A few days later, pale afternoon light rests across the infirmary. Lewis remains in bed with his shoulder bound, stronger than before but still easily tired.
Parsley sits beside him, while Edwin reads quietly from his notebook. The visiting bell sounds, and Lewis’s mother appears at the open door carrying a sealed envelope.
Lewis's mother
My dear, I have brought your father’s answer. He has written plainly, as you asked, and I have not altered a word.
She approaches only after the doctor permits it. Her face is composed, though worry remains in her eyes, and the seal bears Lewis’s father’s familiar hand.
Lewis's mother
He will not come with me. He says you are to remain at Malvern, and that leaving now would reward what he calls your defiance.
Parsley’s expression tightens, but he says nothing. Edwin closes his notebook. Lewis’s mother places the unopened letter on the blanket within reach of his uninjured hand.
Lewis's mother
It is yours to open, or not open. I will stay, and so will your friends, if you want us here.
✓ Quest Accepted
Open his father’s letter
+ New Item Acquired
Father's letter
“Steeling himself, Lewis opens the letter.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +2)
Lewis steadies the envelope against the blanket and breaks his father’s seal. The paper opens with a dry crackle beneath the infirmary’s quiet.
The letter confirms that his father will not visit. He calls Lewis’s wish to remain at Malvern defiance, and says departure would reward the school’s enemies rather than correct Lewis’s conduct.
Lewis's mother
There is no hidden meaning in it, my dear. He has written what he believes, and I will not pretend it says anything kinder.
Parsley remains beside the bed, close enough to be present but not touching. Edwin sets the notebook aside, leaving the letter and its consequences wholly with Lewis.
Parsley
You need not answer him now. We can read it again later, or put it away, and neither choice will alter what we know.
Edwin
He has answered the question of whether he will come. He has not answered whether he understands you, and those are not the same thing.
The open letter rests across Lewis’s lap, its familiar handwriting exposed beneath the pale afternoon light. His mother waits quietly, while his friends remain where he asked them to be.
Quest Complete
Learn whether Lewis’s father will write or visit
Skill Upgrade: Oratory Fair→Good
Quest Complete
Open his father’s letter
“Lewis asks for the stationary so he may write a reply. He stays calm as he says it.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +3)
C. S. Lewis
Mum, may I have some stationery? I want to write Father a calm reply while his letter is still before me.
His voice remains level. His mother supplies paper, ink, and an envelope, while Parsley steadies the writing board and Edwin quietly moves the open letter aside.
Lewis's mother
Of course, my dear. Write what you believe, and I shall not read it unless you ask me.
Lewis writes slowly with his uninjured hand. He tells his father that remaining at Malvern is not defiance but a choice to help rebuild the school, and that he owes no apology for making it.
The reply states that his father failed him and is too weak to face that failure, not the other way round. Lewis has thrived despite the assault and helped change Malvern forever.
Parsley
That is honest, Lewis. You are not promising to return bent into someone else’s shape. You are promising to come home more fully yourself.
Lewis finishes by saying he will return at term’s end as more himself than when he left, then signs and seals the letter. The Housemaster witnesses it and promises direct delivery, while his mother adds that his father cannot mistake who now stands before him.
✓ Quest Accepted
Have Lewis's reply reach his father
“Lewis looks at them, his Mum, Parsley, and Edwin and says he has a focus for his frustration now, and a motivation to keep going. He asks his mother what he should do if his father bans him from returning home?”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +4)
C. S. Lewis
I have a focus for my frustration now, and a motivation to keep going. Mum, what should I do if Father bans me from returning home?
His mother looks at him, then at the sealed reply and the friends beside his bed. She answers without softening the seriousness of the question.
Lewis's mother
First, you do not panic or disobey secretly. I will ask him to state the ban plainly, and I will challenge it openly if he means to leave you without a proper home.
Lewis's mother
You are my son as well as his. If he refuses to receive you, you may come to me, and I will arrange a safe place for you while we settle the matter.
Parsley
Then the question is no longer whether you are wanted. It is which adults will take responsibility, and we can help you keep every answer in writing.
Edwin
And you would not face the waiting alone. We can write to you, visit when permitted, and make certain your choice to remain honest does not leave you isolated.
Lewis's mother
The Housemaster will also receive a copy of your father’s answer and mine. That gives us a formal record, and it means your father cannot quietly make you homeless.
“His relief is palpable, even if the fear didn't make him hesitate. He thanks them and settles back in to rest. He waits another week before his father's reply arrives.”
