The Housemaster’s study still holds the company’s silence. Parsley sets the company’s copy beside the official ledger, its inked confession now witnessed, signed, and preserved. John and Morris lean close, waiting.
Parsley
Only what belongs to everyone, Lewis. The mark, the admission, the remedy. The rest is yours.
John
Then your father’s question belongs here too, perhaps. Why send you into a place built to grind boys down?
The Housemaster closes the ledger with deliberate care. Outside, boots pass along the dark stone corridor, but no one enters. Fribble remains by the wall, stripped of his borrowed authority, listening.
The Housemaster of School House
A father may send a son away believing hardship will make him independent. He may also mistake endurance for education. Malvern has taught many boys to obey pain, and called the result character.
Parsley
But Lewis has made something else here. He was sent away alone. He has answered by making sure no one stands alone.
Fribble lowers his eyes. The company’s record lies between the boys and the master, no longer a private protest but a fact the school must carry. Parsley turns toward Lewis, leaving the final meaning in his hands.
✓ Quest Accepted
Tell Parsley what part of Lewis’s father’s question remains private
✓ Quest Accepted
Establish a boundary between the company’s record and Lewis’s private life
“Lewis says he still not has received a reply from his father. So he doesn't know the secret. And it shouldn't be a part of the company record anyways. It is his problem to deal with, not all of theirs.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
C. S. Lewis
I still have no reply from my father. I do not know the secret he was asked about, and it should not enter the company record. That is mine to deal with, not yours.
The words settle without force, but they draw a clean boundary around the unanswered letter and whatever silence lies behind it.
Parsley
Then it stays yours. The record can tell the truth without taking possession of you.
The Housemaster of School House
A sound distinction. Public conduct belongs to the school’s account. Private correspondence does not, unless its owner chooses otherwise.
John
We can stand beside you without opening the door.
Morris
And if the answer comes, you decide what it means before anyone else does.
Parsley’s hand withdraws from the company copy, leaving the page untouched. The boundary is accepted, not merely recorded, and the study grows quiet around it.
Parsley
When you are ready, you may tell me. Until then, I will not ask again.
Quest Complete
Tell Parsley what part of Lewis’s father’s question remains private
“Lewis nods and leaves at a brisk pace. Trying to find somewhere quiet to clear his head and to get away from the others.”
SUCCESS (Good Agility, rolled +3)
C. S. Lewis nods once, then turns from the desk and leaves at a brisk, controlled pace. The study door closes behind him without ceremony.
John
Take the quiet. We shall be here when you come back.
The corridor receives him with pale afternoon light and the softened sounds of lessons beyond closed doors. His quick steps carry him past the stair and into the empty school library.
He finds a narrow alcove behind the tall shelves, with a chair, a green-shaded lamp, and a clear view of the grounds through the high window. No one else is there.
Parsley
He has not shut us out. He has only kept one door of his own.
On the table lies the library's spare writing slate, clean and unclaimed. The quiet gives Lewis a place to set down whatever can be examined without being surrendered.
The Housemaster of School House
The record will stand, Lewis. So will your boundary.
His voice does not follow into the alcove. Beyond the window, the school grounds lie still beneath the autumn sky, while the preserved record begins its life without him.
“Alone at last, Lewis lets himself cry. Lost and confused about what he's supposed to be doing and the direction he should be taking. And terrified of his own inner darkness.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
For several minutes, the library hears only the faint ticking of the wall clock. Then Lewis bends over the slate, and the tears come, silent at first, then shaking his narrow shoulders.
He does not disguise the grief. He lets it pass through him, along with the bewilderment of having no clear road ahead and the cold fear of what his own anger might become.
The door opens by inches. Parsley pauses on the threshold, sees the tears, and does not retreat or call attention to them.
Parsley
I can go, if you need the room. Or I can sit here and say nothing.
He crosses only after the silence permits it, taking the chair opposite Lewis rather than touching him. The distance is careful, and the company ledger remains safely beyond the alcove.
Parsley
You need not put this in the record. But you need not carry it as though it makes you dangerous either.
The fear does not vanish, but it becomes something Lewis has faced without surrendering to it. Parsley keeps his hands folded in his lap and waits.
Parsley
What would help now, Lewis, quiet company or an honest question?
“Lewis says he doesn't know what he should be doing. Protecting them all and driving the group forward was all he cared about for this past month. But now he doesn't know what he should be doing. He feels helpless, like a spectator watching everything go on around him. He doesn't have a goal or anything. And he feels himself shutting down again like he was before they became friends. Lewis didn't even have any input or anything to say that whole hearing. He just stood there empty.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
C. S. Lewis
I do not know what I should be doing. Protecting you all and driving the company forward was all I cared about this past month. Now I have no goal. I feel helpless, as though I am only watching everything happen around me.
C. S. Lewis
I can feel myself shutting down again, as I was before we became friends. During the hearing, I had no input and nothing to say. I simply stood there, empty.
The admission settles between them without the discipline of the ledger or the shelter of a rule. Parsley does not hurry to fill the silence.
Parsley
You were not empty. You were present, and you let the truth be heard by people who needed to hear it.
Parsley
But I understand the difference between being needed and knowing what to do next. The company must not become another father, demanding that you carry it so you can feel real.
