I started writing this fic exactly a year ago.  I really 
felt for the story and the characters.  The idea of 
Ryoko as a Cinderella character seemed quite natural as 
we feel their is more to her than the impulsive girl who 
runs around naked in attempt to seduce Tenchi.  We felt 
she is very much a victim of her past as was Drew 
Barrymore's character in EVER AFTER, so we began to 
compose some ideas in hope to release this story 
valentines day last February.  However, despite the 
passion I felt for writing this fic life got in the way. 
Myself and my Co-writer had been through much turmoil 
between the time we wrote the first sentence of this 
story to the very last word...
We felt this would be a nice way to close 2001.  So many 
people have been through so much recently and this story 
brought us joy.  Around the holiday season everyone 
needs a happy ending. We hope you enjoy reading it as 
much as we did writing it.  
Happy Holidays 
With Love;
Lady Ambermoone

When we began writing this fic we thought how Ryoko's
character is similar to Zero her clone at the end of the
OAV.  In many ways Ryoko herself had been repressed and
abused as Drew Barrymores Danielle De Bavarach (AKA
Cinderella) had been.  But she is unable to express her
emotions and such so as the story goes on she developes
more into the bold Ryoko we have grown to know and
love.  I hope you enjoy it.
But First a disclaimer :
These Characters are not ours, They belong to AIC and
the story of Ever After is owned by 20th century fox!
and now on with the story.

-Ambermoone and Avalon Peacecraft

Once upon a time there lived a young girl who was all
alone.  Her  name was Ryoko, and for as long as she
could remember, she had lived in a small, rural estate
called Souja, on the planet Jurai.  Her mother had been
a great scientist who had died shortly after the birth
of her daughter in a laboratory accident.  With her
mother gone, Ryoko had been left under the supervision
of her mother's lab assistant, Kagato.  It was Kagato
who had explained to Ryoko the circumstances surrounding
her mother's death.
         Although Kagato had taken Ryoko in out of, he
assured her, the kindness of his own heart, Ryoko found
him to be a very cold and sometimes cruel man.  She was
often afraid to be in the same room as him.  He had no
patience for children and scolded her harshly or hit her
whenever she did anything he did not like.  Kagato
expected Ryoko to earn her keep, and had put her to work
as a servant when she was still very young.  Ryoko spent
long hours dusting, scrubbing floors and working in the
garden.
But despite the difficulties in her life, Ryoko remained
an optimistic, happy and mischeivious child.  She loved
to play in the fields and pretend to sword fight with
branches of trees.   Her closest friends were Kagato's
other servants, Mihoshi and Kiyone, although they were
both six years her elder, and a scrawny, young boy named
Seiryou.  However, sometimes, when she couldn't sleep or
when Kagato had been particularly harsh with her, Ryoko
would cry, wishing that her mother were still alive.
She had no memories of her mother, only the cabbit, Ryo
Ohki, her mother had created, a cross between a rabbit
and a cat, and three mysterious gems that had been her
mother's.  Kagato kept them in a locked trunk.
One day, when Ryoko was nine years old, word was
received that  Kagato's two nieces had lost their
parents and were coming to live on the estate.  The
girls' mother was Kagato's sister, but their father was
related to the royal house of Jurai and so the girls
themselves were distant cousins of the royal family.
Kagato had ordered that everyone in the household be
dressed formally in order to greet the girls when they
arrived.  Ryoko, however, did not like dressing up and,
in fact, did not like wearing clothes at all.  Kiyone
tried desperately to dress Ryoko in a nice kimono, but
the little girl jumped around the room, stark naked,
staying always just out of Kiyone's reach.
        "Hold still!" Kiyone ordered.  She managed to
grab hold of Ryoko's
arm for a moment, but the child wriggled free.  Kiyone
lunged after Ryoko, but lost her footing and tumbled
flat onto her face.
        Ryoko scampered under the bed, giggling.  "You
missed me, Kiyone," she taunted.
        "Meow!" Ryo Ohki cried, bouncing off Kiyone's
head and joining
Ryoko under the bed.
