Vincent got up with dark circles under his eyes. Anybody could tell that he didn't get much of a sleep. He had been reading a book to keep himself occupied. He tried his best to avoid sleep because he was scared he would have the same nightmare. He desperately tried to keep his eyes open until they had gotten so heavy he couldn't lift them anymore and he eventually fell asleep on the desk. His neck hurt a little, most probably because of the awkward sleeping position he had adapted last night.

He freshened up and changed out of his pajamas. He woke Brian who seemed to have rested well unlike him. Brian woke up in a jovial mood, the memories of the previous day still fresh in his mind. He got ready to head out for breakfast and made small talk with Vincent as they headed for the back parlor together.

Rachel joined them midway and asked Vincent, "Did you not sleep well Vincent? That's some serious dark circles you have got under your eyes. Want me to help you hide them with my make up skills? I assure you that you will look very beautiful by the time I am done."

"No thanks. I am alright. The dark circles will go away on its own."

Rachel nodded dejectedly. She had wanted to trick Vincent into agreeing to her proposal so that she could get a free make up experiment subject. She could get Brian to do it like she often did but she wanted to try out a different subject today. Plus, Vincent had a really delicate features so she wanted to get a try on him. Brian shared similar sentiment but he wanted to pull Vincent into it because he wanted to be an observer and not a victim for once.

The breakfast was delicious as usual but Vincent had no appetite. He was feeling specially melancholic today. The food which was tender and savory tasted and felt like cardboard to him. He followed Rachel and Brian listlessly as they headed for the study.

Brian's excitement was over the top as he would begin practicing the mana conversion technique from today. Vincent walking beside him made for a very contrasting picture. The lesson started as usual but Vincent, Rachel and Nelson got no attention from Master Rigrit as he was too busy guiding Brian. Vincent felt really restless as he had nothing to do. An uneasy feeling overcame him and he hurriedly grabbed a book and focused on it wholeheartedly to escape the anxiousness.

The company of the book, at least kept him occupied to not let the agitation crawl its way to him. The lesson ended but Vincent didn't let go of the book and kept himself busy. It was time for lunch when he was made to unwillingly let go of the book. He had lunch together with his fellow disciples and reluctantly joined Brian and Rachel to go play in the garden.

Brian ran around excitedly and stopped in front of Vincent startling the latter. "Where's my gift? You promised you would give me one today and I even told you it had to be special."

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Vincent guilt intensified under Brian's expectant gaze. He thought hard and finally took out a deck of cards from the pocket by his chest. "Young man, please pick a card." He spoke in a husky voice.

Brian laughed as he listened to the uncharacteristic voice of Vincent. He pulled out a four of spade from the fan of cards that Vincent held. Vincent shuffled the deck as he spoke, "Please don't show me the cards. Now put it anywhere you want inside the deck."

Brian put on a serious look and placed the card back in the deck after showing it to Rachel. Vincent shuffled the cards and stopped. He flipped the card on the top and asked, "Is this your card, young man?"

Brian looked at the queen of heart and shook his head, "No, this is not my card."

Vincent put on a puzzled expression in an exaggerated fashion as he spoke, "Hmmm that's strange. I was pretty sure this was you card." He held the card by its two corners diagonally between his thumb and middle finger. He moved his other thumb towards a free corner of the card under the intense gazes of his two audience. He flicked the card with his free thumb and the card instantly turned into a four of spades.

Brian and Rachel's eyes went wide with shock. Rachel jumped excitedly as she approached Vincent and took the card from his hands. She turned the card over multiple times and looked at it from various angles. She gave up after a while as she couldn't figure out the trick. Brian on the other hand was pondering with a clueless face.

Brian too gave up and asked, "How did you do it? I could clearly see that it was the queen of heart. How did it instantly change into four of spades?"

Vincent smiled as he looked at his audiences' stupefied face. He spoke in a dignified manner, "A magician never reveals his tricks. Besides the gift wouldn't be so special if you found out how I did it."

Rachel wanted to poke about it deeper but gave up on it as Brian seemed to be happy hearing Vincent's words. Her mind moved somewhere else as she questioned, "Do you always have the cards with you Vincent? I just realized it now but don't you always carry it around?"

"My mother bought them for me when we went to a market during a festival. I was stunned by a magician's performance and begged mother to buy it for me. I was so happy when I got it and I spent a lot of time on it until I eventually figured out the tricks behind the impossible looking feats of the magician. It's a special memento of my mother so I always have it with me."

Vincent looked really happy as he reminisced about it. Rachel felt bad for asking a question which jogged his memory about his mother who was no longer in this world. Rachel and Nelson too learned about Vincent's family situation after Brian ranted about it to them.

Brian on the other hand thought differently. He spoke in a stern manner that clearly indicated that he wouldn't take no for an answer, "It's a precious item. How can you go around using it however you like. It will wear out quickly if you do so. Let's go, I will buy you a new deck of cards."

Brian and Rachel forcefully dragged Vincent as they headed for a shop that dealt with toys and similar stuffs. Brian picked out the most expensive deck of cards and bought it. Vincent protested saying it was too expensive but Brian would have none of it. Brian handed it to Vincent and ignored him.

Vincent felt helpless regarding the situation. His lips arched upwards unconsciously as he felt warmth coming from Rachel and Brian's care. He put the new deck in his chest pocket. Little did Brian and Rachel know that Vincent now had not one but two decks of cards which was precious to him. He hurriedly bought another deck that looked the same as the one Brian bought for him and hurriedly followed behind Rachel and Brian.