by M J Marstens
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Historical Note
Characters
Romanov Family Tree
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Epilogue
Afterword
Thank You
More by M.J. Marstens
Excerpt from Unveiled: A Dark Menage
Copyright © 2020 M.J. Marstens
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
M.J. Marstens asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
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First edition
For readers 18+
Dedication
To every lonely girl who hopes she’s a princess—you are—unless you dream of being Bartok. In that case, I give you a HA, and a HIYA, and then I’ll kick you, sir.
Historical Note
In college, I minored in Russian studies. It has always been a great passion of mine and I have been learning the language since I was fifteen. Therefore, I have tried my absolute best to accurately represent the collapse of the tsardom and the Russian Civil War. Having said that, this is a work of fiction—a reverse harem one at that. Obviously, the Grand Duchess1 Anastasia did not have multiple love interests. The horrible, but honest truth, is that she died when she was only seventeen, shot down by Yakov Mikhailovich Yurovsky and others, along with the rest of her family.
No one escaped.
The 1997 movie grossly exaggerated many things in this regard. Firstly, it was never specifically Anastasia that was said to have escaped. Rather, it was argued it was either her or Maria since neither of their bodies was distinguished and identified at first. Secondly, Grigori Rasputin was never the bad guy—at least not to the Tsar, his wife, or children. The Tsarina2 especially had an excellent rapport with the Russian Orthodox priest.
In this novel, I try to accurately portray these relationships and tensions in the country while still striving to make it an enjoyable read—not a history lesson. For your aid, I have added a glossary of characters after this, listed as fictional or real individuals in history, as well as a Romanov family tree of Tsar Nicholas II.
Anything in Russian has been transliterated3 and you will find a footnote explaining the word/meaning. The only other thing that I would like to note is the change in Anastasia’s birthday. She was originally born in 1901 and was killed in 1918. To ensure that my lead character was of legal age, I changed her birthdate to 1900.
Again, there are other minor changes that I make note of throughout the story but do not, in my humble opinion, detract from the tale itself. I also use the Julian calendar, which was used until the Bolsheviks gained control in 1918. This calendar is about fourteen days behind the Gregorian calendar that we use today.
* * *
1 The Russian transliteration for ‘Imperial Princess’, making her rank higher than any other European princess.
2 The Russian word for ‘empress’—Alexandra/Alix of Great Britain
3 There is no standard for transliterating Russian Cyrillic into Latinized English. That is why you will see czar/tsar, Nicholas/Nikolai, etc.
Characters
In the order they are introduced in the story (underlined characters are the main ones).
Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna Romanova (Anya/Nastya):The youngest imperial princess of the Tsar and Tsarina ofRussia. She disguises herself as Anya, but Nastya is thenickname that her family and friends actually called her by. Anastasia was born June 5th, 1901, but to ensure she is eighteen in this story, I’ve changed her birth date to January of 1900. (Actual person)
Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin: Russian Orthodox priest who is saidto have had mystical healing powers. He was a personal friend and confidant of the Tsarina Alexandra and, often, was asked to ease the tsarevich’s hemophilia. He wasassassinated in 1916 by a Romanov grand duke whoresented Rasputin’s political influence. (Actual person)
Ana Nikolaevna (Anya): Maid at the Alexander Palace. She’s based off the tsarina’s actual lady-in-waiting, AnnaStepanovna Demidova. (Fictional person)
The Romanovs: Anastasia’s immediate family—Tsar Nicholas II, herfather; Tsarina Alexandra, her mother; Olga (Olishka), hereldest sister; Tatiana (Tatya), her second eldest sister; Maria (Mashka), her third eldest sister, and Alexei (Alyosha), her younger brother and the heir (tsarevich). (Actual people)
Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia: Anastasia’s first cousin once removed. He was reportedly a marriage prospect for Olga, the eldest sister, but not after his assassination of Rasputin in 1916. (Actual person)
Eugene Botkin: The court physician for Tsar Nicholas II and hisfamily. He was murdered in exile with the Romanovs in 1918. (Actual person)
Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich of Russia: Alexander II’s first cousin, making him Nicholas II’s first cousin once removedand Anastasia’s first cousin twice removed. His grandfather, Alexander I, was Anastasia’s great-great-grandfather.(Actual person)
Oksana Mikhailovna Kushnir (Shusha): A republican for the Beliye(White Movement) who fights for women’s rights and is thesister to Zavid. Her character is based on Fanny Kaplan, an actual woman who ‘supposedly’ attempted to assassinate Vladimir Lenin. (Fictional person)
Zavid Mikhailovich Kushnir (Zav): A republican for the Beliye (White Movement) who is a Ukrainian Cossack. (Fic
tional person)
Prince Maksim Romanovsky-Iskander (Maks): An imperialist for the Beliye (White movement) and Grand Duke Nicholas Konstantinovich’s stepson. (Fictional person)
Vladimir Lenin: A Russian revolutionary, politician, and politicaltheorist that served as head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924. (Actual person)
Vadimir Ivanovich Esadze (Vadim): A Bolshevik soldier (Fictional person)
Ilya Vladimirovich Ulyanov: A Bolshevik soldier (Fictionalperson)
Dmitri Grigoryevich Rasputin (Dima): Rasputin’s eldest son who followed in his footsteps and became a hieromonk, too.(Actual person)
Maria Grigorievna Rasputina: Rasputin’s daughter who moved to the United States in 1935 and is famous—aside from beingthe ‘mad monk’s’ daughter—for performingdifferent acts inthe circus. (Actual person)
All other characters are too minor to note.