        "Mihoshi!" Kiyone hollered, "Are you asleep
again?  Get in here and help me!"
        "I'm coming, Kiyone," Mihoshi answered.  She
entered the room struggling to get her arms into the
sleeves of a kimono that was much too small for her.  "I
just can't seem to get these clothes on," she wailed.
>From under the bed, Ryoko laughed.
        Kiyone groaned, "Mihoshi, what are you doing?"
        Mihoshi had finally managed to get her arms in
the sleeves, and was now trying to pull the kimono
closed over her breasts.
"Well," she explained, "you said we had to put Ryoko's
clothes on.  I thought it was
kind of weird because they are small, but-" she tugged
at the kimono again.  A loud tearing noise was heard as
the delicate fabric of the kimono tore in half.  "Oh
no!  What will I do?  Oh, Kiyone!  I'm so
sorry!" Mihoshi sobbed.
        Kiyone grabbed Mihoshi's shoulders and shook
her, "I meant we had
to put Ryoko's clothes on Ryoko!" she shouted.
        "Ohhhhhhhhh," Mihoshi replied, brainlessly.
        Kiyone rolled her eyes and looked under the bed
for the little
girl and the cabbit.
        "Ryoko," Kiyone smiled, attempting to reason
with the child, "you should get dressed.  You know how
angry Master Kagato gets when you disobey him."  Ryoko
sighed and pulled herself out from under the bed.
Before Ryoko had time to change her mind, Kiyone slipped
the kimono onto Ryoko and tied her wild, cyan hair into
a side ponytail.
        Kiyone spun Ryoko around to face a long, full-
length mirror and pointed at the girl's
reflection.  "There now," she said, "just act like the
little angel I see in the mirror and I know you'll get
along just fine
with Master Kagato's nieces.  And maybe, with other
children around, he won't be so harsh with you."
        Just then, they heard a soft tapping at the
window.  Ryoko ran over and peered outside.  She saw a
scrawny boy with a puff of pink hair tied back in a
ponytail on top of his head.  It was Ryoko's friend
Seiryou.  As soon as he laid eyes on Ryoko, he burst out
laughing.
"You look like a girl!" he cackled.
        "So what," Ryoko shouted back, "so do you!"
Then she continued,
"Anyway, it doesn't matter what I look like, I can still
kick your ass!"
        "Meow, meow!" Ryo Ohki agreed, jumping onto
Ryoko's shoulder.  The
little girl turned and pushed her way past Kiyone and
Mihoshi.
        "I hope she doesn't spoil her good clothes,"
Kiyone sighed.
        "Um, Kiyone?" Mihoshi asked.
        "What?"
        "If we're not wearing Ryoko's clothes, what are
we going to wear?"
But Mihoshi did not hear an answer, only the thump of
Kiyone's body as she
passed out and hit the floor.
        Outside, Ryoko approached Seiryou
menacingly.  "Don't worry, I
won't hurt you, much!" she told him.
        "No girl can beat me up!" he boasted.  Ryoko
glared at Seiryou, but he glared back.  She reached out
and lightly shoved his shoulder. Seiryou stumbled
backwards and toppled back into a puddle of mud.
        "Oh no, my hair!  This will mess up my hair!" he
wailed.
Ryoko laughed at her friend as mud splattered onto her
clean kimono.
        At that moment, the two children were
interrupted by the sound of a spaceship landing in front
of the house.  The two children ran around the side of
the house.  Ryoko had mud splashed on her clothes and
her face but Seiryou was completely covered in it.
        The two children watched as Kagato's nieces
walked off the spaceship.  The older girl was about
Ryoko's with long, amethyst/purple hair.  She held her
head very high and did not look at Ryoko.  The other
child was only about 2 or 3 years old.  Her blue hair
was tied back in two stumpy pigtails and she smiled.
        Kagato was already there to greet the
girls.  "Welcome to my home, ladies," he said.
        "Thank you," the older girl said curtsying.  The
smaller girl appeared to be frightened of Kagato and hid
behind her sister's skirt. Ryoko smiled and waved at
her.  The little girl waved back
        Kagato's eyes fell on Ryoko.  "Well, Ryoko," he
began coldly, “you really are pathetic.  I see that you
could not even keep yourself clean long enough to be
presented to my nieces."
