Stephen de Beauville was from a family of knights, but it seemed he was unfit for this profession. He was afraid of dogs, couldn't stand up for himself, and had a talent for drawing. His father, however, merely stated that he would be a monk. Stephen had no friends, and his siblings tormented him all the time. One day, his father's prize bitch gave birth to a litter of seven pups, but one was small and was to be drowned. Stephen, out of sheer pity, told them he would take it so it wouldn't be drowned. When he receives it, he immediately attempts to abandon it, but ends up rescuing it and keeping it. Naming him Amile, after the friend he never had, Stephen overcame his fear of dogs, and was no longer tormented as Amile was faithful and stood up for him when he was hit. Then, however, his father was going to send him to a monastery, and he couldn't keep Amile. Rather than give him to his cruel, abusive brother, Stephen decided to have Amile put down. At the monastery, he remained reclusive, speaking only when necessary. In his lessons, he often drew on his slate, and after so many beatings, his teacher finally sent him to the scriptorium. Over the next few months, Stephen would go there and be taught to draw by Brother Ernulf, the master of the scriptorium. His talent became so pronounced that he was allowed to draw in the gospels that Brother Ernulf was making, and no one, as yet, had been allowed to draw in it. However, Ernulf was grouchy and rarely complimented anyone, so Stephen never knew how great an artist he really was. Therefore, when his brothers came to make fun of him one day, he had no reason to stay and ran off from the monastery to seek to become a knight. After ten days of begging and working for meager amounts of food, he finally stole a loaf of bread from a woman who promptly called for help. Stephen was thrown onto the ground and beaten. Fortunately, Sir Paine Latourelle, or Sir Pagan, came along and stopped them. Stephen told Sir Pagan of his ambitions, but how were they received?