Romanov Family Tree
As most people know the infamous Queen Victoria (of the Victorian Era), I show her lineage as the Grand Duchess Anastasia’s great-grandmother. As it was typical of monarchal marriages, many couples might have been third or fourth cousins (maybe even closer) and could trace a common ancestor to a great-grandparent.
In the case of Tsar Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov), both he and Alix (who became Alexandra when she married the Russian monarch ) were second cousins. From the family tree below, Nicholas’ aunt married Alix’s uncle, further entwining the bloodline. Alix was both British and German, but Nicholas was more Russian than Danish. This heritage of English, German, and Russian was passed down to Nicholas’ and Alix’s children.
Prologue
Dear Diary,
I had the strangest dream last night of dearest Father Grigori. He was giving me advice, much like he did when he lived and resided at the palace, but his words didn’t make very much sense.
He told me that when the time came to run.
Father Grigori spoke of his prophetic dreams, but I’ve never had one, and I’m not sure that this counts. I would ask my parents, but I know that just the mere mention of Father Grigori’s name will send my mother into a fit of despair.
How she misses him and his wise counsel—especially now.
And I can’t ask my sisters. Although older, they are far gentler and tender than me. I fear that they might interpret this dream as a warning for what’s to come.
Even though our parents shield us, we know that our world is in turmoil. With every passing day, we can feel it becoming more and more unhinged around us. The Russian people’s unrest is like a festering, infected wound that I have no way of healing.
And how I dream of fixing my beloved country.
But, it’s too late.
Revolution has already permeated our daily lives.
Chapter One
December1917
Within the Alexander Palace, I’m known by many names, but ‘little imp’1 is the most prevalent. It was a nickname awarded to me by my father because of my mischievous and, often, troublesome nature as a child. Everyone seems to think that it’s still applicable now that I’m eighteen.
And they would be absolutely correct if they saw me now.
“Please, Anastasia Nikolaevna, please don’t make me do this.”
“Hush, Anya, it’s the promise that we made, remember?”
She falls silent at my reminder.
“Yes, Anastasia Nikolaevna,” Anya acquiesces quietly.
For a moment, I feel a pang of regret for using her family against her, but I brush it aside and focus on my plan, instead. The young servant, only a few years older than me, doesn’t address me by my royal title. In fact, no one in the palace does, as decreed by my father and mother.
Instead, everyone uses my full name and patronym, a common sign of respect in Russian society. My parents went to great lengths to ensure that their children were raised without the frills of royalty. While we were clothed, well-fed, and given a roof over our heads, we were certainly not coddled.
Our daily schedule was a strict one.
We rose early in the morning, even before the sun, and put our cots away. Our mother didn’t want us sleeping on beds or even having pillows unless we were ill. Then, we had our lessons and, afterward, my sisters and I would leave to attend our nursing work at the local hospitals2–except, no one has left the palace for over a week.
We still keep to our routine, but we no longer go into the city. It’s not safe, according to my father. Without these daily excursions, life has grown. . .
Tedious.
And, worse, I find myself growing restless.
That is when the ‘little imp’ in me emerges—like tonight. I don’t want to attend the annual Rozhdestvo Khristovo3 Ball. Anya should be over the moon at the opportunity to go, but her fear of being caught outweighs everything else.
