The grounds, located outside the vast mansion belonging to the Count of Moncieff, were in a state of tense anger and weary resentment. Treading upon the pristine cobbles meandering past scented hedgerows and weeping roses, sounded the heavy footsteps belonging to a man of an age below that of twenty years: yet, despite being such a youthful male, the individual was a man of large stature, and possessed a round face with smooth, unblemished skin. His flax coloured hair burnt golden underneath the beaming smiles of the sun, yet his coarse features were grim, and his charcoal eyes were void of warmth, laden instead with resilience and obstinacy. 
Walking along a pathway perpendicular to the one the latter tread upon, was a male who appeared younger. Whilst Alicio was taller, and of unnaturally slight figure, he was, in truth, two years older than the man mentioned foremost to this chapter. Alicio was a man of upright and proper stature, and his face was thin, delicately pointed and of oval shape: due to a preference in remaining indoors to read and write, his skin was extremely pale, and quite void of callouses or other indicators of rough work. With astute and sea-green eyes, the youth followed a plump robin in it's short flight, then refocused attention upon the approaching footsteps: his short cropped, light brown hair was momentarily swept over his forehead due to a warm, yet brisk breeze. Raising a slender hand to idly brush away the intrusive strands, Alicio paused within his walk, and was consequently apprehended by the pursuer. The younger parted his jaws to gain the first words, yet Alicio, able to deduce the reason of his half-brother's pursuit, spoke first.
Alicio's voice was sharp with weariness as he, for the umpteenth time, strived to introduce merely slight reason within his half-brother; a seemingly harmless yet realistically impossible task,
"I insist, Cadwal, to maintain no knowledge as to where your little Montemorency has vanished to. Indeed, I can merely offer a word, or some words, of advice. When training such an energetic and eager spaniel, one must behave in a calm yet sharp and authoritative manner quite differing from the aggressive and hot blooded nature you assume when disciplining him. I only perceive it to be justice that clever Montemorency has fled you. I highly congratulate his daring ploy, and wish him fortune within the wide and, hopefully, favourable world." The youth smiled, in condescending manner, down at his brother. He merely wished to advise, and not offend.
Cadwal, Alicio's half brother, and true heir to the Moncieff estate, was a portly male of young age, and an ardent lover of position, wealth and high status. Whilst he was, certainly, skilled in gaining the trust and affection of influentials within court through a concoction of amiable behaviour and obliging agreements, Cadwal was lamentably ignorant to true friendships and the use of proper common sense.
Now, due to violent behaviour, and countless beatings inflicted by the stick, Cadwal's spaniel had wittingly fled his abusive master, and was simply not to be found. Cadwal, stubbornly refusing to pin the blame upon his self-proclaimed untarnished person, had sought the entire estate for Alicio, and proceeded to accuse him of having goaded Montmorency, assisting in his escape. Fuelled with anger and mounting wrath, the youth glared upwards at his older half-brother, and snorted mirthlessly, tone derisive,
"What are you suggesting, motherless wretch? That I know not how to treat the creatures that I own? My father taught me the exact principles of canine conservation so your insult is unfounded. Huh, it is pure folly that you think yourself worthy of teaching me how to treat my own pets; yes, pure folly." He produced a scorning laugh.
Alicio, though insulted many times before, and now very almost immune to each word uttered by his father and half-brother, still felt pangs within his heart; pangs and a longing for true affection, and an ardent desire to receive appreciation concerning his comments and criticism. However, the youth denied himself the right to utter his true feelings, and merely resumed upon correcting Cadwal's behaviour, "Then you can inform our father that the principles he taught you are useless to the extreme and have, consequently, forced your poor Montemorency to flee from you. I admit, were I an intelligent spaniel held in captivity by none other than your self, I wouldn't tarry long within the confines." Alicio's tone became wistful, and his sea-green eyes fluttered skywards, "Ah! But were I a bird with wings and a small fortune to live upon: oh, I would soon take to and fly."
"Ha! What would a wretched bastard like yourself understand about the aristocratic art of canine conserving? You; who was born to a mother of scum and dirt, unlawfully conceived and now rendered to be perceived as nothing more than soiled mud for all your worthless, insignificant life? You would rot like a weed amidst roses within our society, and you would never succeed in achieving anything. That, my dear Bastard brother, is the truth; you shall be shunned, and kicked into the slums where the likes of you should always belong, and remain. Ha! Think on that, brother Alicio," here, Cadwal halted his words with a triumphant swagger to his walk, eyes gleaming with, what he believed, was to be his victory.