FAILURE (Terrible Health, rolled +0)
C. S. Lewis
Thank you, Mum. Thank you, Parsley, Edwin. I know what I must do now, even if I am frightened.
Lewis settles back beneath the infirmary blankets. Relief loosens his face, but sleep comes fitfully, interrupted by the ache in his shoulder and the unanswered shape of his father’s decision.
Parsley
You need not solve the week tonight. Rest is enough, and we shall still be here when the letter comes.
The week passes in small portions: short walks beside the bed, letters from the Phoenix Company, and lessons carried to him by Edwin. Lewis grows stronger, but waiting never becomes easy.
Lewis's mother
It has arrived, my dear. Your father has written again. I am here, and the Housemaster has kept the arrangements we discussed.
She places the sealed letter before him. The seal is unbroken, but the envelope is thinner than the first, as though its contents have been reduced to a decision rather than an explanation.
Edwin
Whatever it says, this is no longer the only door. Your mother has offered you a home, and the school has a record of what happens next.
+ New Item Acquired
Father's second letter
“Lewis looks disappointingly at the smaller envelope before he opens it and reads aloud.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled +1)
Lewis looks disappointed at the smaller envelope, then breaks the seal with his uninjured hand. The paper inside contains only a few closely written lines.
C. S. Lewis
“Lewis, I have considered your reply. You are to remain at Malvern until the end of term, as arranged.”
C. S. Lewis
“I will not discuss your accusations by letter. Your conduct and associations have become matters of concern, and I expect obedience rather than further argument.”
His mother’s mouth tightens, but she does not interrupt. Parsley remains beside the bed, while Edwin watches the letter rather than Lewis’s face.
C. S. Lewis
“You will return home at the appointed time. Whether you remain welcome here afterward will depend upon whether you have learned restraint.”
Lewis's mother
That is the whole of it, my dear. He has made his threat plain, but he has not made you homeless. I will answer him plainly in return.
Parsley
He has answered with authority because he cannot answer the truth. We should preserve this letter and decide together what must be placed on record.
Quest Complete
Have Lewis's reply reach his father
Skill Upgrade: Oratory Good→Great
“Lewis leans back into the pillow and nods. At least now he doesn't have to wonder anymore. He's angry, seething mad, but that can wait. He trusts his Mum to look out for him. The only question left is if he can force his own father to stand down, like so many have tried to make Lewis stand down.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -3)
Lewis leans back into the pillow and nods. The anger remains hot beneath his ribs, but his mother’s presence gives it somewhere safer to wait.
Lewis's mother
You need not answer him while you are seething. We shall make him stand down by requiring plain answers, witnesses, and a written account of his responsibilities toward you.
She gathers the two letters together, placing them beside Lewis’s sealed reply. The Housemaster’s record and the doctor’s report will accompany her response, preserving every fact.
Parsley
He has ordered obedience, but he has not explained what restraint means. Ask him to name the conduct he condemns, and he will have to answer the truth rather than its shadow.
Edwin
And if he refuses, your mother and the Housemaster can record that refusal. He cannot make authority endless merely by declining to speak plainly.
Lewis reaches for the paper, but pain flashes through his shoulder and the doctor stops him. The cost is immediate: his hand cramps, and the reply must wait until tomorrow.
Lewis's mother
Rest tonight. Tomorrow we shall draft the questions together, and I will send them under my own name. You will not stand before him alone.
“Lewis looks up at her and relaxes. He thanks her, and says he is sorry that she is caught between them. But if the Bloods couldn't break Lewis, there is nothing his father could do that will.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Willpower, rolled -3)
C. S. Lewis
Thank you, Mum. I am sorry you are caught between Father and me. But if the Bloods could not break me, there is nothing Father can do that will.
Lewis relaxes against the pillow, and his mother’s hand settles carefully over his hair. The effort of speaking draws a sharp ache through his shoulder, leaving his fingers cramped.
Lewis's mother
Then I shall remember that when I write to him. But being unbreakable does not mean you must endure everything without help, my dear.
Parsley
He has not broken you. He has only shown that he will use authority where honesty would require courage.
Edwin
And you have answered him without becoming cruel. That is restraint, even if he refuses to call it that.
The doctor loosens the sling and supports Lewis’s arm until the cramp passes. On the table, the two letters remain beside the Housemaster’s records, ready for tomorrow’s questions.
Lewis's mother
Rest tonight, and tomorrow we shall ask him precisely what he means by restraint, conduct, and welcome. If he will not answer, others will witness his silence.