The Thirteenth Princess

By Diane Zahler

Zita is not an ordinary servant girl—she's the thirteenth daughter of a king who wanted only sons. When she was born, Zita's father banished her to the servants' quarters to work in the kitchens, where she can only communicate with her royal sisters in secret.

Then, after Zita's twelfth birthday, the princesses all fall mysteriously ill. The only clue is their strangely worn and tattered shoes. With the help of her friends—Breckin the stable boy, Babette the witch, and Milek the soldier—Zita follows her bewitched sisters into a magical world of endless dancing and dreams. But something more sinister is afoot—and unless Zita and her friends can break the curse, the twelve princesses will surely dance to their deaths.

A classic fairy tale with a bold twist, The Thirteenth Princess tells the unforgettable story of a magical castle, true love, spellbound princesses—and the young girl determined to save them all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Feb 2, 2010
• ISBN: 9780061948480

Diane Zahler

Diane Zahler is the author of The Thirteenth Princess, A True Princess, and Princess of the Wild Swans. Her books have been praised for their "delicious descriptions" (Kirkus Reviews) and their "gratifying depth" (Publishers Weekly). Diane lives with her husband in New York's Harlem Valley, in an old farmhouse held together by magic spells and duct tape.

Book preview

Chapter 1

IN WHICH I AM BORN

My name is Zita, and I am the thirteenth of thirteen princesses. My twelve sisters have become the subject of legend, even in faraway kingdoms, but I am sure that you have never heard of me.

I first heard the tale of my birth from Cook, who was my friend and my confidante, when I was no more than seven years old. She had just showed me how to roll out a circle of dough for pie crust that didn’t stick to the rolling pin, when I brought myself to ask the question that had been on my mind for some time: Cook, where is my mother?

Her round, flushed face became very serious, and she put down her rolling pin, dusted off her floury hands, and came to sit beside me at the long wooden table.

I have been waiting for you to ask, she said. You must listen as I tell you, and you must not interrupt.

Solemnly, I nodded.

Your mother was the queen, the wife of our king, Cook began. Immediately I interrupted.

What are you talking about? I demanded. "She was the queen? Our queen? Do you mean that King Aricin is my father—that horrid man? Wait—do you mean that the princesses are my sisters?"

Cook glared at me and reached for the rolling pin, and I ducked instinctively, though I knew she would never so much as tap me with it.

Before Cook could go on, the underbutler, Burle, appeared at the kitchen door for his midmorning tea. He was a short man with the face of a weasel and whiskers to match, and I despised him. Whenever he entered a room, I left, so I took the opportunity to scurry under his arm and out of the kitchen as Cook hurried to put the kettle on.

In an upper hallway I found Chiara, the housekeeper, who loved to gossip. I hoped she would tell me more. She paused in her dusting when she saw me.

Do you not have a task to do, Zita? she scolded me.

If not, I can find you one quick enough!

No, wait, I begged. Cook has told me something amazing. Is it true? Are the princesses my sisters?

Chiara’s beady eyes softened. True enough, she told me.

Then the queen—the queen was my mother?

Chiara gave a bark of laughter. You’d never know it to look at you, but it is so!

I could hardly take this in, it was so strange and wondrous. I was a princess! No matter that my hands were reddened from washing dishes and the ends of my hair scorched from working too near the kitchen fire. I was related to the twelve beautiful, golden-haired girls I saw only from a distance, graceful and lovely in their embroidered gowns and delicate jewels. To think about it, I sat behind a potted plant, where no one would bother me, and soon more questions occurred to me. I went back to Cook for answers, knowing that Burle would have finished his tea and departed.

What did my mother look like? I wanted to know.

Oh, Queen Amara was as beautiful as ever a queen could be, Cook told me, sprinkling herbs into the soup. She described the queen’s silvery hair, and her eyes as blue as a spring-fed lake. My mother loved the king, Cook said, and he adored her. Their marriage was a cause for great rejoicing in the kingdom, for the king was nearly forty by then and had despaired of ever finding a wife. He would not marry for heirs alone, nor for convenience, but waited for true love. He had many dalliances as he waited, of course, for he was a handsome man in those days.

I could not help myself. What is a dalliance? I asked.