        Ryoko dropped her head.  "Girls," Kagato said to
his nieces, "this is Ryoko, my little slave.  She will
be your servant as well.  Ryoko, I trust you will
improve your present performance in the service of the
Ladies Ayeka and Sasami."  Kagato then addressed his
nieces, "Now, girls,if you would follow me I will show
you your new home."  He bowed and the two girls walked
toward the house.
        Kagato turned to follow them, but stopped.  "Oh,
Ryoko," he said without turning around, "you will move
all your belongings out of the room you are presently
occupying.  That will now be Miss Ayeka's chamber.
After you have cleaned that room of all your filth, you
will prepare the guest room for Miss Sasami.  If you
accomplish all this to my satisfaction, I may allow you
to eat dinner tonight despite your dismal performance
today."  He left Ryoko standing in the yard.  She
clenched her fists in anger and desperately fought back
tears.
        Seiryou, who had remained silent, now put his
hand on her shoulder.  "I'm sorry," he told her
sympathetically.  Then he continued, "Your guardian
really is a such an unattractive man.  Where did he get
those ridiculous glasses?  Who does he think he is,
Elton John?"  Despite herself Ryoko began to giggle and
the air was soon filled with the laughter of the two
children.
        Ryoko's life remained much the same after the
arrival of Ayeka and Sasami.  She still had a great deal
of work to do, cooking meals, scrubbing floors and
growing vegetables in the garden.  However, with
Ayeka and Sasami in the only two spare bedrooms, Ryoko
was forced to sleep on a shoddy futon by the fireplace
in the kitchen.
        No matter how hard Ryoko tried, she was unable
to please Kagato.  He continued to scold and even strike
her when her work did not meet his expectations.  Each
day he seemed to find new ways to humiliate and degrade
her.  He constantly reminded her that she was merely a
commoner and as such he could do anything he liked with
her.  It was therefore a constant wonder to Ryoko that
he took such an interest in his oldest niece, Ayeka.
        Kagato had no love for either of his nieces, but
he hungrily desired the power of Tsunami, the Jurian
royal family's patron goddess.  He saw himself as the
supreme master of the galaxy and it was for this reason
that Ryoko's gems were very important to him.  He knew,
if Ryoko did not, that the gems contained incredible
power. The power of the gems alone would allow him
overthrow the Jurian royal family, the first step in his
plan rule the universe.  However, such power would never
win the
support of the Jurian people, and he needed the support
of the people if he was to go on to rule the universe.
For this purpose, he created a plan in which Ayeka would
play a significant part when she grew older.  He
intended to poise her to marry the king's son and using
her as the doorstop, he would gain entry to Jurai's
royal family and the support of the people, but also the
power of Tsunami.
        Because Sasami was too young to be of any help
to Kagato in carrying out his plan, he took little
interest in her and merely tolerated her presence.
Sasami was a sweet, kind little girl who always wore a
smile.  She liked Ryoko, Kiyone and Mihoshi and got
along especially well with Ryo Ohki.  Ayeka, on the
other hand, was not, by nature, a cruel child.  However,
she had been raised with the belief that she was
obligated to behave in a manner fitting a member of the
Jurian royal family.  Kagato played upon Ayeka's beliefs
like a musician plays a harp.
He constantly reminded Ayeka of her royal heritage and
taught her that her blood elevated her above the
ordinary, common people.  He convinced her that it was
her right to marry the prince of Jurai.  Because of
this, Ayeka became priggish and rude.  She treated the
other servants, particularly Ryoko, with arrogance and
disdain.
        It would be eight years till another man entered
Ryoko's life, that is, if you can call him a man.  He
was more of a boy who was not yet ready to take on the
responsibilities of ruling a country that his life
presented him, especially that of marriage.
Yosho, the aging king of Jurai stormed through the east
wing of his castle.  The sun had not yet risen and most
of the inhabitants of the castle were still asleep, but
Yosho's son-in-law, Nobuyuki, and several guards
followed closely behind him.
