The summons goes on for several minutes, becoming increasingly urgent as it does.

Etty curls up in a ball and weeps. The urgency is terrible, but it doesn't actually pick up her limbs for her, walk her around the lake - it's more like someone shouting into her ear that she must jump off the tower, she must, she must, and she can't, not now that she knows the crunching sound she makes when she hits the ground.

Etty scrunches her eyes shut and chokes and tries to pry his hand off her, not particularly effectively.

"It's not nice to keep me waiting, Odette," he says softly.

"Ulllk," chokes Etty.

He sets her on her feet and slaps her across the face hard enough to knock her back into the lake.

She lands with a splash - she gasps - that was a poor choice; her head's underwater -

Etty coughs and gasps in more water and coughs and gasps and flails and finally, finally manages to get her head above water and expel the contents of her lungs.

The Baron stands over her and watches.

Etty's attention is on getting water out and air in. She coughs, she gasps, she coughs, she swallows, she sucks in more air and lets it out.

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

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

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

The Baron just stands there.

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

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

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

"Please don't make me."

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