"On the Stage of Enchantment" by Anna Jane, summary Automatic translate

This book is a novel about an acting student who accidentally finds herself in a magical world and is forced to pretend to be a runaway princess, first published in 2016. Student Yana Poletskaya becomes a hostage to her appearance and uses her stagecraft skills to save her life in a foreign land. The text blends genres of fantasy, humor, and theatrical backstage, distinguished by its ironic style and unconventional approach to the theme of doubles.

Theatrical dreams and Moscow everyday life

Yana Poletskaya, a final-year theater student at the university, experiences a vivid dream. She steps onto the stage as a majestic queen. The audience erupts in applause from the appreciative audience. Suddenly, a frightening, dark-haired, gothic-looking man in dark clothing appears. He claims the girl as his own. The man attempts to kidnap Yana with magical blue fire. He is thwarted by a mysterious man with a mocking baritone voice. An unknown rescuer throws a silver coin onto the stage floor. It depicts a grinning, crowned fox. The rescuer engages in a fierce duel with the kidnapper. The coin remains with Yana as a unique talisman.

Waking up, the girl goes to another rehearsal for her graduation performance of William Shakespeare’s "Twelfth Night." Her strict teacher, Alexei Anatolyevich, harshly criticizes her portrayal of Viola. He demands a true struggle for happiness. He refuses to see the arrogance of a narcissistic queen. In the empty auditorium, Yana suddenly notices the gloomy, dark-haired boy from her dream. A little later, she trips on the icy university stairs. The student stares at the mysterious stranger. He vanishes without a trace in the frosty air.

Persistent signs and movement

After a difficult rehearsal, oddities rapidly multiply. Yana constantly feels someone’s heavy gaze in the subway car. Then, suddenly, the lights go out on the entire street. The neighborhood is plunged into an ominous silence. Soon, she begins receiving frightening messages and strange notes under her door. The unknown callers turn out to be practicing magicians and psychics. They insistently advise her to flee from an extremely dangerous man. Even the student’s new boyfriend abruptly distances himself from her. A cheerful directing student, Vadim, announces a threat in a changed, emotionless voice. His uncle, a magician, has insistently ordered her to avoid Yana for her own safety.

The girl tries to uncover the true reasons behind what’s happening. She goes to the basement salon of one of the esotericists who called. The frightened man merely hands her a magical protective pin with a scarlet bead. He insistently advises her to hide. Exhausted by nervous tension, the student collapses on the subway platform. She is consoled by a strange, skinny boy wearing spiked clothing and chains. He has huge cornflower-blue eyes and incredible compassion.

Returning to her empty Moscow apartment, Yana is busily rehearsing the monologue of the treacherous Lady Macbeth. She passionately dreams of typical regal roles, like Mary Stuart or Anne Boleyn. Right in the midst of a pathetic recitation of Shakespeare’s lines about a bloody crime, something inexplicable occurs. The girl is suddenly transported to another reality. At first, she mistakes the experience for a lucid dream. The student even tries unsuccessfully to fly around the room. The surroundings are strikingly vivid. The girl smells the intoxicating scents of meadow grasses. The realistic details frighten her.

Another reality and a deal

The girl materializes in a luxurious, two-story library in the old Victorian style. Two elderly men in old-fashioned attire joyfully greet her, calling their guest Princess Mia. The first man is the magician Addison, wearing a long black robe. The second is Baron Frederick, carrying a stern cane. Yana notices a huge portrait of an arrogant royal in a pale blue dress. The aristocrat is her exact copy. The frightened student desperately tries to convince the men that she is right. She calls herself an ordinary Muscovite, not a royal heiress.

The magician Addison conducts a painful mental memory test. He realizes with undisguised horror that he has made a fatal mistake. The real Princess Mia escaped to Earth through an unknown dimensional portal. Addison, with his ritual, accidentally pulled out her Earthly doppelganger. The guardians face the inevitable death penalty and lifelong shame for their families. This is punishment for the loss of the ninth heir to the throne. After overhearing a frank conversation between the desperate mentors, Yana learns the terrible truth. They plan to kill the impostor. This is the men’s way of covering up the traces of their failed sorcery.