"We had a marriage contract with Uranus!" he grunted
angrily.
"What?" Nobuyuki asked surprised, "What have you heard?
Only two other people knew about that Oh! You mean the
planet Uranus."  Nobuyuki grinned sheepishly.  He had
married Yosho's daughter Achika. Achika had died shortly
after the birth of her only son, Tenchi.  Under Jurian
law, only someone with royal blood could rule Jurai, and
so Nobuyuki could not ascend the throne as king.
Now he scratched his head puzzled, "I don't know
Father," he said, "I heard the princess was kind of
weird."
"There is nothing wrong with Sakuya!" Yosho
protested.  "A marriage between the princess of Uranus
and Tenchi would secure a friendship between our
planets."  He stopped outside Tenchi's bedroom
door.  "I don't care how early it is, Tenchi will wake
up and hear me.  If he is to become king, he must accept
certain things, and this marriage is one of them!"
Yosho pushed the door open.  The crown prince of Jurai
was half out the window, with one leg hanging over
either side of the windowsill, attempting to sneak out
of the castle.  His eyes opened wide in
astonishment under the stern gaze of his grandfather.
"What!  Grandpa!" he cried in astonishment.  Tenchi was
so startled he lost his balance and fell out of the
window.  Yosho  ran to the window just in time to see
Tenchi hit the ground, scramble to his feet and run.
"Not again," Yosho signed and shook his head.  He looked
at the guards, "Start a search party, the prince has run
away, again."
The dawn's light pierced through the windows of Kagato's
estate and found its resting place in Ryoko's eyes. She
was sprawled out naked on the floor, wrapped in her
futon.  Ryo Ohki was nestled comfortably by her head.
"Meow," the cabbit yawned, nudging her mistress.
Slowly, Ryoko awoke to the world around her.  She had
grown used to waking up early, even though she did not
like it.  She stretched and stood up.  Ryoko peered at
her reflection in a dull mirror she had hung on the
wall.  Dark smudges of soot were streaked across her
face and even in her hair.
"Look at me," she said, "I look terrible!  My hair is a
mess!" Ryoko snatched up her clothes and quickly put
them on.  Her low-cut shirt barely covered her breasts.
She tied a white bandana over her hair and looked around
for her cabbit.
"Come on," she said, grabbing a bottle of sake and
motioning for Ryo Ohki to follow her. "Meow!" replied
Ryo Ohki as she happily scurried after Ryoko.
Once in the carrot fields, Ryoko opened the bottle of
sake to take a drink, but it was empty.
"Damn," she muttered, tossing it aside.  She began
pulling up carrots and placing them in a large basket.
Every now and then she would give one to Ryo Ohki, who
was near by.  But the peaceful silence of the morning
was broken by the thundering sound of a horse.  Wiping
the sweat from her eyes, Ryoko looked up to see one of
Kagato's horses being ridden by a stranger.  The
stranger, a young man, could barely stay on the animal's
back and flopped from side to side almost falling off.
Knowing that she would likely be beaten if one of
Kagato's horses were to be stolen, Ryoko sprung to her
feet clutching a carrot in her hand.
"No you don't!" she growled.  She threw the carrot
directly at the thief's head.  It hit him right between
his eyes, knocking him to the ground.
"No lousy horse thief is going to get away while I'm
here!" she declared, hurling several more carrots at the
boy.  The stranger pulled his cloak over his head for
protection and attempted, unsuccessfully, to dodge the
carrots.
"Please," he begged while Ryoko continued to assault
him, "let me explain."  He stumbled, falling painfully
to the ground.
"Oh, don't hurt yourself, sweetheart.  I'd like to do
that for you," Ryoko laughed.  She reached out
for more carrots. It was then that the boy pulled the
cloak from his face revealing himself to be the prince
of Jurai.  Ryoko fell to her knees; her head was bent.
She knew the penalty for attacking royalty was death.
"Your majesty, I did not see you," she began.  She kept
her head bowed and did not dare look up to meet the
prince's eye.
