Vincent had advanced to a first circle wizard at the age of twelve. It had only been a little over two years since he had began training. His master had praised him lavishly as he was the student who had progressed the quickest. Brian was awed, Rachel was grumpy and Nelson was happy at that time. Master Rigrit told him that he could achieve great things if he continued working with such diligence.

Everyone close to Vincent told him that it was a great achievement and he knew that it was. It was hard to find a twelve year old first circle wizard. Knowing it however, didn't help him find answers to questions he had been asking himself. He still didn't know if he could have saved his mother with the power he possessed then. The great achievement that everyone defined for him didn't hold much meaning for him.

The question continued to eat away at his confidence and made him question what he had been working towards ever since he started learning wizardry. He had thought he would find the answer once he became a first circle wizard but the only thing that he had managed to accomplish was the complete opposite. The answer was nowhere in sight and he felt lost. The doubt in his heart only continued to grow and he lost his sense of direction. He lost his appetite and grew weaker by the day. He kept on thinking but couldn't reach a conclusion. Things got serious to the point that he had to be looked after by a doctor for most of the day.

Being confined to the bed reminded him of his mother when she was sick. He recovered under the care of the doctor and a thought came in his brain. 'Couldn't I have saved mother if I was a doctor?' He talked about his decision with his master. Rigrit didn't stop his pupil because he knew the boy would have to fend for himself once he turned fifteen and few jobs paid as well as being a doctor.

Vincent had become a full fledged doctor by the age of fifteen. Rigrit, however felt that it was a pity. The boy would have progressed down the path of wizards much faster had he not focused on becoming a doctor. Vincent began treating one patient after another when he moved to the town of Opal. His skills only grew greater with each passing day but he still didn't have the answer to the question that always bugged him.

Now, he had saved a woman who was on the brink of death. He finally felt like he had accomplished something. The still breathing woman who laid unconscious on top of the surgery table was proof of his growth. The feeling of powerlessness that had haunted him for the past seven years disappeared and his heart felt light.

Vincent washed his face and checked on the woman's condition. He felt happy seeing that she wasn't in any mortal danger. If all went well, she would wake up in a day or two. A hammock was soon readied and he placed her on it. He headed towards Jeweled Inn and ate breakfast while listening to Housen's angry complaints.

The day passed uneventfully and Vincent got used to feeding the unconscious woman using the liquid controlling spell. The woman finally woke up on the evening of the second day. Many people had learned about the girl whom the impertinent doctor had saved. Many witnesses had seen him carry her into his shop. Even ordinary folks could tell how terrible of a condition she was in and words of the doctor's incredible feat spread among many folks.

"What's your name? What is the last thing you remember?" Vincent asked in a gentle manner looking at the bruised face of the girl. The swollen face had gotten much better and he could finally tell that she was very young, maybe about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Vincent waited patiently but got no reply from her. She just sat there looking down at the floor. The girl peeked a few glances at his face but faced down immediately when she saw him observing her. Vincent wanted answers from the girl but it seemed like he wouldn't be getting one right now. He moved closer to her to check if she had any injuries on her head that might have led to loss of proper cognitive functions.

He had taken just a few steps towards her when she started shaking violently."Are you cold? You are shivering really badly." Vincent placed his palm in her forehead and found that her body temperature was alright. Watching closely he realized that she was shaking even worse after he touched her. He removed his hands and found that she held up better after he moved away from her.

'It seems like she is scared of me? I should try to calm her down for now.'

"It's okay. You are safe now. I am a doctor. I treated you. You don't have to be scared, I won't hurt you."

Seeing that she had calmed down a little, he tried to approach her once again. The girl started trembling uncontrollably once again and he gave up on closing the distance for now. He ordered a bowl of chicken soup for the recovering girl placed it in front of her.

"Here, eat this. This will help you recover quickly. I will leave it here, make sure you eat it before it gets cold."

Few people came to look at the girl after hearing she had woken up but Vincent turned them all away saying she was not in a condition to meet strangers. The people went away while badmouthing the doctor saying he didn't understand people's care and kindness.

Vincent tried to take the girl to the inn and have her rest there as it would be a lot easier to recover there but the girl refused to take a single step out of the shop. Having no other choice, he left the girl on his shop and went to the Jeweled Inn alone. Housen and the barmaids all asked him about the girl but he shook them off saying she had only woken up for a few minutes before fainting again.

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"What's your name?"

"A.. Alba" The girl replied in a broken voice.

"You don't have a last name?" The girl shook her head.

'So she is born from a slave. No wonder they treated her so badly. The guards wouldn't investigate too much if the corpse was found to be that of a slaves'.'

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

The girl started trembling again and her eyes turned red. Tears threatened to spill out and Vincent got up while saying, "It's okay. You don't have to tell me. You are still mentally exhausted. Just rest."

Vincent closed the door behind him and smiled. Hearing the girl's voice made him strangely happy. The girl was a testament to the answer he had found for himself. She was a breathing proof that he could save someone, and perhaps he could have even saved his mother had he then possessed his current knowledge and skills. He felt a great sense of satisfaction.

Bang bang bang

A series of rough knocks sounded and Vincent opened the door. Two hooded men entered the shop and made themselves comfortable, they acted like they owned the place. A man pulled down his hood revealing his chiseled face. A knife scar ran down his left cheek and he spoke revealing his jagged yellow teeth.

"Master Vincent, I am called big hound and he is small hound. We came here to retrieve the girl. She is one of our employees. She went missing and was nowhere to be found."

"Is that so? Can you prove that she is indeed one of your employees? I will hand her over if you can prove it. I won't make it too difficult for you, how about just saying her name? If you get that right, she is all yours."

"Her name is Alba."

"You got her name right. Since she is you employee, I will have you pay for the treatment. I had to perform a surgery on her, it cost a lot of time and money. In total, you will have to pay a gold and 4 silver coins."

"That is daylight robbery, master Vincent. What could cost so much money..." The man who called himself big hound stared at the girl peeking out from the door and stood up. He walked towards her and she tried to close the door in a flustered manner. Big hound grabbed the door before she could close it and yanked it open.

Vincent turned his head to find Alba staring at the man in terror. Her expression told him that something was off regarding the man's story. Vincent tried to get up in order to stop the man but the man called small hound jumped behind him and hit him in the back of his head with a sword's pummel. Vincent's vision grew blurry as he fell down face first.