A/N: Takes place during the last episode when Ethel rescues her sister from the castle. Enjoy.
For The Love Of A Sister
"ESMERELDA" Ethel shouted as she ran up the stairs needing to rescue her sister as she was a trophy and could not physically leave the castle herself. Ethel ran into her bedroom and grabbed the trophy holding it gently as she ran into the corridor. The castle was collapsing but Ethel did not realise the other danger in there.
Ethel stopped running as suddenly there was a piercing loud alarm ringing in her ears she looked around but saw nothing and carried on running needing to get out with her sister, she could feel the castle was not shaking as much, Mildred must have thought of a way to save them. Ethel held onto the trophy trying to ignore the horrible ringing noise as she ran down the next corridor.
Down the next corridor Ethel suddenly noticed smoke and tried to hold her breathe not sure what it was exactly but it still seemed to be reaching her chest as she started to cough and it was only then that she noticed. The entire corridor she was in was on fire and it was fast spreading. Ethel turned around preparing to run back in the direction she had come, it would take longer but was safer but the fire had already spread and she was trapped.
The girl coughed more making sure to keep a hold of the trophy as she tried to find a way through the fire, the smoke was making her cough more and she tried again to hold her breathe trying not to inhale as much but it was not working at all. Ethel looked forward and saw fire all around her but she had no choice. She closed her eyes and ran.
She could feel the heat near to her skin but she tried not to think about it and just kept running through the fire but her coughing was getting worse and she was struggling to catch her breathe with how much smoke she had inhaled.
The girl could see the fire was not as bad down the next corridor and she knew the exit was near she was so close but she coughed and as she ran a piece of wood fell onto her arm and she screamed out as her flesh burned before she fainted the trophy rolling out of her arms in the process.
Suddenly Agatha's spell was broken and Esmerelda found herself returning to human form, but it was not the way she had imagined it. She sat up her head hurting and she could hear a funny noise and smell smoke and realised the whole place was on fire. Esmerelda stood up and flicked her fingers only then remembering she had no powers. It was only when she turned around to run that she noticed her sister. She gasped running towards her.
"Ethie,Ethie wake up" Esmerelda said shaking her sister who was unconscious. She could see the girls arm was red and peeling but the girl did not stir and Esmerelda knew she could not leave her there. The teenager lifted her sister and ran knowing they both had to get out, they had come so far they could not give up now.
Outside the castle Esmerelda could hear cheering and she finally felt the fresh air on her face as she made it outside her sister in her arms. She fell still holding her sister coughing which alerted the teachers who rushed over.
"Esmerelda...Ethel!" Ada said. With all the craziness no-one had noticed the two girls were missing yet.
"I will take them to hospital" Hecate said transferring the sisters with Ada and suddenly doctors were rushing about.
"Why don't we get you seen too dear?" a nurse told Esmerelda gently. It was true she was not injured but she needed to be checked to see if she had inhaled any smoke.
"No...you have to help Ethie first" she said knowing her sister was in a much worse state than she was.
"Your sister is getting the help she needs dear" Ada reassured her pupil as doctors worked on Ethel. As soon as they arrived doctors had rushed the younger girl away to another room and were working on her.
"Please help Ethie" Esmerelda said just wanting her sister to be okay.
"Ethel will be alright, we need to help you too" a nurse says leading the girl away to check her over. Ada who was not allowed in the room with Ethel went with Esmerelda.
"Miss she was trying to rescue me...you have to make sure they look after her probably" Esmerelda told her headmistress still panicking about her sister.
"She is in good hands dear try not to worry" Ada replied trying to calm her pupil down.
Later on Ethel woke up her chest feeling tight and saw Esmie sat by her bedside waiting for her. The girl beamed as she saw her awake.
"Ethie" Esmerelda said beaming so happy her sister was awake.
"What happened?" Ethel asked her memory really fuzzy.
"Cackle's was on fire, you got trapped trying to rescue me" Esmerelda told her grabbing her hand and rubbing it.
Ethel hissed in pain her burned arm throbbing now that she could feel it and moved to sit up.
"Careful...your arm got burned not terribly but it will be sore for a while they said you might need skin grafts" Esmerelda told her sister sadly. She never wanted her sister to get hurt trying to rescue her.
"Oh well...I suppose I deserve it for being such a brat" Ethel told her sister. She knew she had gone way to far this time, what with letting Agatha and Gullet into the school and causing her sister to lose her powers.
"You made a mistake" Esmerelda replied defending her sister.
"There is mistakes and then there is plain evilness...I am sorry Esmie I got the idea into my head with you not as a witch mum and dad would notice me...they still didn't flaming notice anyway" Ethel replied as she noticed they had not even bothered to show up even after they would have found out she rescued their precious elder child.
"Ethel...I forgive you" Esmerelda told her sister stroking a strand of hair away from her face.
"Why?" I don't deserve it, why do you never get mad at me and yell at me? Why are you still being nice, I tricked you into giving Agatha your powers!" Ethel replied not understanding how Esmerelda was not angry about it. She really wondered how her sister's mind worked sometimes.
"What you did was awful yes but I am your sister and we can't break our relationship that easy...plus I realise you must have been hurting a lot to go that far" Esmerelda told her sister. Ethel suddenly burst into tears.
"Esmie...I want mum and dad to love me...why don't they love me?" Ethel asked as she cried. Esmie put her arm around her sister letting her cry.
"Ethel...I don't know why mum and dad treat you the way you do...but what I do know is...maybe it is time for you to give up trying as much for their attention, if they bother with you great if they don't...well it's their lost isn't it?" Esmerelda told her sister.
"But I need them..." Ethel replied through her sobs.
Esmerelda laughed slightly before replying "No you don't...you have done everything yourself for the last twelve years why change now?" Esmerelda asked her.
Ethel had never thought about that before, all her life she looked after herself to get where she wanted or Esmie looked after her, her parents were never involved in anything when it came to her. Putting food on the table was not the same thing, they had no choice but to do that.
"You might not have mum and dad but you have me, you stick by me because they don't love you but I do" Esmerelda told her little sister.
Ethel smiled to herself and threw herself at her sister hugging her in that moment knowing her sister was right, it was not worth it, her parents had to come to her and they might never do, but right now the girl had someone who loved her and that was good enough.