Parsley reaches for the edge of the table, stopping short of Lewis and leaving the choice of distance untouched.
Parsley
You do not have to lead this minute. You can sit here until you know whether you want quiet, a question, or simply my company.
“Lewis says that he always wants Parsley's company. But sometimes he is afraid Parsley doesn't want his.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
C. S. Lewis
I always want your company. But sometimes I am afraid that you do not want mine.
The words cross the table without disguise. The library remains quiet around them, green lamplight resting on the clean slate.
Parsley
I want it. Not because you protect me, or because the company needs you. I want you here because you are you.
Parsley keeps his hands in his own space, honoring the distance he offered. His answer does not demand that Lewis become useful again.
Parsley
And if I ever need quiet, I will tell you plainly. You will not have to guess, and you will not have to earn your place beside me.
Parsley
Would you like me to stay with you now, simply as Parsley?
“Lewis says he just wants Parsley to hold him and let him know he still has a place here. A purpose.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -1)
C. S. Lewis
I want you to hold me, Parsley, and tell me I still have a place here. That I still have a purpose.
Parsley rises at once, but he pauses long enough to let Lewis see the choice in his face.
Parsley
Yes. Come here.
He crosses the small space and gathers Lewis carefully against him, one arm around his shoulders and the other braced between his shoulder blades.
Parsley
You have a place because you are wanted here. Your purpose is not to carry us. It is to stand with us, and to let us stand with you.
The clean slate remains untouched behind them. For once, the company’s record asks nothing of Lewis.
Parsley
Would you like to tell me what purpose feels possible now, or shall we simply stay like this?
“Lewis asks to stay like this a little longer. Just until he can compose himself.”
C. S. Lewis
Just a little longer, please. Until I can compose myself.
Parsley lowers them both carefully to the library floor beside the table. Lewis stays within his arms, breathing gradually evening as the quiet alcove holds.
Parsley
As long as you need. There is no hurry.
“After awhile, Lewis asks if they can sneak off somewhere private and really talk? Just the twonof them? Maybe the stream past the Meadow Parsley led them too before. Lewis knows they might get in trouble, but if he is really going to open up he needs to do it somewhere a blood or prefect can't be listening in. Parsley can say no.”
SUCCESS (Mediocre Stealth, rolled +1)
C. S. Lewis
Could we slip away somewhere private and talk properly? Just us. Perhaps the stream beyond the Meadow, if you remember it. I know we may get in trouble, but I need somewhere no Blood or prefect can listen.
Parsley studies Lewis's face, then glances toward the library door. The alcove remains undisturbed, its silence offering them a narrow chance.
Parsley
Yes. Not because you owe me an explanation, but because I want to hear you without the school standing over us.
Parsley rises first and offers his hand. Together, they leave by the quieter passage, keeping to the edges of the corridors and pausing whenever footsteps pass beyond a doorway.
The school falls behind them by degrees. Past the Meadow, the stream appears under the late light, its banks screened by reeds and hawthorn.
Parsley
Here. No one is listening. You can begin wherever the truth feels heaviest.
“Lewis thanks him for agreeing to this. He asks Parsely if he can just let everything out? He knows they are already a couple, but Lewis has felt like they've been drifting apart. And he worries its his own fault. That he might be bad for Parsley.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
C. S. Lewis
Thank you for agreeing to this. May I let everything out? I know we are a couple, but I have felt us drifting apart. I fear it is my fault, that I may be bad for you.
The words cross the water softly. Parsley lowers the reeds and turns fully from the school path, giving Lewis the whole of his attention.
Parsley
Yes. Let it out. I would rather hear the frightening truth than watch you carry it alone.
Parsley sits on the bank, leaving a careful space between them. The distance is offered, not imposed, and the stream fills it with a quiet rush.
Parsley
You are not bad for me because you are troubled. But if I am hurt, or need quiet, I will tell you plainly. You must let me do that.
Late light breaks across the water between them. The school path remains empty beyond the reeds, while the private boundary between the boys becomes something they can name together.
Parsley
So speak, Lewis. Start with what makes you think we are drifting, and I will stay here while you tell me.
“Lewis says that he knows that. And wants to give Parsley that. But he worries that his own needs have cause him to smother Parsley. Parsley shouldn't have to set that boundary because Lewis should have already given him that. And Lewis worries that his own trauma and needs are toxic.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +0)
C. S. Lewis
I know. I want to give you that freedom. But I fear my needs have smothered you, when I should have given you room without being told.
The stream carries the confession between the reeds. Lewis's words do not break the boundary between them. They make it visible.
C. S. Lewis
My fear, my grief, all of it feels as though it has become toxic. I worry that being close to me is harming you.
Parsley
You have needed me, yes. That is not the same as using me. You listened when I told you to leave room, and you came here to ask rather than command.
Parsley
If your pain begins to press me flat, I will say so. That is not a punishment, Lewis. It is how I remain beside you honestly.
Parsley shifts nearer by a small, deliberate measure, leaving the choice of closeness with Lewis. His open hand rests between them on the grass.
Parsley
You do not have to become empty to be safe for me. Tell me what you need now, and I will tell you what I can give.