Most good stories start with a fundamental list of ingredients: the initial situation, conflict, complication, climax, suspense, denouement, and conclusion. Great writers sometimes shake up the recipe and add some spice.
Exposition
Missing Mom
Azalea's life isn't bad as firstborn princess of Eathesbury… until her mom dies. Suddenly Azalea has to look out for her younger sisters (all eleven of them) while navigating her dad's distant moods. We smell some family drama coming up, along with enough discontent to make the girls act out. With this set-up, we get a sense of who the royal family is, along with how far the girls will go to look out for each other.
Rising Action
No Dancing, No Way
Because they're in mourning for their mom, the girls are forbidden to dance. This leads them to think it's a great idea to disappear down a magic passage in their room every night to dance in a hidden pavilion staffed by a mysterious dude named Keeper. On top of that, Azalea has to begin entertaining suitors since as eldest princess, she's due to be wed off soon. Will she have a say in who she marries? Will her dad stop being so distant? With all these balls in the air, we're getting a sense of some of the interpersonal conflicts and plot complications that will come to a head soon.
Climax
The King Is Dead, Long Live the King
Azalea unwittingly releases Keeper from his enchanted prison, and he magically sticks her sisters in mirrors where they'll soon die. Luckily Azalea isn't totally powerless against him, thanks to the silver handkerchief her (dead) mom restores to her in a dream.
The King shows up with the cavalry, including Mr. Bradford, who's been interested in Azalea for a while (and she reciprocates his interest). Keeper manages to take on Azalea's shape, though, and when the King hesitates to shoot Keeper-who-looks-like-Azalea, Keeper fatally shoots the King. Holy catastrophe, Batman, all this stuff sure is exciting enough to be, like, the climax or something.
Falling Action
All You Need Is Love
The girls gather around their father, and through the mysterious warm tingly magic that unites them as a family, they somehow heal him from the brink of death. Keeper, who's fulfilled his oath to kill the Captain General, disappears into true death. The palace is a wreck, so the royal family stays at the prime minister's posh place. Here we get a breather from all the excitement of the climax, and we get the first inkling that things just might be okay.
Resolution
A Suitable (Dance) Partner
The girls tell the King that they're willing to continue being in mourning since they know it means a lot to him—but he thankfully decides that it's time to lift mourning since one year has passed.
Azalea's sisters Bramble and Clover get to be wooed by the gentlemen they've developed an interest in, and Azalea finally gets to see Mr. Bradford, who has manned up and applied for permission through parliament to marry her (he's also decided to join the political fray by running for parliament, which is a bonus point in his favor). Azalea leads her sisters in a dance to welcome Mr. Bradford to the family, and she even makes the King join in, symbolizing that their family has healed and grown closer. Sounds like a good resolution to us.