A/N: Hello everyone welcome to a new story. This story is based on the storyline of one of my favorite films 'A Little Princess', I watched it recently and could not get this idea out of my head. The story will be similar but will not have characters from the film only The Worst Witch. Sorry if this one is a really sad one. Warning: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. I do NOT own The Worst Witch or the WW characters.
Living Without Ethie
Chapter One
It was mid-afternoon on a warm August day and people were out enjoying their summer holidays. Two such people were two girls. Two strangers. One of the girls had earphones in her ears and moved her head to the music as she made her way across a bridge. From the other direction another girl was making her way across the bridge too, this girl had her nose buried in a book as she walked. Neither girl realised at the time how fate was going to change everything in just a few seconds.
Both girls were crossing each other in the middle of the bridge when suddenly the old wooden bridge gave way and the two girls found themselves falling fast down into the raging river below. The two girls screamed but there was no-one around. It was a quiet area away from everyone and everything.
Both the girls hit the water and seeing that they luckily had landed quite near to a shore one of the girls started to swim to safety until she heard a scream.
"Help...I can't swim" the other girl shouted moving her arms from side to side but not actually getting anywhere. The girl who had been swimming away turned around she could not just leave her there.
The water was getting deeper and the girl who could not swim found herself going under the water. The other girl saw what had happened and went underwater holding her breathe but after a few seconds she came back up unable to find the girl, she did not want to give up so went under again but still could not find her. Coming back up the girl looked around and seeing that there was no-one around she quickly lifted her hand casting a spell. This was normally something she would never do in public but right now it was the only choice she had. The spell made it so the girl could see under the water and she saw the girl she was looking for floating a little further away from her and swam towards her as fast as she could going under the water when she was near enough to the girl.
The girl swam down grabbing a hold of the other girl's arm who was slowly floating down and swimming back above the water. The girl swam fast holding onto the girl putting her head back under the water whenever she could to make sure she was still holding onto the girl. Finally reaching shore the girl pulled the unconscious girl who could not swim onto the ground.
After she had gotten the other girl out of the water the girl who had rescued her started coughing, her chest feeling tight from the water that had entered her system in her attempt to rescue the other girl. The girl coughed struggling to catch her breathe before falling next to the other girl in a dead faint.
A few miles away in a beautiful four story mansion lived the Hallow family which consisted of Mr and Mrs Hallow and their three daughters. Esmeralda, Ethel and Sybil. Despite it being a lovely day the family was staying in because Mr and Mrs Hallow had to work later.
Currently Mr and Mrs Hallow were sat on the sofa with their youngest Sybil all talking happily to each other. Their middle daughter, Ethel, had gone out to the library that morning as she did most mornings as she wanted to avoid her family. The eldest daughter, Esmeralda was sat at the dining table near her parents and younger sister doing homework but she was fidgeting ever few seconds.
"Esmeralda, sit still" her mother told her seeing her moving around.
"Yes do what your mother says you are making me feel dizzy" her father commented agreeing with his wife.
"I can't help it" Esmeralda replied fidgeting some more.
It was quite unlike the girl to fidget, normally she could sit for hours and not fidget once but today she could not stay still no matter how hard she tried and she could not concentrate on her work either, she had been working for twenty minutes and had wrote two sentences. She was not with it today and she told herself maybe it was the summer heat.
Just then the doorbell rang and no-one realised how that simple thing would change their lives forever.
No-one got up to answer the door. The family were after all rich and had people to answer the door for them. No-one therefore thought much of it and let the doorman answer the door.
The family were all relaxing and doing their own thing when the main butler, Sebastian, walked into the room looking very serious.
"Mr and Mrs Hallow the police are here" Sebastian told them. At these words there was a big reaction. Mr and Mrs Hallow looked up at him, Sybil looked around confused and Esmeralda looked up from her essay her pen still in her hand.
"Whatever are they here for?" Mrs Hallow asked her butler.
"I am sorry ma'am they would not tell me but they said they need to talk to you right away" Sebastian replied.
"Alright let's get this over with, send them in Sebastian" Mr Hallow replied just wanting this over with.
"Yes of course sir" the man said with a polite bow before leaving. Mrs Hallow tapped Sybil on the arm.
"Upstairs sweetie" she told her youngest knowing it was not sutiable for her to be there.
"But I want to know what they have to say" Sybil replied wanting to stay as after all this had never happened before.
"Now Sybil" her father said in a tone meaning it was not up for discussion. Sybil stood up and ran upstairs and it seemed Mr and Mrs Hallow had forgotten their eldest was sat at the dining table because they did not tell her to go or look at her.
Two policemen walked into the room and suddenly Esmeralda started to feel sick. She had no idea why but she just knew in that moment they were going to deliver bad news.
"Mr and Mrs Hallow I am PC Williams and this is my partner PC Kennedy" one of the men said. Both appeared to be in their mid forties and maybe Esmeralda was dreaming...did they look unhappy?
Esmeralda put down her pencil and stood up moving to stand in the doorway so she could listen to what the men had to say undetected by either her parents or the officers. Every fibre of her being was telling her to leave because what she was about to hear was not good but she found herself glued to the spot unable to move.
"Please take a seat" Mrs Hallow said. The two men sat on the sofa opposite Mr and Mrs Hallow looking solemn.
"Mr and Mrs Hallow we are here to talk to you about Ethel" PC Williams started getting to the point as to why they were there.
"Oh no what has she done?" Mr Hallow asked thinking his daughter had gotten into trouble with the police as after all the girl was prone to trouble and why else would they want to talk about Ethel?
"Nothing Mr Hallow I am afraid I have some very bad news" the officer started to say to them. Esmeralda stood there her breathe already catching thinking her sister was hurt. Neither of her parents replied to the officers last comment so the men continued to talk.
"I am sorry to have to tell you that there was an accident this morning, the bridge up Weatherwhite Bay collapsed" PC Kennedy said who up to this point had not spoken.
"Weatherwhite Bay?" Mr Hallow asked narrowing his eyebrows.
"Yes you must know it, it is only a few miles from here" PC Kennedy replied surprised he did not know where it was he was talking about.
"Yes well we don't really go out much because we have work" Mrs Hallow told them explaining why they did not know the area. Esmeralda knew it though she had walked through there thousands of times as had both of her sisters.
"Yes well it does not really matter if you know the bridge or not the point is that it collapsed" PC Williams replied not seeing how it mattered if they knew the place or not.
"So what does this have to do with Ethel?" Mrs Hallow asked not understanding where they were going with this.
"Mr and Mrs Hallow the is a river underneath the bridge and I am afraid your daughter fell in along with another young girl" the policemen went on explaining.
Neither of them had noticed Esmeralda, if they had maybe they would have stopped talking because the girl had turned pale as Kennedy had spoken, her breathe getting fast willing the man to tell them her baby sister was in hospital. She needed to hear them words. She could deal with them words.
"This afternoon a man was going to go fishing at the dock and I am so sorry to have to be the one to tell you that he found both your daughter and another girl on the shore" one of the men said. Clearly he was trying to put of telling these parents about the worse part. He looked at his partner who sighed before he started to talk.
"Mr and Mrs Hallow what we are trying to tell you is ...your daughter drowned...I am afraid that Ethel has passed away" PC Williams said finally breaking the news to the family. Finally giving the life changing news to the family.