Ester Harding

Ester Harding
Biographical information
Status	Alive
Gender	Female
Family	Cyrus Harding (ancestor)
Affiliation	Harding-Pencroft Academy
Physical description
Species	Human
Hair	Blond
Eye	Blue
Behind the scenes
Appearances	Daughter of the Deep

“	I WANT TO REBUILD HARDING-PENCROFT!	”
–Ester Harding, in Daughter of the Deep

Ester Harding is the descendant of Cyrus Harding, a founder of Harding-Pencroft Academy. She is in House Orca. She is one of Ana Dakkar's best friends. She also has an emotional support dog named Top.

History

Ester Harding was born to the Harding family. Once when she was six and her aunt died, she was brought and raised in the HP academy. She lacked a living family. Instead, throughout Ester's early life she was monitored by the school's council of lawyers, who were more interested in testing her abilities and nurturing her family's wealth. They inspected her for any sign of mistake and maintained tight control over her inheritance.

The fall before the book took place, Ester was briefed by the school's board of trustees. They revealed to her about the school's hidden history - which included Ana's family and their well-protected alt-tech. During this time, Ester was forced by the trustees to sign papers and promise to keep what she learned a secret.

Appearance

Ester is described by Ana to have not changed much since she was little, with pinchable plump cheeks, wide blue eyes, and a startled expression. Her blonde hair is frizzy and seemingly blown in three different directions. She is first seen wearing a blue House Orca T-shirt and flower-patterned shorts over a one-piece swimsuit.

Personality

Ester is a smart and bookish girl. As a member of House Orca, she has incredible memory, able to contain a wide span of knowledge exceeding that even of their library's. However, she is also is on the autism spectrum, which is why she relies on documenting and processing things through index cards, which clear her mind, and has her emotional support dog, Top. People sometimes find it hard to follow Ester's social cues, but those who put in effort (like Ana and Nelinha) are able to understand her just fine.

Apart from being gifted at memorization, Ester is also sweet, supportive, and sensitive at nature. She was able to help Ana overcome her fears, and was also emotionally attuned to the feelings of the Nautilus.

Trivia

• Ester is on the autism spectrum, making her the first autistic character in any book by Rick Riordan or under the Rick Riordan Presents imprint.