Alicio, loathe to admit defeat in this dispute, replied in calm, yet near menacing tones, choosing each word with deadly precision, "I should prefer to be of low rank, yes; even perceived to be a wretch or a pauper, for I shall know that I'm not, and never will be. What is the point of being high born when one lacks knowledge, skill and education? It would be quite impossible to form intelligent and intriguing conversation at formal meals, quite hard to engage within hunting and dog conserving if one lacks even the smallest ounce of knowledge, Cadwal. Remember: earning a high rung within the social ladder of opportunity shall be worthless if one cannot portray a plausible sense of wisdom and cunning. All your wealth shall be stolen away, if you remain foolish and uneducated." Taking a breath, and calming his passionately fast beating heart, Alicio resumed more quietly, "please heed my advice, for it shall assist you in further escapades within your, sure to be, frivolous and eventful life. Within court, exist a vast number of ambitious men, each possessing an able and capable mind. You'll need to be perceived as a rival in their intellect, a man with knowledge in his trade; or they shall trample over you. Though I find no capability within myself to truly respect or love you as a brother, which is entirely through the fault of yourself and father, I still wish you to do well in your older years." Raising a handkerchief to his nose, the tall youth commenced his talk in less sharp tones, and turned his gaze upon the large mansion in which they resided, "a transition has occurred within the weather, and it is becoming too dreary and cold for my liking. Whilst you might wish to remain within the estate gardens, I shall return inside."
With his attention focused upon the building, and his thoughts fixated upon a crackling fire and a good book, Alicio failed to notice how Cadwal's countenance had contorted it's features into an expression of unbridled loathing. The younger man had taken deep offence from Alicio's advisory words, and his teeth were grinding together, prominent purple veins pounding with broiling, boiling blood.
"So you call me a fool," Cadwal finally spoke, and his voice was a ghastly hiss produced through clenched teeth. The man's black eyes narrowed, and he inquired, voice soft and mockingly disbelieving, "you, a bastard, dare to imply that I, the heir to a grand estate, am a fool? By God, I shall force you to eat those words: if it causes me to chastise you until you are merely a hair's breadth from death, I shall do it, and willingly." With his arms slowly raising, fingers beginning to open wide, Cadwal approached his brother, who stepped back, visibly unnerved.
Alicio, driven to disbelief by such actions performed by his half-brother, had entered a state of shock, and was merely reduced to staring. Pale, and taut of countenance, the older man stood, and could only react by stepping backwards. Cadwal progressed closer, and closer, until Alicio discovered himself repressed against the stable walls, and cornered no different than a fox by a savage hunter. "I will not regress from my actions," Cadwal promised in tones more soft than those of a viper toying with prey, "I shall make you eat those words, till they choke you."
"Cadwal...Cadwal," Alicio uttered, striving to appease this wild beast of a man. He felt the curvature of his spine press against the cold, solid wall, yet the discomfort he felt from the position was unrivalled by the sheer anxiety he felt upon staring into his half-brother's grim, maniacal gaze. "Cadwal...lower your arms...," Alicio spoke again, beseeching, "your actions, they unnerve me to a very high degree." However, Cadwal took no heed to the man's words, and Alicio couldn't have been more transfixed had a lightning bolt struck the very ground where they stood.
The young man's features abruptly whitened to the core, and he was forced to swiftly lower his head as Cadwal's clenched fist struck out with brutal force, and sailed merely a hair's breadth away from his skull. Alicio glanced upwards, obsidian pupils contracted with terror. Never before had he witnessed an individual lose control, and transform into a wild animal. Cadwal was positively hissing no different than a snake, and even spat poison; flecks of thick spittle splattered the floor below their feet.
"You wretch" the younger minced his words, until his voice sounded identical to that of the devil "you low-born scum of the earth, you think that you possess the justification to mock me." Cadwal's entire being was vibrating, and he once again swung out his fist, aiming for Alicio's skull, intending not to miss the target.
Alicio was forced to shrink back, his heart dilating fast; then, in an agony of mind produced by sheer terror, he crouched down and raised both hands to his head, bracing himself for the blow which seemed inevitable. It did not arrive.
"Cadwal!" a voice we are yet to be introduced to exclaimed from the lower storey of the building, authoritative and insistent with impatience "three hours past noon is the designated time for your lessons in Latin, and you are tarrying by five minutes! Come here now, or I shall be most displeased!"
Alicio, with bated breath, risked removing an arm from his head, and glanced upwards at the agitated form of his half brother. "Cadwal" he breathed, voice weak and piteously hoarse "you should heed our father's words, or he shall take a stick to you."
Cadwal sneered, yet his pace was hasty "you alone remain the only one our father physically harms. It is to remind you of your constant and irreversible inferiority." Spitting at his brother's feet, the younger man cast his nose into the sky, and turned upon his heel, returning to the house from which the faint utterings could still be distinctly heard.
Alicio, for minutes, remained within his crouched position, staring at the figure of his retreating brother until it was eventually consumed by the towering labyrinth of hedges. He remained in pure yet tormented silence, his gaze soon falling upon the ground where the majority insisted he belonged, like the scum of the earth. Unbeknownst to him, a tear had dropped from his stinging eyes, and he only brushed it aside once the saltiness had journeyed down his pale cheek and had reached his lips. A piercing ache had entered his lungs, and his eyes were now producing an abundance of undesired tears.
"Dear birds" the miserable man uttered, gaze fluttering upwards to the skies, whilst his vision remained a haze through the gathering moisture "why is it that you and your kind alone are the only creatures upon this earth who do not judge by an unchosen birth?" Both eyes closed and Alicio bowed his head, uttering with choked anguish "God...why have you created a world of prejudice and loathing? Oh Dear Lord, what was your reasoning?"
His plea remained unanswered.