sister of getting her those working cloths.

Ellen let out a big yawn. She had fall asleep right away when she had gone to bed, but it didn’t change the fact that she got less sleep then usually.

She was very tired and it had been the first and last time she was awake that late. Just to make sure it was the first and last time, she would get a clock in there before she spent another evening there.

"Did it got late yesterday?” Alice had kept an eye at her sister the whole morning to make sure she helped with the cleaning.

“ I couldn’t see any clock, but both you and Jack had already went to bed.”

Alice looked serious at her before dropping a heavy sigh, kindly offer to both come and tell her when it was time to get to bed. And to give Ellen a clock, from another room, that she could set up in the workshop.

It was a very kind offer, by a little “princess” that is.

After much cleaning and dozens of heavy yawns, she got sent out by Alice to buy the ingredients for the dinner. Especially marking out that Ellen only would walk straight to the marketplace and home. No stop for any spare talk, neither visit any more stores or stalls then necessary.

Ellen silently laughed for herself on her way there. Alice behaviour had remind her of what a worried mother could have said to her children to make sure they stayed out of trouble.

Straight to the marketplace and straight home. She wished to visit Chris's shop, but didn’t. Not because Alice had said so, but rather because she was far too tired to do it.

Jack came back just in time for dinner, which he had failed to do the day earlier.

When he saw Ellen in the kitchen he gave her a smile before asking her to come and help him.

The help he wanted was to carry in a couple of things that was wrapped up in old cloth.

They was a lot heavier than they looked, and Jack had carried those himself from there he had bought them. He had to a really strong man. Probably a lot stronger then both Ellen and Alice, together.

“What is it you have bought Jack?” Ellen was curious about what it was they carried into their house.

“ I talked with a co-worker about how I was proud of how my smart daughter had started to study how to work with cogs. And he helped me to create this to make it easier for you to start the basic training. “

He had proudly talked about how Ellen had start to study? Ellen froze up for a second, happier than ever. He really liked that she was studying it. Could that mean that there was a chance she really could help him with his work, could she really be some use for him?

When they had carried everything to the workshop they began to open it all up.

The big package contained two pieces of metal plates, filled with holes. And the smaller packages was poles that she could put in the holes and connect cogs to, so she could experiment with how she would put the cogs in future projects. The plates could also be put together in an L form so she could use different angels.

“ Now it should be easier for you to practice. And how does it goes anyway?”

Ellen was so impressed and thought so hard about what she would start to practice with, so Jack had to repeat himself one more time.

“I did first got my working clothes yesterday and spend the evening to organize the room, so I haven’t got the time to really practice yet.” It sound horrible to say it. She had bought the book before the winter tree blossom, burning to start studying and practicing it. Yet she only had used the time to finish the book, nothing more and nothing less. But it would be some changes to that. Now she even got help by Jack to practice, so now she really had to do it. He was counting on her to learn and help him, even if he hadn’t said it she know it was like.

It could maybe be a good idea to take Alice offer and ask her to tell her when it was time to sleep. After all she couldn’t be this tired everyday.

The dinner passed by as silent as ever. Jack hadn’t said anything more to Ellen after the question about how the practice went. Was he disappointed at her slow process?

If that was the cause, then she really needed to prove herself. She now had a chance to come closer to him, so it would be a shame if she wasted it.

Just as she earlier had decide she asked Alice to come to the workshop and tell her when it was time to sleep. Until then she should start to practice with the tools Jack had bought her.

It felt like she just had started when Alice came in, both telling her that it was about to time to sleep and bringing her a clock to hang in the workshop.

The time had aggressively rushed by, leaving her with so much more that she wanted to try. But it as only for her to do the next day, just as disappointedly it was. The only remaining thing to do this day was to wash herself of and get some well deserved rest.

“So you have got tools to start some real practice now?”

Chris was smiling with his whole face. It seemed like he didn’t have much hope for her earlier, but it maybe was about to change soon. Ellen had got the time to buy another book from him this day, and felt even more motivated to learn and practice more cog and gear technically then before.

After the breakfast Jack had declared that he would come back later then usually, and it would go on like that until he said otherwise. So there would be no need for them to wait for him or even make dinner for him. It seemed that he had a lot of do at the work. Ellen got worried that there was a risk for him to overwork himself, so she had to help him as soon as possible. Therefore she needed to learn more about it, and all as fast she could.

“Yes. My father bought me them and is encouraging me to learn more. So I would like a book about the special kinds of gears, like them that gives heat or light.”

If she wanted to be useful she needed to learn about that special kind of gears. She barely knew anything about them, except from that the light giving gear gave of a kind of light and that the warmth generating gear gave of heat. So it could be a good point to start with that.

It didn’t take Chris long to find the book Ellen wished for. Even if his shop was messy, it seemed like he knew where he had everything.

“Here are the book you are searching for little miss.” He placed the book at the counter and gave her a gently smile.

Ellen paid for the book and wished she could stay longer, but according to Chris's clock it was about time to get home so she and the little “princess” could start cooking dinner. After a short thanks and bye, Ellen left for home.

