summoned

[mute_pen]

Etty is awoken not by her transformation, but by her summons, a few minutes after dark. In her sleep, she drifted to shore; she's lying in human form - arm intact - half in and half out of the water when she feels it.

It's very insistent.

She cannot bring herself to move. She tries - she does; intellectually she knows it's the smart thing to do - but - she can't. Cannot get up and go to him.

Comments

[pythbox]

"Now," says the Baron. "You won't keep me waiting like that again, will you, my swan?"

[mute_pen]

"I tried," she coughs. "I tried - I couldn't -"

[pythbox]

"But you can," says the Baron. "You can. Get up."

[mute_pen]

She tries.

Predictably enough, she slips in the mud, and she falls.

[pythbox]

The Baron just stands there.

[mute_pen]

Etty gets up again, more slowly, shaking.

She lifts one hand to touch her aching throat.

[pythbox]

"Come up to the castle with me," says the Baron.

[mute_pen]

"Please," whispers Etty. "Please don't."

[pythbox]

"You will do as I say," says the Baron.

[mute_pen]

"Please don't make me."

[pythbox]

He picks her up by one arm and the front of her dress and tosses her into the lake.

[mute_pen]

She manages to hold a breath when she's airborne, and doesn't nearly drown this time.

She holds her breath and stays underwater as long as she can.

Maybe if she could find a hollow reed she could fashion a snorkel and stay forever.

She doesn't have one. She surfaces.

[pythbox]

The Baron is standing on the shore.

"Come here," he says.

[mute_pen]

She shrinks back, towards the center of the lake, till it's almost too deep to stand.

[pythbox]

The Baron transforms into his owl shape, swoops down on her, and grabs her out of the water.

He drops her in the middle of the lake, from enough of a height to knock the breath out of her on impact.

[mute_pen]

The flailing and coughing lasts longer when she has to work out how to float, too.

She's not even sure if this is better or worse, is the problem. If he beats her, if she drowns, if she's dropped a hundred times, well, now she knows it will all be gone by morning. What he did to her before was not gone after it was done.

But of course it's not an either-or choice. Probably. He does not seem likely to weary of commanding her to follow him. Perhaps she can just stall until she's a swan again?

If she spends all night, every night, defying him and being punished for it, she'll have no chance to write.

She splutters and coughs and gasps and manages to tread water.

[pythbox]

The owl fishes her out of the water again and drops her on the shore.

The Baron puts his hands on her shoulders and squeezes where his talons were digging in a moment ago.

"Come with me," he says.

[mute_pen]

Etty hisses in pain, shrinks in fear. "I'm begging you," she pleads, "please, please, please -"

[pythbox]

He drags her to the edge of the water and shoves her into it facefirst, stepping on her back to prevent her from climbing out.

[mute_pen]

Etty struggles to no avail. She holds her breath, as long as she can, and lets it out, and inhales water and chokes and squirms.

[pythbox]

The Baron holds her under for long enough that anyone else would definitely be dead.

Then he lets her up.

[mute_pen]

She has practice, now, at recovering from lungsful of water.

She does.

[pythbox]

The Baron waits.

[mute_pen]

"You can," she coughs, "pick me up and carry me wherever you want me to be - why do you need me to walk to it - why do you need me to pretend willing -"

[pythbox]

"These tantrums are unbecoming, my swan."