The Thirteenth Princess (17 page)
Read The Thirteenth Princess Online
Authors: Diane Zahler
In reply Breckin bent his head to mine, and our lips touched in the kiss that had been forbidden to me since I'd made my vow to Aurelia that I would not be kissed before she was. Now she was married and would be kissed regularly, and I was free.
The wedding cake, which Cook and I had baked with just a little help from Babette, was cut and parceled out and proclaimed delicious. Then the bride and groom were bundled into a white carriage drawn by two snow-white horses and carried off on their honeymoon to the seaside, where Aurelia had never been. Of course, she had never been anywhere, and I could only hope that this little trip was the first of many she and Milek, who had been everywhere during his soldiering, would take
as queen and prince consort.
The guests stayed till the dawn light showed in the east, and my sisters and I bade them good-bye at the door. Breckin kissed my hand there, like a courtier, and my sisters saw us and laughed and teased us with delight. Several noblemen and princes from the neighboring kingdoms had asked to call on them the following week, and they were more pleased than I can say. We did not go to sleep after everyone had left, but retired to the largest bedroom and gathered on the two beds. There we sprawled, brushing out one another's hair and nibbling on canapés left over from the evening.
“The most beautiful bride,” Adena said. “Wasn't she?”
We all agreed.
“Do you think I can wear the veil when I marry?” Alanna said dreamily. She had danced half the night in the arms of one of King Damon's sons, and he had asked to call again a fortnight hence.
“I think we all should wear it,” Allegra proclaimed. “Each in order, and you at the end, Zita!” I smiled at the thought, imagining the lace perched atop my red curls, and then yawned widely, starting a series of yawns that passed in turn from one sister to the next.
Our gossip went on for a time, but one by one voices
dropped out of it, until only I remained awake. For a time I watched them slumber, my beloved sisters, in the pale light of the moon that came in through the tall windows. And as sleep claimed me as well, I knew that at long last I was where I belonged, safe and snug in my own happily ever after.
I would like to thank the following:
Maria Gomez and Barbara Lalicki, for their enthusiasm and inspired editing
Jan and Stan Zahler, for the weekly trips to the library that started it all
Debra and Arnie Cardillo, for their moral and professional support
Shani Chamberlain, for her ideas and encouragement
Nick Scudamore, for his perceptive suggestions
Lisa Herb, for her generous legal expertise
My family, for their unwavering belief in me
Philip Sicker, for everything
DIANE ZAHLER
lives with her husband, son, and dog in New York's Harlem Valley, in an old farmhouse held together by magic spells and duct tape, writing fairy tales of her own.
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Jacket art © 2010 by Laurel Long
Jacket design by Joel Tippie
THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS
. Copyright © 2010 by Diane Zahler.Chapter 9: from “First Look” by John Clare, public domain
Chapter 9: from “The Princess” by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, public domain
Chapter 9: from “Epitaph on the Monument of Sir William Dyer at
Colmworth, 1641” by Lady Catherine Dyer, public domain
Chapter 11: from “Damned Women” by Charles Baudelaire. Original French
poem is public domain; author has supplied her own translation of the
poem. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Zahler, Diane.
     The thirteenth princess / Diane Zahler. â 1st ed.
        p. cm.
     Summary: Zita, cast aside by her father and raised as a kitchen maid, learns when she is nearly twelve that she is the thirteenth princess and that her sisters love her, and so when she learns they are victims of an evil enchantment, she desperately tries to save them. Inspired by the Grimm fairy tale, “The twelve dancing princesses.”
     ISBN 978-0-06-182498-2 (trade bdg.)
     ISBN 978-0-06-182499-9 (lib. bdg.)
     [1. Fairy tales. 2. PrincessesâFiction. 3. SistersâFiction. 4. Household employeesâFiction. 5. Fathers and daughtersâFiction. 6. MagicâFiction.] I. Title.
PZ8.Z17Thi   2010          2009014575
[Fic]âdc22Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â CIP
                           AC
EPub Edition © December 2009 ISBN: 978-0-06-194848-0
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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