Alice was crying, crying her tears out. She couldn’t understand why, but she wanted to know why.

She was still not holding any emotions, yet she did cry like that.

“Ellen, why am I crying?”

As if Ellen would know. If there was anyone that would now, it was herself. And only herself.

“I don’t know, has it happened anything Alice?”

Had it happened anything? She had been worried about things, thoughts had been bothering her. But it couldn’t be this bad, there was at least no of the thought that she could remember for the moment.

Had anything happened when Lilly dragged her along to the bar? Had it been anything that happened together with Lapin that made her this sad? There was no chance she could know. Alice herself didn’t know.

“Miss Alice, is there somethin’ wrong. Do you want me to go and get Miss Lillium?”

“There is no need for you to do that.” Not only would it be a pain if anyone else saw her clinging to her sister like an overgrown crying baby. And there was also nothing that Lilly could do to help her. Whatever the reason for her crying like that was, so wasn’t it physical.

“How about we let little Alice sleep, so can she and her sister talk about it tomorrow when she’s sober. Or they can talk about it until they fall asleep.” For once, it sounded like Jill had a good idea. That woman might only be bad because of her bad habits.

Ellen helped Alice undress and getting to bed.

“Ellen. Am I a bother to you?” Alice noticed herself that she did sound strangely weak as she spoke and hold her beloved sisters hand in a firm grip.

“No, I don’t find you as a bother.” Ellen gave her a tight hug. That would mean that Ellen didn’t lie, right. Her beloved sister wouldn’t lie to her, she couldn’t lie to her right?

But wouldn’t that mean that Alice shouldn’t lie to her beloved sister?

“Ellen, will you be angry at me?” She shouldn’t lie to her beloved sister.

“I don’t know if I don’t know what it’s about.”

“I have been lying when I said that I was fine after the incident. I don’t feel any emotions, and has only been faking it since it happened.” Alice hugged her tighter. She was a good sister telling her the truth, right? Ellen couldn’t be mad at her when she did the right thing.

Wrong. Ellen was angry at her for not telling the truth earlier. But it couldn’t matter that much for Ellen, she was still by her side. Sure she maybe should have told her earlier, but it could still not be that bad. At least Ellen wasn’t angry for so long, but she wanted to talk more about it at another moment. And as the wonderful sister she was, she didn’t leave Alice’s side for even a second.

Stressed Alice looked around herself, nothing but a black void. Ellen wasn’t there. Not her, not anyone else in the house or anyone at all.

“Are you back to make me suffer again?” The voice came from a shadow-like creature, slightly visible in the void. Yet Alice recognised the figure. She was one of the most important persons that had supported her when Ellen had died and Jack been arrested. She had been a reason for Alice to live on for a while longer.

“Are you ignoring me again?”

Alice did never ignore her. She tried to tell her, but there were no words that rolled over her lips.

“Don’t you know that she did only use you?” There was another one behind her. No, there was many of them. Surrounding her.

Alice would never use anyone. She has never been meaning to use anyone, it hasn’t been anything she wished for even once.

“At the very least you did us the favour and killed herself.” There was still no words that left her mouth as she wanted to protest. Sure she had been happy to finally meet her beloved sister again, but there was still no good that she had taken her own life.

“Using people, only thinking about yourself. That’s the “small princess” that we all are despising.”

She wanted to scream at them when they all agreed. That was not how she was, she was not only thinking about herself.

They faded away, leaving Alice scared with their words. Their false and disgusting words. Pure lies, it was all pure lies. That wasn’t at all how Alice was.

“They didn’t tell the truth, right Alice?” Sain, She was there. And questioned if their words were true? Hadn’t she shown the opposite during the time they worked together?

“How can you question that when you know the truth?!” Is what she wanted to say, but… She did scream?

Alice’s voice had come back, just when she tried her hardest to force it out. Making her scream at Sain instead of asking her in a normal tone.

Sain took a couple of steps back, looking terrified at Alice. “So that is the kind of person you are, I didn’t know.”

It was a misunderstanding. Sain had misunderstood her, she wasn’t like that at all. She was a kind and good person, and not bad like the other before. But before Alice got the chance to explain anything so had Sain faded into the void. Why did that happen to her?

“So that is the true colours of our little Alice.”

Please, not that woman now. Really not now. It wasn’t only Jill that had joined her in the horrible void. It was also Chris, Lilly and Lapin.

“Nothing those people said was true, right miss Alice?”

“They all agreed to it and she screamed at the fox for question her. I would guess that is the true face of her.” Jill answered Lapin’s question with a serious voice.

