The news that Jalida is pregnant has made it socially messy here in Thrymheim. I thought the atmosphere was very tense when Haera moved in, and few people know she's pregnant with my child. But Jalida? Oooff!

  So I'm sitting alone in the workshop, testing the remote release for the village clock towers siren, when Jane comes to see me, and looks a little relieved when she close the door and sits down.

  "Ciara just wouldn't leave me alone since we left your bedroom! She even followed me to the bloody toilet, just so I knew she will be there for me. Robert, we were on their way to my room because I might as well sketch clothes for Ciara, when we bumped into Jalida heading for the toilet. Jalida's eyes widened in panic when she saw Ciara, and she ran off into the maids' bedroom, locking the door behind her. I just couldn't understand why, because neither of us were angry or said anything. Ciara had her usual neutral face. Anyway, we went to my room and I sketched. I realised afterwards that I've made another mistake, when I eventually asked Ciara why Jalida panicked, as Ciara calmly and with the same neutral friendly face told me that she have threatened to murder all the staff and crew, and that Jalida should be happy that she is carrying your child, but I could sleep calmly, because I'm just after Kari and with Caecilia and Alith. Fuuuck... It was hard to stay focused and sketching and thinking of designs, but I just couldn't ask Ciara any of the myriad of questions I had! I can still see Ciara's calm friendly face, that didn't give any expression or changed her tone, as she told me how she threatened to murder everyone in the staff and crew! Then Ciara, with the same calm and friendly face, went on to talk about how much she likes my art, the clothes, and the music we play, and how good I am for them, you and life here. And that I really should consider children."

  Yeah, I can imagine that, and frankly, I hardly think about how Ciara threatened everyone before I told her not to.

  "Robert, what did Ciara truly mean by that?"

  "You mean that you're just after Kari, and with Caecilia and Alith?"

  "Yeah."

  "You know how some people pretend to put you on a list as a threat if you've done something bad?" Jane nods. "Well, Ciara's list is pretty much the opposite, and you should feel good about being on her short list. Her list is in falling order of how ... safe someone is, especially when it comes to someone hurting me physically or mentally or making me sad, followed by similar for those on that list. I top her list, followed by Iselin, who Ciara see as the angel who saved her from the dreadful hell she was living, and is now my wife too and helping me with lots of things. Then comes Kari, followed by Caecilia, Alith and now you Jane, so you will have a high chance to survive if you really hurt or harm me, or the others. I'm glad that Caecilia has also qualified for Ciara's list, but her willingness to painfully mark herself to me while swearing an oath to the gods that she is mine in body and soul, probably has Ciara's respect. And Caecilia is my personal servant and courtesan."

  Jane hurriedly sits on my lap and hugs me, really hugs me, and with a distant stare, she whispers: "She would have slotted me!"

  , and with a distant stare, she I just confirm that Ciara is my cuddly fanatic, and even the bodyguards respect and have been weary of her, but Jane can rest easy because Ciara really likes her now, and she's on a very exclusive list. Jane becomes worked up again when she realise that she's been living with us for four months, but until today she didn't realise what Ciara is really like. Both how desperate Ciara is to always be in my life, and it is no joke that she wants to hear my heart beating and feel me breathing, and how she looks at others.

  Jane wants to know how she can secure her place on Ciara's list, and wants to know how Ciara view things and actions. So I tell her what I think Ciara is like, how she views women who want to have sex with me, her thing about niches etc and what she has done. I tell Jane to help Ciara find more things Ciara can do for me and us, especially niches that Ciara can make hers, and if she helps protect me or comforts me if I'm sad, Jane's spot on Ciara's list will become more secure. To ease my own heart, I tell her about Ciara's declaration that if there's even the slightest chance I might travel back to Midg?rd, she must come along, and that I don't like the idea of her committing suicide when I die. I still have a problem with that, and hope it she will eventually change her view on that.

  We decide to tell a selective version of how Jane spent the whole stag night watching to make sure no one tried to sneak in that I didn't want to have sex with etc, and how it hurt her soul to watch, and Jane who would have liked to be with me in the room, instead watched in the dark while she cried. And that I know how dedicated Jane is to me and that we love each other. Jane is worried, but agree, and I call for Ciara. Ciara gets a bright smile and is clearly happy to see Jane sitting on my lap as we hug. I tell her to close the door, and I make Ciara promise to not tell anyone, before I tell her the secret while Jane mostly avoids looking at her.

  Ciara again starts to cry and feels sorry for Jane, and hugs us both. She is grateful that Jane thought to do it, and disappointed in herself that she failed by not thinking about that. In the future, Ciara wants Jane to come to her with things like that so they can help each other, and Ciara is happy to have another ally who protects me and has my best interests at heart. Ciara is happy that Jane is in my life, and happy that I know how to appreciate her. I just hug them both, and also tell Ciara that Jane and I have an agreement to try to be completely honest with each other, even if there are things we don't like or that will hurt the other to hear and know.

  Ciara smilingly tell Jane that she is only after Iselin, and Jane breathes a small sigh of relief.

  I have too many projects.