Cook’s red face turned even redder, and she harrumphed in the way she had when she did not want to answer a question.

He was well liked, is what I meant, Cook responded. Various princesses longed for him, and many others—from ladies in waiting to serving maids—caught his eye. But he bided his time, and he found the love he sought with your mother.

Within a year, Cook told me, the queen was pregnant. The king had hoped for a son, but when a daughter was born, he was pleased nonetheless. On her naming day, Mother clothed the baby in a silken dress embroidered with pearls and gold, and the king named her Aurelia, his golden one. All our children shall have names beginning with A, like their mother, the king said fondly. They delighted in the child’s calm smiles and sparkling blue eyes. Her hair came in golden blond, and even as a baby she was beautiful, like the queen.

That is the princess Aurelia? I asked.

Cook nodded, allowing the interruption.

I hugged myself in pleasure. The most beautiful, the kindest of princesses—and she was my oldest sister!

Your father loved your sister Aurelia so much that at her birth, he banned magic from the kingdom, fearing that an evil witch might curse her at her christening, as has happened so often, Cook informed me. I had heard tales of princesses cursed at their birth by wicked or jealous witches, and I thought this a very wise and loving thing for a father to do.

The soup that Cook had forgotten to stir boiled over at that point, and she blamed me and banished me to the upper floors again. This time, I hid behind a piece of statuary and waited. I knew the princesses—my sisters!—would soon be going out for their daily exercise—a walk, or a ride on horseback, or a turn about the lake in their little rowboats. Sure enough, a few moments later I heard their cheerful voices and the sound of their heels clattering down the stairs. Nurse led them, and to my joy Aurelia was last in line. As she passed by me, I stepped out and plucked at her skirt, whispering, Princess!

Aurelia stopped and turned, and her fair face broke into a smile of genuine pleasure.

Little Zita! she said. How pretty your curls look today!

I pulled at my red ringlets, which I hated.

I have always wished for curls, Aurelia told me. Do you know what I have to do to curl my hair?

I shook my head.

She laughed. It is an endless process—and sometimes painful. You are lucky!

I was tempted to go on talking of hair and curls, but I needed to know something.

Princess, I said hesitantly, I have heard—is it true?—do you know—that you and I are sisters?

I waited for her to gasp in shock, or laugh at me, or look at me with disdain. She did none of those things. Instead she took my hands quickly in hers.

Yes, Zita. I do know this, she said in a low voice. We all do. And I am so glad that you know it now! We’ve hated that we’ve had to keep it secret from you.

Princess Aurelia! Nurse called from below us.

Aurelia looked hurriedly around, and I could see worry in her face. But I cannot talk now—I must join the others. And before I could say another word, she squeezed my hands, whirled about, and hurried off to catch up with the rest. I watched her go, puzzled by the mystery that seemed to surround our relationship. But still, I was so happy. Just an hour before, I had been nothing more than a kitchen maid, with no relations, no real friend but Cook. Now I had sisters—twelve of them!

For a while I was content simply to know this and to watch my sisters and imagine myself with them. As I grew older, though, I began to have more and more questions. No one seemed to want to tell me everything, but by the time I was eleven I had pieced together the story of my sisters’ births from tales told by Chiara, Cook, and Salina, Bethea, and Dagman, the maids with whom I shared a room. They told me that soon after Aurelia was born—very soon, according to the midwives—Mother was again with child. This time she delivered twins, both girls, both blue-eyed and yellow-haired. The king was a little distressed, but he masked it well. He proclaimed the twins Alanna, because he thought her handsome, and Ariadne, because her steady gaze was a chain that clasped his heart, and he smiled as if he meant it. After dinner each day, he visited the nursery and played with Aurelia and rocked the twins. Chiara said to me in a rare sentimental moment, I remember thinking that I had never seen such a happy family.

A year later, Mother was brought to bed again. Again, a girl, Althea, issued forth. The king scowled this time when he heard the news. Adena came next, then Asenka, and then another set of twins, Amina and Alima. By the time these twins were born, the king no longer appeared at the ceremonies, and Mother was thin, approaching gaunt, and tired, though she was only twenty-five.