“Little cat, watch out so “that evil princess” ain’t using you.”

“I would never try to use any of you.” Couldn’t Jill just zip it instead of pushing Alice downward?

“So you are not using Lapin to work behind the counter to save some small coins instead of hiring a real worker?” Why was even Lilly against her? She out of everyone would know that Lapin was allowed to work because she wanted to do it, and also because she couldn’t pay for the treatment. But that had been her own idea.

“Miss Alice can’t use me in a bad way for that. She saved me and I am offering her my heart and body.”

“Then we will remember that the day she results in your death.”

How could Lilly even say something like that? And how could Chris that had been silent all the time come up with such absurd comment? It was all absurd, nothing was like it should be. Something was wrong, really wrong.

“Alice, do you remember me?”

Taija? Taija was behind her. And of course she remembered her, not only because of all she had done for both Alice and Ellen. But she had also supported Alice when she had a hard time to swallow that Ellen started studying to become a cog technician.

“Do you still remember me if you don’t see me?” She covered Alice’s eyes.

“Of course I still remember you.” Why would she forget Taija when she didn’t saw her?

“Please do remember me. Please.” Taija moved her hands so Alice could see again. Giving her a bitter smile before slowly fading away.

Ellen felt horribly tired. It was the first time ever she had slept that unregulated. Time after time had she woke up after dreaming bad dreams about how what she had created hurt her sister. She had become relieved when she saw her sister beside her in the bed, peacefully sleeping. Which had allowed her to fall asleep again, but the same pattern had repeated itself again.

“You look horrible sister.” Jill was sitting in the kitchen and really knew how to charm another girl.

No, she wasn’t allowed to greet her good morning with the fist.

“Yes, I am kind of tired.” Ellen went straight to the coffee and poured up a cup. She needed it to wake up some more after the horrible night.

“Was you too worried about your sister to be able to sleep as you should?”

“No. It was some bad dreams that messed with my sleep. Which of course can be because it was the first time Alice had been THAT intoxicated.” It could have been a reason that she had that many bad dreams, but it would be a bother to tell Jill about it.

Ellen took a sip of her coffee before realising that Lapin wasn’t there, yet she had been staying there for the night. According to Jill so had Lapin left when they got up, after a wonderful night together. Which off Ellen didn’t take the “wonderful night together” part seriously. It was after all no chance she could take Jill’s word literary. Not that Ellen could care less if anything happened between them. It would be only their problem, unless it wouldn’t turn out that Jill had forced it upon poor Lapin. Then it most probably would be a greater problem for her.

Their conversation as usually turned in to a lot of shit chatting about everyday things.

The talk got interrupted first when it got closer to afternoon, by Alice that finally had woke up.

“How are you feeling Alice?”

No answer. Either she didn’t hear or she was ignoring her older sister. Walking over and getting a glass, filling it. And drinking it just as fast.

“I am feeling better now Ellen. Thanks for taking care of me last evening.”

Ellen still didn’t know why Alice acted as she did last evening, but it could be that the alcohol got the better of her. Just like Jill said. Which it had to be, it couldn’t be that she became emotionally unstable. At least if it was true as she said the last night, that she doesn’t feel emotions anymore.

“By the way, how does it goes with the extract?”

Of course it was the first thing that Alice had to think about. Wouldn’t it had better if she had been worried about herself to start with. Or was she an idiot that first of all thought with the wallet?

“We have succeeded to get an extract that is strong, it’s only half the amount as the other that is needed.”

Ellen still didn’t like the idea of that they produced it, but hopefully the doctors would hold tight to it as Jill and Chris said.

“Do we have enough to both send to a doctor and use to take a patent at it?”

“We should have enough, I will also give you information about how to contact a supplier. So you can get more of the plant until you can grow it yourself.”'

May the contact not be a shady person. Alice doesn’t need to get involved with anything bad more than necessary.

Alice had got what she needed and used her free day to take patent at it and everything else she would.

Ellen and Jill were still sitting in Chris’s house, but they had moved into the living room.

“Do you think that extract will lead to anything good?”

The worried wouldn’t let go of Ellen. Had she been a part of something that would ruin the life for thousands of people? Sure what she had been a part of creating was meant to be medication, so it was very different those crystals. The extract was only created to help others, while the crystals were simply made to earn money and making people addicted to it.

“I think so. At least it isn’t the same as those crystals.”

Ellen couldn’t deny that. Sure both could most probably be abused, but the extra t wasn’t meant to circulate at the street.

“The extract is more relaxing, and if it comes out at the street so won’t the addicted make a fuzz before they fall.”

