A/N: I got the idea for this based on the episode Series 2 Episode 9 Miss Softbroom where Ethel saves Miss Doomstone from choking on the frog. Enjoy!
Chapter Twenty-Six
Summer went quickly, it was weird how time never seemed to past when you were at school but just flew by when you were on holiday. The sisters had a glorious few weeks together, they went to parks and museums and watched films together, they had all gotten in trouble for getting so muddy so they had to help the servants as way of punishment, but even that was fun.
"Oi!" Ethel said as Esmerelda flicked some flour at her. They were in the kitchen helping to make dough for bread or something, they hadn't really being listening so they were not sure and Esmerelda had just threw some flour at Ethel.
"That's it!" Ethel said preparing to throw some back at her but Ethel was young and had an awful aim so hit Sybil instead.
"Oops" Ethel said and Esmerelda laughed at her sister missing.
"Why are you laughing?" Ethel asked picking up some flour from her table and throwing it over her sister.
"HEY!" Esmie said as they all started to throw flour at one another, they were having so much fun, they knew their parents hated mess but it was so fun just to make a mess sometimes, they were having so much fun they didn't notice the chef walk in and he got pelted with flour from all directions as all three threw it at once.
"Oh uh" Esmerelda said as the man looked furious.
That was how the three girls ended up sitting in their front room, covered in flour with their parents scolding them.
"You know you girls should be grateful, there are some people in this world who can't afford to have the luxury of flour and you throw it around like it is free, we did not send you in the kitchen to play silly games" Triton Hallow told them as he paced back and forth.
The three blonde girls moved their heads back and forth like a yo yo as they watched him pacing, Esmerelda wished he would stay still, she was feeling dizzy watching him.
"You are not toddlers anymore, you ate the next generation of Hallows and you should be setting an example, we will not tolerate this childish behaviour" Ursulla told her children, not happy with them at the moment.
"All three of you will clean the kitchen from top to bottom until not a speck of dust appears on my finger and I don't want anymore silly games, do I make myself clear?" Triton asked them
"Yes dad" they all chimed knowing they had no choice.
"Good get to work" Ursula told them and they all rushed to the kitchen and were soon scrubbing the floors aggressively.
"It is not fair" Esmerelda said as she wiped the floor "Lily's parents don't stop her playing, we are not harming anyone" Esmerelda said thinking her parents were way to strict, they were children they wanted to play.
"I know, I can't wait until I go to Cackles so we never have to scrub floors again" Ethel told them glaring at the brush in her hand.
"My hand hurts" Sybil complained in response, her hand hurting from all the scrubbing she was doing.
"I'm hungry" Ethel complained, wanting to stop and go have something to wat.
"I know but if mum and dad find out we are slacking we will never leave this mansion again, let's just do a good job so we can enjoy the rest of our summer" Esmerelda commented and her sisters sighed but kept on with their cleaning.
Esmerelda wondered if it was even legal to allow your children to clean floors, but even if it wasn't because of the code it wouldn't make a difference, there was not a rule in there saying parents could abuse their children, but witches were not meant to get involved with other magical families business.
The girls cleaned for hours and hours, it was super late now, even if it didn't look it because it was light out and they were only half done. Poor Sybil as the youngest was nearly falling asleep on the table she was supposed to be cleaning.
"SYBIL WAKE UP" her mother shouted as she walked in to check on her children.
"What time is it?" Ethel moaned out, exhausted.
"Ten thirty, now we are off to bed, you lot carry on" Triton told his daughters.
"But dad can't we carry on tomorrow?" Esmerelda asked, her back aching badly from sitting on the floor so long.
"No you will work until we say you can stop" the man said before transferring away and the girls gasped.
Their parents wanted them to work through the night. They could not believe it but they knew they had to or they will never leave the kitchen again.
They worked like their parents wanted them too until in the morning they finally came to release them, when they said they could go the girls nearly collapsed on the floor but instead they made it to Esmerelda's bedroom and all fell on her bed, thinking they will never stop sleeping.
The girls must have slept for hours but when Esmerelda woke up her sisters were still sound asleep, she sneaked out of her bed to use the toilet, how could her parents work them like slaves? Esmerelda thought her body would never stop aching and things would only get worse.
A week later all three girls were forced to attend a dinner with their parents and their friends. Some of their friends brought their children and it was clear they didn't want to be here either. Why they were forced to go to these things was anyone's guess, all their parents did was talk and ignore the children so it was not like they had a need to be there. Esmerelda refrained from leaning her head on her hand, knowing she would get told of for such behaviour. She glanced at her sisters and saw that same bored look on their face.
"What well behaved children" one of the parents suddenly said to their hosts and the Hallow girls tried to smile gratefully.
"Yes they are good girls" Mrs Hallow told them, liking to show off about it.
Just as they said that dessert was brought out. The children for once looked happy to have a delicious piece of cheesecake to tuck into and they tried to copy the adults by all putting their food into their mouth at the same time. The children was not sure why it mattered if they ate at the same moment or not but it seemed to matter.
The sisters all lifted their forks to their mouths and put the glorious treat in their mouths happily however, Ethel took one bite of it, chewed for a few seconds and then coughed hard.
"Ethie are you okay?" Esmie asked her concerned.
"I can't breathe" Ethel replied before the coughing turned to choking. She clutched her throat clearly struggling to breathe properly. Esmerelda and Sybil looked at their sister horrified as the girl started to full on choke.
"ETHIE!?" Esmerelda shouted not caring who was looking at her or how loud she was being.
"Esmie I think this cheesecake is raspberry!" Sybil said as she ate some of the jam on the cake in front of her, tears already falling down her face.
"Oh no" Esmie said. She wanted to kill her parents for their stupidity, she told them time and time again NOT to give Ethel raspberry as she was highly allergic, it was clear what had happened, when the dessert had entered her mouth Ethel started to have symptoms of an allergic reaction and her airways started to constrict, meaning the food had got lodged in her throat.
Without thinking about it Esmerelda put her arms around Ethel from behind and started pushing on her chest, she knew how to help someone who was choking luckily. She made sure to put pressure on her sister's back, trying to dislodge the food.
Ethel spluttered for a few seconds, struggling for breath, before the piece of cheesecake flew out of her mouth and landed in the glass of one of the guests.
"We need to get her to the hospital, it is an allergic reaction!" Esmerelda said as her sister now fell onto the floor, her whole face and neck turning into a bright red rash, her breath still raspy sounding. She wasn't choking on food anymore but she still couldn't breathe.
Sybil ran over to her sister holding an epipen Ethel had been given years ago. The smallest girl had remembered when their grandmother had shown her and Esmie how to use it in case Ethel had a reaction, she had been fairly young but she had made sure to listen and learn how to use it. And now she ran over to Ethel and stuck it into her thigh before anyone else could move. When this was administered the symptoms from the reaction were meant to die down and the sufferer was meant to recover but today it didn't work, nothing appeared to change in Ethel and she kept choking, her skin slowly turning blue and that meant Ethel was in serious trouble.
"GET HELP" Esmerelda shouted as the reaction did not go down and if they were not quick time would run out and Ethel would die. That was how serious her allergy was if left untreated and why Esmerelda had always made sure everyone knew about the allergy. Their father looked like he was annoyed because Ethel chose now to have a reaction but knew questions would be asked if she died from it when it had happened with an audience, so he rushed forward, picked up his daughter of the floor and transferred them all to the hospital.