Eight

 Despite closing his eyes, he could not go to sleep. Then again, how could one easily feel to slumber when they realize they might have cut off their chances of becoming a Mage.

 "Should I be more kind with her? But she might find it suspicious. Children might not be as experienced as I am but they could be intuitive in their own right." underestimating someone will not be the death of him, as Ardent did not plan on making the mistakes many would make.

 "What should I do?" for few more hours, Ardent think of anything that could increase his chance of becoming close to Catlin, but nothing come to mind.

 After few hours of heavy thoughts, Ardent decided to try and go back to sleep.

 "I will just have to keep things are as before. I should not do something that could make her suspicious of me." he decided.

 After having such an idea, that's when Ardent could finally go back to sleep.

-x-