"The finger could not be saved, Your majesty." The doctor calmly spoke to Alfred. Sitting on the corner of the bed, gently stroking Astrid's head, he knew, already expecting this outcome. "The worst of it has passed. Luckily, the blade used was sharp enough to make a clean cut or the risk of infection would have been much worse."
Alfred sighed and looked down at Astrid's right hand. The ring finger had been cut off just below the joint where it bends. Although it was lucky that Astrid could keep so much of her finger, he knew that it was going to take a while for her to recover. Astrid looked up and brightly smiled as she leaned closer to Alfred, happy that after so long, her father was spending a lot of time with her.
