And then, everyone starts clapping. “Bravo!” Frump howls.
Even the mermaids look a bit teary. “I guess not
Seraphima stares down at the sand between her feet, puzzled. “So, the whole time, I’ve actually been falling for Frump?”
I nod. “But you were too afraid to show it, because you didn’t want to hurt Prince Oliver’s feelings.”
Seraphima smiles brightly and reaches out to pull Frump onto her lap. “I think I knew it all along,” she says shyly.
“Are there any other questions?” I ask.
Socks paws at the ground with his hoof to get my attention.
“Yes, Socks?”
“Oliver, when you said I was a mighty steed in this new version-does that mean I’m maybe a little thinner?”
“You’re the best-looking horse in the kingdom,” I say. “You’re the horse all other horses aspire to become.”
He whinnies and tosses his mane, delighted.
Pyro raises one stubby arm. “I’m just not clear… What’s my
“You want to channel all the pain and rage you’ve felt from being misunderstood as a destructive beast, and pour that into your performance,” I suggest.
The dragon hiccups. “I can work with that.”
“Great!” I clap my hands together. “So if we’re all set, why don’t we go off and practice so that we’re ready the minute the book opens again-”
“Just a moment.” Rapscullio stands up, tall and foreboding, his black hair falling over his forehead and casting a shadow on his scar. “What happens to
I grin. “Well, I guess I leave the book, and live happily ever after.”
“But are you only the same size in the Otherworld that you are in this one?” Ember asks. “Then you’d be as tiny as a fairy.”
“Are you going to look like they do, or are you going to be flat?” Walleye chimes in.
My stomach turns. Actually, I don’t know the answers. I won’t until we see whether or not this works. “I suppose it’s all a mystery,” I reply. “I’ll let you know when I get there.”
There’s a soft whine, and I turn to see Frump clearing his throat. “Can we visit?” he asks quietly.
I meet my best friend’s gaze. I can’t imagine not seeing him again. “I’m not sure,” I say honestly. He ducks his snout, disappointed, and I step forward to rub him between the ears and comfort him, but before I do, Seraphima reaches out and strokes his back. This much I know: Frump will be in good hands.
Suddenly the sand begins to spit and swirl as the edges of the beach curl upward. “Places!” Frump barks. “Everybody!”
I fall page after page, coming to an abrupt halt against the stone floor of the castle. I lift my head in time to see Queen Maureen smack into her throne so hard her crown goes flying. Frump catches it in his teeth like a Frisbee. “Your Majesty,” he says, returning it.
The story starts like it always does, with me telling my mother I am headed off to find my true love. The difference is that this time, my true love isn’t waiting for me on Everafter Beach. She’s much farther away. “Wish me luck,” I murmur under my breath, hoping that Delilah is listening, and I speak my lines.
For the next hour, I go through the pages: being attacked by the fairies, falling into the ocean to be captured by the mermaids, tricking the trolls. I get kidnapped by Captain Crabbe, battle Pyro, and visit Orville to find Seraphima’s location. The other characters do their part as well. I am particularly impressed by Socks, who suddenly presents himself as a stamping, snorting white stallion. It’s as if confidence alone has made him grow a foot in height. From the corner of my eye, I watch Seraphima giving longing looks to Frump after every one of our scenes together.
At one point, just like always, I scale the rock wall-but here, I pause and give a speech.
While she was writing the new story, Delilah realized she still needed a spot where I was alone, so that she could always find me on a certain page if necessary. But now, instead of climbing the rock wall on page 43, I talk about Delilah. About this girl who, against all odds, noticed that I am real.
And then, before I know it, we are all gathered again for the final illustration on Everafter Beach. Here I am with Frump by my side, a wedding ring tied to his collar. Here’s Seraphima, walking down the crushed shell aisle. But this time, I don’t kiss the bride.
“I object,” I say, my new line.
Captain Crabbe, who is officiating at the wedding, looks up. “I don’t think you can object to your own wedding, son.”
“But you can if it’s not true love,” I reply.
“I object too,” Seraphima announces. “I’m in love with someone else.” She looks down at Frump. “Some
She leans down and plants a kiss on Frump’s slightly damp snout.
There is a shower of sparks, and before our eyes, Frump transforms into a human again. A clothed one, this time. When Delilah wrote the scene, I made sure of it.
Frump feels his arms and his legs, and tosses me the widest of smiles. “True love,” he says, “can break the most powerful curse.”
The fact that Frump has morphed means that the book is allowing some of the changes we’ve made. I can only hope it’s a sign of what’s left to come. This is our loophole: we’re not changing the story, we’re adding to it. There’s nothing to be fixed, only more to be done by its characters.
I take Seraphima’s hand and carefully place it in Frump’s. “I wouldn’t want you to miss out on a lifetime of love any more than you’d want me to miss out on the same,” I tell her. “Everyone deserves a happy ending… and mine is somewhere outside these pages.”
I’ve read Delilah’s final paragraph a dozen times; I know it by heart. So I start moving. One foot in front of the other, down the beach, along the edge of the water. The mermaids wave, but I don’t look back at them. I’m afraid if I do, I’ll already start missing everyone I have to leave behind.
I am approaching the edge of the illustration, the part where the colors bleed to white space. Taking a deep breath, I jump.
And smack my face into something hard, stiff, unyielding.
For a moment, all I can see are silver stars, and white space.
I feel something licking my face and look up to find Frump, reverted once again to dog form. Then Seraphima’s voice floats over me. “Oliver?” she says. “Maybe this book doesn’t want to let you go.”
We are on page 43. Well, we’re on different sides of it, anyway. Delilah has propped the book up against her pillow, and we are speaking through the darkness.
Once it became clear that our latest plan wasn’t going to work either, Delilah politely said good night to Edgar and carried the book into the guest room. She managed to keep herself from crying until we were alone, but she hasn’t stopped since.
“It’s okay,” I try to tell her, lying. “It’s not so bad.”
“You hate it there,” she sobs. “And I can’t stand it here without you.”
I reach up to her, trying to remember what it felt like when I was holding her hand, walking down the roads of this kingdom. “I’m here whenever you need me,” I say. “I think it’s pretty clear I’m not going anywhere.”
It turns out that there’s something even harder than not being able to be with the person you love when you’re happy: not being able to comfort her when she’s sad. “Delilah Eve McPhee,” I say, “even if I never leave these pages… I would do this a thousand times over again, just to have the chance to meet you.”
“Oh, Oliver,” she whispers. “I love you too.”