I come to stand next to her and wrap a reassuring arm around her shoulders as we both gaze into the mirror. At first glance, our similarities are striking, almost uncanny, but the trained eye could pick apart the differences.
With time.
And only if we are together.
I smile smugly.
How many times has Anya been mistaken for me?
Moreover, how many times has she pretended to be me and has never been caught?
Dozens.
We even share the same otchestvo4 —Nikolaevna, making our given names similar. I’m Anastasia Nikolaevna and she’s Anna Nikolaevna.
Her angst over tonight is for nothing because, while I see the subtle differences, no one else will. My bottom lip is fuller and my lashes are longer—darker. In fact, my hair is a smidge darker and redder than Anya’s blonde, but in the candlelight, no one will notice. My eyes are a brighter blue than her crystalline ones and her figure is slightly less curvaceous.
I’m the ‘fat’ sister.
I grimace at the hurtful moniker. My older sisters are tall and willowy. Their svelte forms are the embodiment of beauty and grace; whereas I’m short and considerably ‘chubbier’. My bosom and hips flare out alarmingly far in comparison to my sisters, but our waists are similar and we all can share corsets.
Mother has me bind my breasts to flatten them into a more attractive silhouette.
I scowl and then grin, remembering that I don’t need any bindings tonight—I’m just a maid. I will be practically invisible, especially in all of tonight’s commotion. I twirl in Anya’s uniform, excited to be on my way, but she grabs my arm.
“I’m nervous,” Anya finally admits.
“Don’t be. You’ve done this hundreds of times before,” I exaggerate. “If you can fool my tutors and my sisters—especially my sisters—then you can fool an entire ballroom!”
“I didn’t fool your sisters,” she tells me flatly. “They simply didn’t wish to tattle on you.”
I pause at her words.
Anya has never mentioned this before.
If my sisters knew. . .
A thought for another time.
“Anya, I promise you, with all the dancing and frivolity, no one is going to be paying you much attention, much less my sisters. Tonight is Olga’s and Tatiana’s gentle debut. Everyone will be focusing on them and their launch onto the marriage market. And, if it gets to be too much, remind mother that I am still recovering from the measles and that I must rest5. Depending on how sickly you look, she might excuse you from the entire event and you’ll have an evening free to yourself,” I tempt.
She lets out a long and troubled sigh.
“Fine—but this is the last time,” Anya finally agrees reluctantly.
“The very last time,” I promise, even though I know it’s a lie.
Because I have a secret. . .
And I’ll stop at nothing to keep it.
* * *
1 This brief description of the Grand Duchess Anastasia is given by the Tsar himself.
2 The sleeping conditions, lessons, and work schedule as outlined were accurate daily routines for the Gra
nd Duchesses. Not so much for the Tsarevich, the heir to the throne, in part because of his title, but mostly due to his sickness of hemophilia.
3 Christmas in Russian
4 Russian for patronymic, or the component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather, or an earlier male ancestor.
5 Because of the onset of World War I in 1917, both Olga and Tatiana, the oldest two sisters (respectively 22 and 21 in 1918), did not have grand coming-out parties. Also, in 1918, Anastasia did contract the measles.
Chapter Two
I straighten my uniform and finger the ruffle at my collar nervously. It’s fifteen minutes past eight, but there’s still no sign of my secret. He’s never been late before and I worry that something terrible has happened before my logic kicks in.
Tonight is one of the biggest events that that palace has seen in months—maybe even years since the civil unrest began in my country, not to mention the World War. I’m sure that my secret is busy catering to the needs of Russia’s most noble royals.
Except—I want him to be catering to my needs.
I shake my head and amble out from behind the large ornate grandfather clock. If my sisters could hear my thoughts, they would need vapors to resuscitate them. I chuckle under my breath thinking about my sisters—my best friends in all the world.
Looking up and down the empty hall, I decide to sneak a quick peek at them and Anya, to see how everyone is faring. Maybe by then, my secret will be waiting for me when I come back. Keeping my head down, I head through the kitchen and the back hallway that leads to a side door of the ballroom where everyone is.
From my vantage point, I have the perfect view of the raised dais where my father and my mother are seated with my little brother, Alexei, next to them. None of my sisters are there, which means they must be dancing. I scan the floor, trying to pick them apart from the dozens of other dancers.
It doesn’t take me long to spot the iconic yellow sash on Olishka, Tatya, Mashka1, and Anya—the simple, but stately, symbol of their rank. The small tiara atop their heads is worn by many in the ballroom, but only the imperial princesses where the sash.