When Akila, the ninth child, was born, the king was out hunting, and he did not return until two days later. Whispers began in the palace about his distress over the unending line of girls. After the springtime birth of Allegra, and again when Mother bore Asmita, the king raged through the gardens, scattering servants before him like chaff before a wind.

The twelfth baby was born after a hard, long labor, and she went nameless for a week. The castle buzzed with the idea of a princess without a name. Then a kitchen maid suggested the name Anisa to the cook, who repeated it to a downstairs maid. The downstairs maid whispered the name to an upstairs maid, who left it written on a scrap of paper in the nursery. When Nurse found the paper, she brought it to Mother, and wearily Mother accepted the name, never guessing that it had been the name of the kitchen maid’s cat.

The king cursed when he found out the baby was a girl. No more children, he proclaimed, and he stopped visiting Mother’s room. Mother did not recover fully from Anisa’s birth; the doctors were at a loss to find the problem. I think, Cook said to me wistfully, that sadness made her weaken and fail.

After I learned about Anisa, I stopped asking for a time, fearful of what I would find out. Finally, though, I had to know. I went to Cook, and she told me the last part of the terrible tale, which began when our nearest neighbor, King Damon, visited our castle. Our guests had grown few over the years. Once, Cook said, our court was a place of great fun, and nobles vied for the invitations that the king and Mother issued for their Twelfth Night and May Day festivals. There were no more of these, but still the occasional wandering king, bored with peace in his own kingdom, might happen by. King Damon brought with him his family—his wife, frumpy Queen Eleanora, and his four sons. Four sons! Aurelia, Alanna, Ariadne, and Althea, now eleven, ten, and nine years old, were thrilled, but the king could hardly bear it. To have to entertain a man who had not one heir but four was too much for him. The four boys played with his older daughters, laughing and dancing about the parquet floor of the drawing room, and the king watched them in silence as he drank glass after glass of wine. After the jesters and tumblers had finished and the guests had stumbled off to bed, he made his way down the long-unused hall to Mother’s room. In a fury, he hammered on her door, and when she rushed to open it, he cried out, I must have a son!

Now Cook took my hands in hers, and I felt from the dampness of her palms that I would not like this part of the story.

Nine months later, she told me, on a day so hot and oppressive that even to move was to sweat, your mother’s labor began. This time, the king paced the floor outside the room in agony. Doctors came and went, looking ever more worried. If I had not known that magic was banned from the kingdom, I would have said that a bad enchantment was at work that day. The heat grew, and at last the sky darkened and cracked open with lightning.

Cook paused in her story, and I held my breath, caught between dread and anticipation. A moment later there came a scream so high and horrifying that the glass in the labor room’s windows cracked. The king rushed inside to find a wild scene of frantic doctors and midwives, trying to staunch the blood that flowed from your mother. In the midst of mayhem, a baby’s cry sounded, and the king scrambled to find the source of the cry.

She paused again, and I trembled, for I knew what she would say.

It was a girl, she told me gently. It was you.

I wept then, knowing that I was the thirteenth daughter born to a king who wanted only a son. In every tale I know, the number thirteen is bad luck. If thirteen come to dinner, another invitation is sent out quickly, another place laid. When houses are numbered, thirteen is always skipped. I felt that I was the unluckiest person in the world. My tears fell still harder when Cook said, Your mother died that night, my child. It was through no fault of yours, but simply from exhaustion and loss of blood.

If it was not my fault, I sobbed, then why does the king—my father—hate me?

Cook sighed and wiped my face with the towel she kept always threaded through her apron strings.

He was wild with grief and despair, she told me. He loved your mother so, though he seemed to have forgotten that over time. But I am sure he does not blame you or hate you.

Cook was overcome and did not want to go on, but I sensed that there was more to the tale. I went in search of Chiara and found her moving from room to room upstairs. Her keys rattled on their long chain as she surveyed each chamber, making sure fires were lighted, windows sparkled, and drapes were drawn or open as the king preferred. I scuttled along behind her as quickly as I could.

Oh yes, it’s all true, she said, her dour face glowing with the pleasure of telling tales. When he looked at you, his lip twisted up the way it is now; and so it has stayed. And before he left the labor room, he said to Nurse, ‘I never want to see this child. Place her with the servants. Keep her from my eyes. She has killed her mother, and my hope.’