Ellen looked surprised at Jill. Did she just try to paint up a picture if that the addicted would be calmer before they “fall”? Like it was a good thing?

“Can you please tell me what you mean.” She really must have misunderstood what Jill wanted to have said. Jill was a good person so there must have been a misunderstanding.

“I mean. If anyone gets addicted to it, so will they not make a fuzz like those that are addicted to crystals does.”

She hadn’t misunderstood anything. Jill had really expressed it that way, as if she held a grudge toward mankind. Even though she was one herself.

“Don`t look so surprised sister. I think even you know the world is filled with idiots. And I have been visiting places where they have been able to live a normal life even if they were addicted to something similar.”

Ellen couldn’t deny that the world was filled with idiots, but found it hard that Jill had found a place like that.

“How can they live a normal life while addicted?”

Jill didn’t know really how the community was built to succeed with something like that, but would to try finding that out next time she was there. Which easily could be anytime she was close by.

The conversation leads into that Jill told small stories of lands and cities she had visited. Answering all question that Ellen had, which of those she didn’t know she still tried to answer as good she could.

“Of course I will see if I can find the answers at some more questions while at my next travel.”

“So, when will you travel next time Jill?”

“I will be leaving tomorrow.”

Couldn’t she have told Ellen that a little earlier? Tomorrow was far to soon, she could have given her a few days to swallow that Jill was leaving. There was so much that she wanted to know about Jill’s journeys.

“Don’t look so sad, I promise you that I will be back with new stories and knowledge.”

Even with a promise like that so was it still too soon.

Alice joined and listened to Jill’s stories when she came back after her tasks. She didn’t seem to mind the fact that Jill would be leaving. But what else could be expected from a “princess” like her? Never cares about anything else than only what she finds interesting herself.

Ellen sat alone in Chris’s workshop.

She had never wished more that Chris would have got a job to her, but she hadn’t been that lucky.

Ellen had got up earlier than usual that day to say bye to Jill before she began her journey, but it turned out that she had left during the night instead of the morning. Didn’t she want to meet Ellen before the journey?

Walking over to the machine she changed the box containing the extract. Had it always been this deserted in the house while Chris and Alice had left? In that case, it hadn’t been anything that she ever had reacted to earlier.

Alice looked out the window.

How was Ellen doing? It had been two days since “that woman” left, and Ellen had seemed to be down then. Had Jill really grown that close to her sister during the time they had been living there? Sure they had spent much time together in the house. But did Ellen really needed to miss the woman that gave her a lot of bad habits? “That woman” had almost acted like if she wanted to destroy her beloved sister, so she wasn’t good for Ellen.

“Are you thinkin’ on somethin’ miss Alice?” Lapin had walked up to her without her noticing and surprised her.

“I am only thinking a little about my sister.”

“It hasn’t happened your sister anythin’, right?”

Alice explained that Jill had left and that Ellen now was sitting at home, all alone. Leaving out the fact that Ellen seemed to be down. Just as Ellen hadn’t told anyone about the secret that Alice didn’t felt any emotions.

“If it is that you are worried your sister will get lonely and bored, wouldn’t it be enough to buy her some books?” It was a really good thought by Lapin. Really innocent and cute, but it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy Ellen.

“Then why don’t you create some good work for Ellen?”

Create some good work for her? How would she be able to do that, and what kind of work should that have been. The only work she really had created for her sister was to build the machine that pulled the extract now called HM out of the plants. And she had no more ideas like that.

“I mean, if you want to move, why don’t you buy a house that Ellen can install some gears in?” Lilly must have seen how lost Alice was after the first comment and decided to join in. The idea didn’t sound like a bad idea. Even if the biggest problem in Chris’s house had been solved, so couldn’t they live there forever.

“That sounds good, but I don’t know if we have to money to buy a house.”

That was the only problem that could set a halt to the idea. Alice didn’t know how much they had in the bank. Sure she had been there and deposited money from time to time, but she couldn’t remember the balance.

“Isn`t it only to go over there then and ask before you look at houses.”

“Of course I will follow you there and help you find a good house.” Lilly was a too kind person, it wasn’t the first and most certainly not the last time she helped Alice.

Both Alice and Lilly had a spot in the middle of the day when no one of them had any patients. So they would use that time to do the buying. Lapin offered herself to stay at the clinic so they didn’t need to lock, and so could she help visitors to book a time.

There had been many patients lately, and there had been three doctors that had left orders at HM, so there should be some money she could use.

Alice sent out her last patient for the moment. Lilly was still at her office with her patient, so it was only for Alice to wait.

