Fairy Tale
by Stephen King
Contents
Chapter Thirty-One: Visitors. The Queen in White. Mercy. Woody and Claudia. Leaving Empis.
Overview
Charlie convalesces while Lilimar rebuilds. Leah finally visits, confessing she long knew Elden was the Flight Killer and revealing the sundial leaves riders barren. They acknowledge love but agree Charlie must return home. After reconciling with Claudia and Woody, Charlie receives a royal send-off from Queen Leah and the grateful city.
Summary
Charlie spends weeks recovering in a bright chamber, tended by gray nurses led by Dora. He hallucinates visits from the dead: Iota urges him to fight; Kellin taunts him; Petra grins from the shadows until Dora calms him. Meanwhile, the gray curse’s advance has halted across the city, though full recovery seems unlikely.
Living visitors arrive: Cammit, Quilly, and Stooks check in. Claudia and Doc Freed (newly amputated) examine Charlie’s bite and confirm the infection is gone. At Charlie’s request, Percival visits and reports Lilimar’s renewal—streets cleared, fountains restarting, trolley wires going back up, and power drawn from river and sea stations.
Leah, at last, comes in white. She and Charlie speak of the sundial—its peril and that it renders riders sterile—and of the route they chose to reach the Dark Well. Leah admits she long knew Elden was the Flight Killer and confesses her shame for not acting. Charlie shares a childhood cruelty to mirror her guilt. They declare love but accept he must return to his world.
Eris and Jaya visit cheerfully; that night Eris returns and lies with Charlie. Later, Claudia and Woody arrive to thank him. Charlie angrily condemns their past inaction, and they acknowledge their weakness, calling him the promised prince. Choosing not to leave in anger, he reconciles and requests a heavy tool for his plans back home.
Charlie departs Lilimar in a mule-drawn cart driven by Dora, Radar riding behind. Survivors line the Gallien Road, cheering; Eris wheels Doc Freed alongside; monarch butterflies fill the sky. At the gate, crowned Queen Leah proclaims her gratitude, places a garland of Red Hope on Charlie, kisses him, and sends him home in honor.
Who Appears
- Charlie ReadeConvalesces from Petra’s bite, haunted by visions, hears news of rebuilding, declares love with Leah, reconciles with Claudia and Woody, prepares to return, honored at departure.
- Queen Leah of the GalliensVisits in white; confesses knowing Elden; explains the sundial’s sterility; loves Charlie but lets him go; crowns his departure with a garland and public thanks.
- DoraLead nurse who monitors Charlie’s heartbeat and wound, brings tea, and later drives the mule cart for his ceremonial farewell.
- ClaudiaHealer whose poultices save Charlie’s arm; visits with Woody; admits past weakness; seeks peace before his departure.
- Doc FreedNow amputated but recovering; confirms Charlie’s healing; later wheeled by Eris during the send-off procession.
- ErisComrade who visits with Jaya, later returns at night to sleep with Charlie, and pushes Doc Freed during the farewell.
- RadarCharlie's dog; growls at apparitions, stays by his feet, rides in the cart; a butterfly lands on her head at the send-off.
- JayaFriend working on city repairs; visits with Eris, admires Charlie’s pack, and shares news of Lilimar’s revival.
- PercivalShy palace cook who brings practical news of cleanup, reopened shops, and power from river and sea stations.
- WoodyBlind royal who thanks Charlie; acknowledges past inaction; offers help as Charlie prepares to leave.
- StooksScarred soldier who jokes about his stitched cheek and visits Charlie during recovery.
- IotaAppears as a ghostly visitor, urging Charlie to fight the lingering effects of Petra’s poison.
- KellinDead Lord High’s apparition taunts Charlie about the infection and his impending death.
- PetraDead antagonist glimpsed grinning in the shadows; her bite wound is healing under care.