I gasped.

Chiara went on. Nurse protested, she told me, "saying, ‘She is just a baby. Her mother’s death is no fault of hers! Please, Your Majesty, at least give the babe a name!’

"But your father laughed and said, ‘A name? She shall not be Arabella, or Alcantha, or Ava. She is no true daughter of mine. Call her Zita, after the patron saint of servants, and keep her with the servants, out of my sight.’ And then he fled the room.

And so, Chiara finished, here you are, and there he is, and what can be done? Oh, child, stop your sniveling and do get out of my way! And she swept away from me, leaving me to try to make some sense of my world, which I no longer recognized at all.

I wandered to a mirror in the hallway and stood staring at my reflection. I did not see the face of a princess. I was streaked with tears, and flour where Cook had wiped my face, and some dirt as well. Princesses were not filthy; my sisters were always clean and fresh. I was not blond, nor blue-eyed. My sisters all had straight hair like silk, in colors from silver to gold, and their eyes were aquamarine and the color of sky and violet and every other shade blue might be. But my hair sprang curled and red, and my eyes were as green as

Reviews for The Thirteenth Princess

[llpollac · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Zita is the king's thirteenth daughter, but has been raised as a servant since she caused the death of her mother in childbirth. When her twelve older siblings begin to fall under an enchanted exhaustion, with no clue as to the cause other than their worn-out dancing slippers, it is up to Zita, with help from her friends Breckin the stable-boy, Milek the soldier, and Babette the witch, to find the cause and save her beloved sisters. This retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" places a heroine rather than a hero at the heart of solving the mystery. However, the larger story is more about Zita's relationship with her father the king. The premise that Zita is raised as a servant in the palace but is still beloved by all of her sisters, who know exactly who she is, is rather improbable but manages to work. None of the twelve sisters are particularly well developed, and the pace of the plot drags at times. A bit of romance adds to the story without overwhelming it. Middle grades readers, especially girls who enjoy retellings of fairy tales, will enjoy this book.

[foggidawn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This retelling of the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" is a fun read without a lot of substance. Zita, the thirteenth daughter of a king, is shunned by her father and made to live as a servant in her own house. When her older sisters are enslaved by a mysterious enchantment, Zita, her stable-boy friend Breckin, and a mysterious old lady who lives in the forest work together to discover and overturn the enchantment. The plot drags at times, and the characters are not as well-developed as they could be. Young readers who are addicted to fairy tale retellings will probably enjoy this, though it's not on par with Gail Carson Levine or Robin McKinley's work.

[shadrachanki · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this retelling of The Twelve Dancing Princesses, and I absolutely love the cover illustration. I do have to say that it is a pretty quick read, and there isn't necessarily a great deal of depth to it. But it holds up well, and younger audiences especially should enjoy it.

[the1butterfly · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This retelling includes all the elements of the original story, but changes many of them, primarily to give the thirteenth princess a role. I found the story captivating, and I very much liked Zita and Breckin. I was a little surprised by how some of the family relationships worked out, but I was happy with how everything went.

[Fadzayi Dzoro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it
It's very time consuming and addictive the best hope there are more

[rebecca191 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For as long as she can remember, all Zita knew was the life of a servant girl in the castle of the harsh King Aricin. But when she is seven years old, she learns a secret that changes her life forever: she is the youngest daughter of the king, banished to the servant’s quarters after her birth. And over the next four years, she learns the reasons why: her father only wanted sons, and when his wife died giving birth to their thirteenth daughter, he wanted nothing to do with the newborn Zita and sent her off to be cared for and live among the palace servants. But Zita’s twelve older sisters know the truth, and still love her. When they realize that she has learned the truth, they decide to secretly spend time with her, which brings much happiness to Zita’s dreary life.Shortly after Zita’s twelfth birthday, however, strange things begin to happen to the princesses, causing Zita to be deeply worried for her sisters. First, they are unable to speak in the presence of suitors. Then, they begin to become very tired and pale, but show no visible signs of illness. And though they spend all day resting in the palace, their shoes are mysteriously worn through. Zita soon suspects someone may be using magic against the princesses. Aided by her best friend Breckin, a stable boy at the castle, and Babette, a kind witch who lives in the nearby woods, Zita sets out to solve the mystery and save her sisters.The Thirteenth Princess is a delightful middle grade retelling of the story “The Twelve Dancing Princesses," filled with mystery, adventure, magic, and a bit of romance. It is sure to be enjoyed by young girls who love books by Gail Carson Levine or Shannon Hale, and by anyone who loves fairy tale retellings. Zita is a charming heroine, and readers will cheer her on during her quest to save her sisters. This book is the first by debut author Diane Zahler, and I look forward to reading more from this promising new writer.