Lapin Eyed though the calendar, almost as if she searched for something.

“Searching for something Lapin?” The cat threw the book close and look worried at Alice.

“No. Not really…” She didn’t seem to be honest, so Alice had to pressure her a little bit to make sure that she wasn’t up for anything bad. Not that Alice suspected her for anything, but better sure than sorry.

Slightly ashamed Lapin spills out that she still problem with some words, so she was searching for words she didn’t know and might need to ask about.

“I am glad that you are trying your best at the work.” Alice tried to praise her, but she was trying to push it away by telling that it was the least she could do after Alice had helped her kicking the addiction. Yet it seemed like some of the praise reached through to her. Little Lapin was blushing while trying to sound very serious.

Which reminded Alice of how Lapin had reacted the first time she got paid. She had first been thinking that it was a simple joke, trying to give back the money. But then Alice gave her the money and said it was payment for the work she had done, the poor girl had been so nervous that it had looked like she would collapse. Shaking and stuttering she had thanked for everything, now believing that they paid her to leave. It took much explanation to get everything straight, and in the end so had she been blushing and thanked as if she had got an important gift from her beloved one.

“Do you still enjoy your work here?” It was a question that needed to be asked. Even if she couldn’t everything so was she learning quick and worked hard. So Alice would like to keep there as long she possibly could.

It had been a strange day. It all started with that Alice had been thinking about her beloved sister. Then after that so had everything been flowing like water. Some good talk and some evidence that Lapin still tried to get better at her task. The bank and finding out how much her balance was. Reading about houses and look at some pictures of them. Finding a house that they dared to call “more-or-less-ran-down” that Alice had fallen for, that also turned out to be their old house. That house wasn’t run down, it could happen that it wasn’t as beautiful like the other houses at the street. But it was nothing wrong with it.

Alice tightened her grip around the key and document that proved they had bought the house. But it could have been a mistake to buy it. Jack could easily come back now and ruin the life of her beloved sister. May it not happen, Ellen didn’t need that. By all sake, may it not happen.

Ellen had been out in the city to try to find information about something “new”.

Someone had created a car driven by gears, or automobile as they wished to call it. She had asked some other cog technicians that she had got to know through Chris and Sour, but no one of them did know anything about this “new” thing.

Instead of running around like a curious cat so had Ellen decided to go back to Chris’s workshop to draw some ideas of how it could work. Not that she found far too many flaws with her own ideas for it to ever work. But it only made the challenge greater.

Alice had first acted that she had been interested in what Ellen was doing, but had then handed out a document and a key at the table. Telling her that it was to their old house, which needed to get some gears installed. A task she found Ellen fit for.

“So that is how it’s, we will move out when I have fixed the house.”

Of course they needed to tell Chris about it, it was after all his house his house that they would leave. Not a second too late, they had already been bothering him far too much during the time they had lived there.

“So it will be time for you to leave then?” Chris didn’t seem to enjoy that he would get the house for himself. But of course Ellen couldn’t blame him, it could be a similar feeling to hers when Jill left. So she could somehow feel his pain. Not that it somehow would change their decision.

“Yes, we will move out when I have installed and fixed everything in the house.”

Ellen would finally be able to get her very own workshop, which wouldn’t be so well equipped as the one in the mansion. But it would be her own.

“Then I expect there to be a small celebration when you move in there.”

That was the spirit. Of course they would celebrate when they were moving in, even if it was their house to begin with.

Ellen entered the house the very next day. A thick layer of dust told a story of how abandoned the house had been since the day they were thrown out. And every room sang a song of how happy she had been with Jack there. She would have loved to look over what needed to be done so she and Jack could have moved in together. Not that she hated to move in with Alice, but it would have been so much better if the had been the man of her love.

Even if the house wasn’t the most beautiful house on the street, so must it still have cost much. Which meant that Alice must earn kind of much money. She had even money to put out for everything they would need to buy. Maybe “the princess” was earning enough to survive herself in the house. Ellen wouldn’t mind living there from time to time, but it was tempting to get out at journeys as Jill did.

See lands that she otherwise never would have got the possibility to see, getting a hold on some knowledge that she otherwise wouldn’t even know about. Maybe even find Jack in an exotic land and fall in love all over again.

Ellen violently shook her head. Even if it made her feel better so wasn’t it time to daydream now. She needed to do what needed to be done. Alice would come to the house after she had finished her work and give her opinions on what needed to be done in the house. First that, then moving in. And first after those two steps were done so could Ellen start to plan her own next steps.

A journey or a hunt for her beloved, it would come. It would come sometime after moving into this house, and not earlier.