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Chapter Sixteen
Esmerelda
The girls sneaked out the school giggling and made their way down the hill to the small village at the bottom. It was a well known area as many students went there at weekends to get sweets or ice-cream.
"Can we get sprinkles?" Sybil asked jumping happily. Esmerelda smiled and nodded as they made their way through the door of the ice cream shop and sat down.
"Right Ethel Vanilla, Sybil chocolate or Vanilla?" Esmerelda asked. She knew Ethel only liked vanilla ice-cream, but Sybil liked Vanilla and Chocolate, just not Strawberry, Esmerelda herself was fussy with ice cream and only liked vanilla too.
"I want vanilla today, with sprinkles and sauce!" Sybil said licking her lips excited. Esmerelda stood up and went to order. She saw it was cheaper to get one large ice-ream and as they all like vanilla she thought they could get one of the knickerbocker glory's.
"Ethel can you get the spoons please?" Esmerelda asked her as they waited. Ethel stood up and went to grab some spoons, looking forward to her ice-cream.
The three girls gasped as the ice-cream served in a glass dish was brought to them. It was huge and definitely only something that could be eaten by multiple people. The girls tucked in straight away and Ethel sighed in contentment.
"That is so good" Ethel said as the taste of the vanilla, chocolate sauce and sprinkles hit her mouth. The girl loved ice-cream and it was a rare treat.
"Yes well you both did so well I had to treat you both, I can see how much hard work went into your performances" Esmerelda told her sisters, as she put some of the cold dessert into her mouth.
"I am so glad you got to see it, I thought, it is going to go wrong and everyone will hate me, but it didn't" Ethel said still unable to let that sink in.
"I always knew it would be alright, you two are doing so well, and getting on much better, normally you would be fighting by now" Esmerelda replied with a sad chuckle, that she had missed some of their personal growth and that they weren't fighting, she liked when they did it and hoped they still had the odd quarrel, it was her job to break up the silly fights, that was how things were.
"What are we going to do now though?" Sybil asked with a sigh, putting her spoon down.
"What do you mean Sybie?" Esmerelda asked confused, not understanding what her sister meant.
"About your...situation" Sybil said. She didn't want to mention her sisters absent powers because she knew everyone got touchy and upset when it was brought up, but the fact was after their ice-cream Esmerelda would be returning home, still without magic.
Esmerelda shrugged, she couldn't do anything to solve the issue she was facing, unless she took magic from somewhere illegally.
"I will just have to go home and start at a non-magical school like mum and dad keep going on about, there is no point in putting it off, unless Agatha gets released from the painting and decides she wants to be remorseful and give my magic back I won't be getting any back" Esmerelda replied, knowing by this point she just had to face facts, she was powerless, and none of the adults had thought of a solution.
"No….there must be a way" Ethel said, not wanting to give up yet. She didn't want Esmerelda to have to leave their world for the non-magical world because right now she would be just schooling as a non-magical pupil but Ethel knew the code like the back of her hand and knew after a certain time of someone not having magic, they can't remain in the world anymore, after all they can't study magic or follow magical traditions without powers.
"I have tried everything Ethel, I have read books upon books, there is nothing I can find about ways to restore magic, there only way I can think of is to get magic from a prisoner or someone on their death bed but mum and dad won't help me with that and if I do that myself I will have magic but then get arrested, so I still wont be able to enjoy my powers" Esmerelda replied with a sigh, knowing Ethel was trying to help but she knew as well as she did there was no legal solution that would not get Esmerelda arrested.
"Well...you can have my magic!" Ethel said seriously. She had perfomanced what she wanted to perform so now Esmerelda, who was innocent in all her games, deserved to rejoin their world, she didn't.
"Ethie no...we have spoken about this" Esmerelda replied, having spoken to Ethel before about this when she had offered to give her magic before, but Esmerelda would not do that, she knew how it felt to have no magic and it was horrible, her sister was already on the verge of depression, she didn't think making her more miserable would help, plus she just couldn't do that to Ethel, it would kill her.
"How about if Ethel and I both give you some of our powers" Sybil suggested, thinking Esmerelda might accept that deal, because then all three of them will have magic.
"No, I don't want either of you to give up your magic for me, I will be just fine" Esmerelda replied. The youngest two looked at each other, knowing deep down, she would never be fine, even if she pretended she was.
"I don't want you to go" Ethel said before she started to cry. She was such an idiot, and the guilt ate away at her constantly, why she had thought it was a good idea in the first place baffled hers, she did all that to have a special belt? It was a disgusting reason and nothing had changed, her parents were still cold, and she hadn't got the belt, but now everyone hated her, she had basically lost her sister and Agatha had being locked in a painting for eternity with her sisters magic.
"Ethie don't cry….it wasn't your fault" Esmerelda replied, knowing Ethel blaming herself was so unhealthy She wasn't going to deny Ethel had being partly responsible for what happened to her, but Ethel refused to blame anyone but herself, that was the part that got Esmerelda.
"It is my fault, everything is my fault, why could you not have just had Sybil as your sister? Life would be much easier" Ethel said, upset. She hated herself, she should be at Wormwoods Academy like Agatha, she was just as bad, if not worse than the woman.
"ETHEL" Esmerelda shouted causing some people in the shop to turn and look at her, she ignored them and turned back to her sister.
"Don't every say that again! Maybe our lives would be easier, but that doesn't mean they would be more enjoyable, I will love you always, both you and Sybil, I loved you when you were born and I still do, I am so glad to have both of you" Esmerelda replied, glaring at her little sister for ever thinking such a thing.
Ethel wiped her eyes and smiled slightly, glad that Esmie was such a good person, anyone else would of told her to take a hike.
"Don't cry Ethel" Sybil said hugging her sister before turning back to Esmerelda. "There must be something, there just must, maybe we should ask Grandma Josephine" Sybil suggested, thinking the woman might know a way she can get her magic back. She was the smartest woman any of them knew.
"NO! Sybil her health has being bad recently, that is why we never told her what happened, it will kill her you know that" Esmerelda replied. She didn't want their grandmother to make herself more sick because she was so upset and worried about her granddaughter. It had being best to hide it from her.
"We don't have much choice Esmerelda, with mum, dad and the teachers at Cackle being the only ones who can help you, you have no chance, our cats could do a better job" Ethel said bitterly. She had started to hate the teachers more, knowing they left her sister to suffer. Ada never took any responsibly for what happened, when if she had not kept forgiving Agatha and got her arrested and vanished to begin with like normal people would, Agatha would not of being free to take over Cackles, it angered Ethel so much that she never even acknowledged that fact, at least Ethel admitted it was down to her errors.
"Alright….maybe she can help...but if she can't…..let's just forget about it, I am not risking your lives or mine for this" Esmerelda replied, before picking up her spoon and sighing.
"Come on let's eat, its your favourite" she said not wanting it to go to waste. None of the sisters felt much like eating now but forced it down anyway.