“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 mymotivation?”
“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 toyou,Oliver?”
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. “Somethingelse.”
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 thebook 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.