[mutantpudding · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is the third retelling of the same fairytale (the 12 dancing princesses) Ive read this year. They've gotten progressively better so maybe I should look for a fourth and see if its a 4 star read.

This book contains inacurate foraging information (morels and walnuts at the same time of year?!)

[books9n9pickles · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

After two weighty books—The Speckled Monster was long and God’s Demon dragged a bit—I was ready for something light and fluffy. How better to do that than to return to my roots with a good old-fashioned fairy tale retelling?

I’m amazed that Zahler managed to pull this off! I’ve always thought The Twelve Dancing Princesses must be a hard one to redo given the vast assortment of characters to keep track of—and yeah, the sisters didn’t all have distinct personalities, but Zahler did a remarkable job getting us to follow a few and appreciate the others. Though I can’t say I was very appreciative of the fact that the sisters’ names all started with A. Going alphabetically (maybe with twins sharing a first letter) would have been a huge help for keeping everyone straight and figuring out quickly where they fell in birth order.

Overall, it’s an enchanting book, one that would probably have been a favorite when I was in fourth or fifth grade. The idea of the one daughter being set aside as a servant surrounded by a sprawling family is actually one that I turned to relatively frequently when I was playing with dolls, animals, and Legos. (I have no idea why!) The description of the palace and surrounding land is also something I might have imagined—so maybe part of the reason I found this book so lovely is that it reminded me of my own childhood imagination. Most of the book had the same childhood innocence, the kind of detachment from reality/not totally consistent logic that is harder to get away with in even young adult books.

So with that said, the one thing that caught me up a bit was that this book had some very adult moments. It’s advertised as being for 8 to 12 year olds, but there are intimations of bastard children that ruin the lives of the mothers while the fathers get off the hook (69), “stopping at kissing” (126), and pedophilia with a side of rape (128). I’m trying to imagine an 8-year-old asking me why these two moments in the book are important, and what I would say—and it’s not easy. Neither moment is necessary, but their presence threw long shadows on my enjoyment of the rest of the book. With such adult themes, it was harder for me to make the logical allowances that I normally give for children’s books.

Yeesh, these reviews always end up being about the things I don’t like, don’t they? But seriously, all in hall, The Thirteenth Princess was absolutely charming and I would definitely recommend it to fellow lovers of fairytale retellings, particularly to those who like Gail Carson Levine and Donna Jo Napoli.

Quote Roundup

34) As an adult, I was a bit uncomfortable with how Zita’a older sisters treated her like a pet rather than a person, pressuring her into things she was uncomfortable with, like piercing her ears, so that she could be a “real” princess. This was another subtly dark theme, really, the Marie-Antoinette-ish obliviousness the sisters had for the situation of those in lower stations—stealing food from the cook even though it got the cook into trouble with the king (25) and making Zita a lavishly beautiful blanket that she will have to hid from other servants (41).

43) Props to the author for having the oldest daughter want to rule in her own right. There were some feminist issues in this book, but this at least was refreshing.

65-66) “After your father banished magic, she did not come to see me anymore. She wanted to much to please him—it was her undoing.”
Okay, feminist points for this message: don’t live only for your husband.

86) Boys were so proud—you always had to let them think they were good at things.
Aaaaaand feminist points canceled out for a comment that could have easily applied to both sexes. Deal with it, dudes

223) Zita magically recovers from years of psychological trauma.

232) I was a bit disappointed by Zita’s end-of-book transformation. I was hoping she’d be happy somewhere between royalty and peasantship.

241) I was also super disappointed that Zita, a 12-year-old girl, ended up with a love interest. Sheesh, at least give them one or two more years for puberty to set in!