Summary

The first chapter of Part Four relates the ending of Penn’s fairy tale. Grumwald and Princess Stephanie, it turns out, have been two parts of the same entity all along as a result of the witch’s spell. Grumwald turned into Princess Stephanie at night, which was why he sought a magic cure from the witch. Deciding that “Making peace was better than living in fear,” he approaches the witch to have the spell lifted. When she asks him whether he would rather be Grumwald or Princess Stephanie, he decides he wants to be both. The witch tells him that the magic way to this outcome is by telling his secrets. Grumwald says this is not magic, but the witch replies, “Story is the best magic there is” (312).

The novel’s final chapter, “After,” opens with Poppy’s reentry into...