  And I'm only gonna get more.

  And it is completely my fault and choice.

  Still, I know myself well enough that I couldn't just idle the days away while normal people and slaves work hard, and there is so much to improve and build-created, which will also mean I can get a more comfortable secure and interesting life. And the more I create-solve now, the more of my life will I be able to use it for. And it's hardly a really uncomfortable hard work to sit in my office and sketch or work in the workshop. The main issue is the writing tools, as I sketch and write a lot, but making the best possible writing tools and such, is part of the projects I'm working on.

  There is a knock on my office door, and Kari appears looking surprisingly cheerful. I happily put my work aside and open my arms for a hug, and Kari smile as she gracefully sit on my lap and we kiss as I tell her that I love her, and she smilingly replies with similar words and another kiss.

  "Robert, I - and most of the household - heard Elvira through the door of the maids' bedroom, as she scolded and shouted at Jalida for being selfish, stupid and greedy, and for not being thankful and appreciative for their work and life here, and their huge rise in social status. That Jalida doesn't deserve to have such a good master, wife and mistresses to serve, and it apparently wasn't enough that she was freed from slavery and given such a wonderful luxurious life here. How Jalida can even consider herself worthy to bear your child and become one of the mistresses, and how Jalida is a selfish bitch! It was magnificent! I wish I understood Elvira's native language, because Elvira switched to it to really let off, and in addition to pure roars of anger, Elvira seemed to be shouting insults in Jalida's language as well. It sounds like a good language to scold or shout at someone in! Oh! Jane recorded some of it on her mobile phone! I look forward to be able to hear it again. I just stood there in the hallway and enjoyed listening with the others. Elvira stormed out of the room, and wide eyed she realised that we were outside and had been listening, and very red faced Elvira excused herself about going down to the barns and quickly disappeared outside. Jalida's cheek was red and hurting as Elvira had slapped her! Hard!"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Kari is clearly enjoying the memory. I have to explain to Kari that, what Jane meant is that, although Elvira is an elf and Spain doesn't exist as a country here, Elvira still live up to the stereotype of fiery Spanish women. I can't help a random thought, that maybe there is something about the climate or the soil there too, like in Frigonia?

  The short winter day mean it's too dark to install the village clock tower mechanisms, so I switch to working on the somewhat ongoing project in making four 4-5 mm range precision dial indicators, and four 150 mm vernier scale calipers. Iselin is excited about these projects, of course, and Ciara is happy to join us when something needs to be done carefully and nicely, and I do enjoy working with them beside me. We are also working on a future press tool to make caliper parts, with a fine and accurate vernier scale that can be stamped out, and when it is possible to stamp parts out, it just takes a bit of fitting to make all similar with a similar precision. Mass-production and tools for that kind of work also makes it easier to put good scales on machines and have operators read them correctly, and spread good measuring tools to craftsmen. Beside a good meter stock and ruler, I need precision measuring tools like vernier calipers, dial indicators and micrometer screw gauges. And I need to spread a standard when it comes to tools, measurements and standard parts like screws, bolts, washers, bearings and such.

  Ciara likes working with brass as long as it is precise and pretty, preferably polished, and it doesn't seem to matter to her what it is, although she do like adding a bit of decoration if it is suitable. She likes to make parts for clocks, Norse keyers and other things, as she thinks it's like jewellery but with an important purpose, and she knows I value precision and exactness and thus she wants it to be so. Of course she understands why something like a vernier scale or markings on a slide ruler needs to be very exact. Her current metal working hobby project is to make engraved fancy nameplates and such, and Jane helped her with the design. Bodil's wooden signs are certainly nice, but Ciara will surely beat that.

  Iselin is mostly curious and wants to understand everything, and beside just wanting to make and have certain things, she likes to do crafts that are not traditionally for women, although she likes doing some of that too, and loves her loom. She loves the idea of the marble machine and kinetic art.

  Handicrafts of many kinds are simply a part of living in this world and what both women and men do here, especially in winter. It is their everyday life. There is no TV and hardly any books here, and the closest neighbour might be far away. Handicrafts is useful, make life more beautiful and can be sold for silver or exchanged for other things. Sitting together and working is often accompanied by singing or similar, although they all know I prefer working in silence, which Ciara do too, while Iselin loves listening to the MP3 player, but mainly when she is alone in her bedroom.

  Kari do like electrical work or radio stuff, because she wants to learn and know, but she isn't interested in actually working on something like calipers or a slide ruler. She just wants to understand and might use stuff like that. She is more likely to play a game like chess as they just talk or listening to music, or knitting or weaving. Right now, Kari, Haera and Caecilia knit, or whatever the local version it is called, on the second floor, while listening to music.

  Tonight will be my first of several upcoming movie nights. Tonight I'm going to see 'The Martian' with Iselin, and tomorrow 'John Wick' with Jane. Ciara and Caecilia will have their first movie night after that, again with 'The man from Earth' because it is most appropriate. Kari wants to see a movie too, but I don't have a really good one, but as she wants to see and know the same as Iselin it might be 'The Martian'. Then Iselin wants to see 'Atomic Blonde' too, so that movie might be with both of them. It's probably easier for Kari to take that one next.