The girl reveals her presence. She falls to the floor and twists her ankle badly. The imperturbable, mustachioed servant, Ratetzky, carefully helps her out. The local red dog, Menfis, immediately recognizes the frightened guest as his rightful mistress. The Baron offers a compromise. Yana skillfully pretends to be the King of Illodiya’s niece until the real Mia returns. The mentors guarantee her complete safety and return home. The student agrees to these terms. All parties seal the agreement with a mental magical oath. Yana is ceremoniously presented with the family ring of power.

Survival Lessons in Isworth Block

For maximum safety, Yana and her mentors are transported on a local flying carriage, a Beaufort. The heroes arrive at the gloomy earl’s estate of Isworth Block. There, "shadow people" silently serve. They are the obedient vassals of an ancient family. These creatures suffer from a fatal allergy to sunlight. The girl begins urgent and rigorous training in proper manners. She studies court etiquette, the history, and political structure of the state of Illodiya. Baron Frederick shows Yana a magical filmography with moving portraits. The student receives an encyclopedia with self-writing pages, powered by a special golden pencil.

In the dead of night, a powerful summoning spell suddenly descends upon the student. It breaches the wards of the dark estate. Obeying the hypnotic call of the icy wind, the girl stands on the wide windowsill. She nearly leaps out toward the yellow moon. At the last moment, a handsome, blue-eyed young man intercepts her. He carefully tucks Yana into bed. The stranger instantly disappears before the mage arrives. Addison, rushing in, confirms the breakthrough. Someone incredibly powerful is trying to claim the girl for himself. The enemy easily ignores the protective spells of the cunning servant, Ratetzky.

Meeting the Relatives and the Forest Witch

Having recovered from the horrific incident of the night, Yana starts a special acting notebook. She meticulously describes the complex, selfish character of Princess Mia. The student is seriously preparing for a grand theatrical premiere. The Baron recounts the bloody history of the royal Greenheld family. King Adrian II ascended to the throne after a treacherous attack by rebels from the radical organization "Second Color." During a celebratory ball, the criminals murdered the king’s older brothers in cold blood. They also took the lives of his sister Lana and her husband, Count Illian.

This tragically deceased couple are Princess Mia’s real parents. Addison shares local apocryphal legends about mysterious Key People. These chosen ones are endowed with a sacred gift to change the fate of the world and destroy impending evil. The following night, Yana meets the ghost of May-Lynn. This is Mia’s great-grandmother, whose reflection lives autonomously in the enormous bedroom mirror. The ghost smokes cigars and drinks wine from the bottle. The talkative May-Lynn inadvertently lets slip. The real Mia received a dimensional portal from the forest witch Ella the Flower.

Yana also notices her blue-eyed savior in the room. He silently checks on her sound sleep. The young man hides in the shadows and eludes everyone’s attention. In the morning, the student shares important information about the forest witch with her mentors. The mage Addison and Baron Frederick decide to remotely summon the wayward Ella the Flower for a rigorous interrogation. Yana must fully embrace her true mastery of the lands. She must activate her ancestral magic with the red-green ring of power. The artifact contains the blood of her distant ancestors.

An unexpected visit

Plans to immediately summon the forest witch are cruelly disrupted by the sudden arrival of Princess Amelia. She is Mia’s stern and demanding aunt. She constantly wears mourning clothes. Yana is forced to immediately assume the complex guise of a haughty aristocrat. She goes out to meet the Duchess. The girl struggles to maintain a straight, regal posture and a majestic composure. Her intense nervousness and lack of experience play a cruel trick on her. The student fatally confuses the second part of the family motto.

Only Yana sees Great-grandmother May-Lynn’s reflection. The ghost mockingly suggests the wrong continuation of the solemn phrase. After listening to the treacherous May-Lynn, Yana loudly utters brazen words about insolence. She says this directly to her stern relative’s face. Duchess Amelia is thrown into a blind rage by such unheard-of insolence. She begins a long, angry lecture to the impostor. The woman speaks of the heavy debt of the royal family.

Yana is forced to meekly endure this humiliating reprimand. She desperately contemplates escape, searching for ways to extricate herself from this dangerous trap. The student clearly understands her task. She must utilize all her acting talent. She will have to portray the most complex character of her life. The stage of this alien magical world serves as the backdrop. Yana must not reveal the secret of her true origin.