At the way home she cursed her aching muscles, they had start to hurt by the time she woke up at the morning. It could be because her body wasn’t used to the weight if the cogs. Sure they wasn’t that heavy, but she could give it that it was heavier than the other things she normally did.

Hopefully the ach wouldn’t last long, this had been the first time she practiced it so it was probably something that only would be a pain for a couple of days or so.

Ellen sat in Jack's library and reads the new book. She could and probably should have practice instead, but had thought about it and decides that it was better if she balanced her study and practice. By doing that she could learn a bit more, hopefully.

Alice had asked Ellen after dinner if she should come over to the workshop and tell her when it was time to sleep, just like the day earlier. She even looked surprised that Ellen had decided to read the book in Jack's library instead. Of course Alice still was allowed to come and tell her when it was time to sleep. The time would most likely pass by as while she was practicing, so it was better to be safe than sorry.

She only got to read a little of what she wanted before Jack walked into the room. He looked more tired then usually, at least as Ellen had seen him.

“Welcome back home Jack.” She gave him her best smile. Jack only gave her a short murmur as response before walking over to the bookshelves, picking a book and taking a place in a armchair without saying anything further.

He really had to be exhausted by the work, if he didn’t even had the energy to really answer her. Ellen felt that she really needed to help him, he couldn’t go on like this far to long.

“Jack, what are you working with and how can I help you?”

She needed to know that, if she knew it she could easier help him. Or at least she could pay some extra energy to the parts of her studies that could be more useful.

Jack sat silent for a while, thinking before he spoke up. “I am creating crystals like the one you probably saw in the chemistry class while you was alive.”

Ellen know what kind of crystals he meant, she had seen pictures if it but never made any.

If she remembered correctly they should be easy to make, at least with the chemicals of the old world. But it wasn’t sure that they had the same chemicals here, so Jack really must be a smart person to do it anyway.

“How can I help you with gears if they are made by chemicals?” Was it even possible for her to do anything for him? Insecure started to crawl up her spine, she couldn’t think of anything that could help.

“A co-worker had thoughts about that a purifying gear maybe could make them more pure. So that is what I wishes my beloved daughter to find out.”

It sounded good, but it could have sound and been a lot better if he shouldn’t have gone back to the book while saying it. But at least she now know what needed to be done.

The only question that had strike Ellen from time to time was if Jack would pay for her work alone, or would his co-workers help him pay for her. They should do it, they was after all also make a profit if the crystals gets better and sells for a higher price.

----------------------------------------

Alice let out a silent sigh and looked at her beloved sister that seemed to be in some deep thoughts.

Jack must have said something to her again, maybe asking her for even more than he already had done. Sure Ellen had spending a lot of time thinking about what she learned and had been bursting out with some gently and happy energy. But this time it was different, it wasn’t that happy feeling about it. Instead it was an annoyingly serious feeling about it.

“Can you please do some cleaning while thinking?”

Ellen had stopped cleaning while diving into herself. That was really no problem itself, but it felt like it was indicating that she sooner or later would only just disappear. Leaving Alice alone, again. Now when they finally could spend some time together again.

She only wished her sister to be happy, but was it worth it if she all of sudden would be gone? Was it worth to let Ellen help their “beloved” father, it could easily push her over the edge. Alice knew it would be like that, yet she was so stupid that she followed Taija's advice to support and encourage Ellen studies. Just how stupid could she be?

The only thing that actually seemed to at Alice's side was that her lovely sister still tried to help her with the cleaning. But it was clear that it was bothering Ellen. Was it taking far to much time that Ellen would have wished to study instead? Would she hate Alice in the end because of it?

Alice hoped that Ellen would clear her mind during her trip to the marketplace, but it didn’t seemed to work as she had hoped. Ellen was still in her own thoughts.

Maybe it should be best to just send her to the workshop after the dinner, so she could work some thoughts of and maybe more of her usually self the next day. Even if it would enlarge the risk of Ellen's disappearance.

“I have done some thinking Alice.” Ellen began after they had finished the dinner. Alice felt really surprised, her sister had done some thinking. She could never have guessed...

“I need to study harder to be able to help father, So if it’s possible I would like to spend every second day to study.”

It didn’t sound like a far to bad idea, at least it was a lot better then if Ellen would have wished to spend everyday only to study. And if Alice wanted, she could easily cheat a little with the cleaning during those days. Not that it was a great risk she would do it, but she could.

“You mean that you wishes to only do the cleaning every second day, and leave the other days to me?” Alice noticed how mean it sounded first afterward. She didn’t mean it to sound like that and would just apologise when she noticed her sister was. Smiling?

“I thought a little about that to and I believe that we don’t need to clean every day. So why don’t you spend most of the day as you want? Except from that there’s still a need for you to make dinner, but I will make up for that somehow.”

Ellen had really thought things through. Much more than Alice first had thought.

It really did sound like a good idea, but what else should it be when it came from her smart sister.

Maybe she could spend the time in some way she wanted.