  Iselin likes 'The Martian', although as expected there is a lot of pausing because I need to explain something to her, which happens often. She like Matt Damon's muscular body at first, but he has no beard and is less hairy than me, so she thinks I'm manlier. She knows I could grow a huge beard if I wanted to, because everyone knows how often Ciara needs to cut it and I have to shave. It feels good to hear my sexy young wife say that. She loves when she 'get' the hydrogen and how he is trying to reverse it to get water, and the explosion. She has recently experienced similar, and is pleased at how careful I was, and laugh at how the character protects himself. I didn't even think about the movie having that information about a catalyst. Which I sadly can't do though. Make a not of it for the future, sure.

  She really soaks it all up as I did tell her before we started seeing it, that most of it is very realistic, although I do point out some small errors like the thickness of Mars' atmosphere is only 1/100th of what we have here on Alfheimr/Earth, and that the spaceship have too big windows to be worth the risk, as there is no protection. But Iselin just loves it, and would love to see more of stuff like this. I'm again impressed how quickly she accepts everything no matter how amazing it should be. This is literally Sci-Fi and very few Elves will ever have realised space and what's out there, if anyone ever have. I should show her the Moon Machines documentary - I should probably have done that first now that I think about it - and the Nigel Stanford music videos I have like 'One Hundred Hunters' and 'Automatica'.

  Iselin loves the music, because it's good to dance to, but unfortunately I don't have much disco music on my tablet, although I do have 'Hot stuff' and 'Waterloo'. I can't help that it pains me how much Iselin would have liked to see and experience Midg?rd and its modern world, but knows that it won't happen. It's a wish I probably can't fulfil. And maybe I shouldn't fulfil it, even if it's actually possible.

  Before we go to sleep, we talk about Mars, and once again I explain what I know is the problem with life on Mars. We get into the problem of growing food. How nutrients have to be added, which Damon's character used the poo for, but it would be inappropriate with root vegetables even if he had no choice and it was freeze dried. It would be a better solution to grow food in water hydroponically, which Iselin finds hard to understand is possible, but is logical when she thinks about it. There is a lot of growth in lakes, and lakes can become so overgrown that it turn into marshes and bogs. Growing crops in nature is a whole other thing than hydroponic cultivation, which requires controlled nutrients and energy. There will probably be some experimentation with hydroponics in the greenhouse in the future, just because she wants to try. Kari and Ciara is likely to want to try it too. Iselin also really wants us to try to discover and bring back potatoes here, because although the leaves look like things you shouldn't eat, they are obviously edible in Midg?rd once cooked, fried or such, and she knows that both Jane and I miss potatoes.

  We continue talking about how there isn't much energy from the wind because the air is so thin. It just won't have the mass to push. It's also not easy to get energy from the sun as it's only about 40% of the sunlight that Alfheimr gets, which is one reason that the planets surface is so cold. It is also not possible to use heat from deep down in the ground, because Mars core is cold.

  Explaining geothermal heat leads down another rabbit hole, as I once again explain how hot it gets down in the ground the deeper you dig. Iselin has heard of volcanoes and dangerous 'glowing' molten rock. She is shocked that humans dig a couple of thousand meters deep and in huge tunnels for iron and other metals or precious stones. She gets how explosives and machines makes stuff like that possible, and how a mine can have tunnels as big as the short side of the house and go ten times the distance to Borgarsandr, all deep in the mountain, and a little about modern mining technology. The huge tunnel in the movie 'Mother of All Robberies' is not that big for humans, and understandable why they're built. She gets why certain rock is 'easy' and safe to tunnel to, while some are more like gravel and hard and not stable.

  The talk turns to the fact that Mars also seems to lack good isotopes for radioactivity. and nuclear reactions needs nuclear fuel sent from Earth. Another rabbit hole but I don't need to explain it very deeply, just that there is a type of rock that gets hot by itself and can give huge amounts of electricity, but it is very complicated and can be dangerous as those rocks radiation can cause nasty diseases.

  Talking about radiation leads me to mentioning that Mars' surface radiation being about 50 times more than here, and Iselin, who gets sunburnt every summer, understands you have to wear protective suits and live under many meters of earth and rock, so no windows on the houses there. The red soil has no water in it as it is totally dry, finely grained and swirls around and sticks to everywhere via static charge, pretty much like the finest flour, so keeping everything clean and the filters clean is difficult, and that the soil is toxic to breathe does not makes things easier.

  Before we fall asleep, Iselin have realised why humans have sent robots to Mars to figure things out and test things. She is also happy that life here on Alfheimr is so much nicer, but she looks forward to travelling across the ocean in the future, and seeing nature and wildlife she never imagined before. It won't be the first long exploration voyage, or even the second, but maybe in 5-10 years we'll be going on long sailing journeys to exotic places, if all goes well. Do I want to spend a month sailing one-way? Nope. Can I do it to give my partners an exotic holiday trip? Absolutely.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ky2rtCpbn7k

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAdqazixuRY