A Knife's Tale (ONC 2021)

Chapter Ten

Lawrence looks Guinevere up and down, still grinning. Rather than picking up the tools he needs to pierce her tongue, he takes my long-term roommate, a filthy and rusted knife, and swipes it in the dirt on the floor.

He shows his stitched stump of a finger to Guinevere. "See what you've done? That little stunt you've pulled... do you honestly believe that it'll go unpunished?"

She can't so much as nod her head right now, let alone speak, but I can see the fury brewing in her eyes, no less fiery than what she showed her first day here.

"Defiance is one thing, and I'm not too bothered by that. Curse me all you want—I don't really give a damn. But this..." He waves his finger at her once again. "Goes a little too far. This finger will never grow back, you know."

Well, obviously the finger won't grow back. But, given the capabilities of medical treatment he's shown so far, I'm highly doubtful that an amputation was even necessary. He only did it to give himself reason to dole out worse punishments for Guinevere. "I think it's fair to take an equal payment in return, plus a little interest."

He steps closer to her and takes one of her hands into his. It's repulsive, seeing him touch her, watching him gently stroke her index finger. He pulls it to his lips and kisses it, and I want more than anything to jump off this cursed bench and drive a hole through his heart.

Guinevere shares my sentiments and scrunches her face in disgust the best she can with her weakened muscles.

"Such a perfect little finger... Too bad, you could've kept it had you not made your choice."

He presses the knife against the base of her finger and begins to saw down. She can't scream, not with the medicine he gave earlier.

It's hard to watch him flay her skin with that unsanitary disaster of a knife, and I try to focus on watching her eyes, rather than what he's doing. I want to see how well she takes it. If her light fizzles out, it would mean that I'm wrong about her, and she's no different from the rest.

But she keeps her eyes shut while the blade grates away at her, little by little. Flakes of rust and flecks of dirt mingle with her flesh—a surefire recipe for future infections.

If what she's told me is true, she's been through pain much worse than this. Indignity and blows to her pride will hurt her far more than any physical pain,

Still, I'm positive that Guinevere is still her spirited self behind her shut eyes, and that she'll get over this as soon as Lawrence takes his payment.

I only hope we'll be able to give Lawrence his due payment in return.

He hums his usual tune as he saws through both sides of her finger, shaving off far more flesh than he needs to. Of course, he's taking his sweet time with it, and it makes me hope the relaxants will wear off before he's done.

Eventually, the white of her bone is exposed. I know he won't choose me for the task of cutting through it—my blade is far too clean and sharp. It would make everything too easy.

"Now, this is for the trouble and materials I wasted to cure my finger," he says, smiling as he picks up Guinevere's other hand. Again, he gives the finger a small kiss and a caress before swiping the knife through the dirt on the floor again and beginning to saw.

Guinevere's eyes blink open this time, and her expression tells me that this is a bit beyond her expectations. She clenches her jaw hard enough that I can hear her teeth grind together, and it seems like she's regaining her ability to move.

"Seems I'll need the hurry," Lawrence grumbles, as he picks up the pace to slice up the second finger. Once it's in the same state as the first, he grabs a sharper knife from his collection.