Tenchi brushed the dust from his clothes and looked her
over.  He realized that her low-cut shirt revealed her
ample cleavage.  He peered down her shirt.
Tenchi scratched his head.  He was sweating
profusely.  "Uh," he said, "you have perfect aim for
someone who can't see."
"Please," Ryoko mumbled, "don't taunt me, sire.  If you
must send me to my death, then please do so quickly."
"What?  Death?  No way!" Tenchi exclaimed.  He produced
a pouch from inside his cloak and dumped its contents
beside Ryoko.  "Here," he said, "take this money and
don't tell anyone you saw me, OK?" he clumsily remounted
the horse and took off towards the woods.  Ryoko slowly
raised her head and looked at the money that lay on the
ground.  She grinned.
Meanwhile, in the dining room of Kagato's estate,
Kagato, Ayeka and Sasami had just been served their
breakfast.  Ayeka picked up her chopsticks and began to
eat her rice.  She quickly spit it out, spraying Kagato
with rice kernels.
"This is cold!" she shrieked.
"Ayeka," Kagato began, wiping the rice from his
cheeks, "what did I tell you about your voice?"
Sasami cut in, "A lady never raises her voice higher
than a whisper."  She smiled.
"Children should be seen and not heard," Kagato told
Sasami plainly.  He turned his attention back to his
eldest niece.  "You will not find yourself at the royal
court if you insist on using that tone."
Ayeka lowered her head.  "Yes, of course," she said.
Then she pouted, "But I am not going to the royal court
because Lord Tenchi is betrothed to that freak princess
from Uranus."
Kagato reassured her, "Nothing is final until you're
dead, and even then I'm sure there are exceptions."  He
smiled to himself.
"Why is there no soy sauce here?" he asked, glancing
around the table.  "Ryoko!" he bellowed.
Ryoko, meanwhile, had just gotten in from the field.
She rushed in just in time to hear Kagato call her.
“Be right there!" she yelled back, almost colliding with
Kiyone in the kitchen.
"Be careful," Kiyone warned, "he's in one of his moods
this morning."
"He's in one of his moods every morning," Ryoko
replied.  Kiyone had watched Ryoko grow from a baby to a
young woman and thought of a younger girl as a sister.
Now she paused and looked sympathetically at Ryoko.
"How do you deal with it?" she asked.
Ryoko knew what she was talking about.  "Sake.  Lots of
sake," she answered smiling, but then the smile
faded, "And knowing that I will never cry in front of
him.  I will not give him that satisfaction."  Ryoko
dropped her eyes.  She reached into her pockets and
showed Kiyone the money the prince had given her.
She smiled again, "Look, twenty gold coins!"
"Where did you get that?!" Kiyone exclaimed in disbelief.
"Let's just say it fell from the sky," Ryoko
grinned.  "I'm going to buy a new bottle of sake."
"Ryoko," Kiyone began, "I have good news and I have bad
news.  The good news is that Mihoshi's been sold."
"Really?  What happened?" Ryoko asked.  She leaned
against the kitchen table.
"He said she broke too many things and he had to sell
her to make up the cost.  She'll be put to work on
Pluto."
"Oh.  What was the bad news?"
"The bad news is that Mihoshi's been sold," Kiyone
said.
"Damn," Ryoko replied, "as much as I love the idea of
being rid of that annoying Mihoshi, I know she won't
last a day on Pluto.  I'll go to court and buy her
back."  She sighed, "I'll go today when I'm supposed to
be in the fields.  I bet I could disguise myself as a
lady if I borrowed one of Seiryou's dresses."
“RYOKO!" Kagato called again.  Kiyone handed her a tray
of food and ushered her upstairs.  Ryo Ohki hopped onto
her shoulder as she left the room.
"Good morning," Ryoko said as she entered the dining
room.
“Good morning, Ryoko," Sasami called out cheerfully.
Ryo Ohki jumped from Ryoko's shoulder to Sasami's head.
Sasami giggled.
"Good morning, Sasami."  Ryoko smiled as she placed the
tray of food on the table.
Ayeka did not return Ryoko's greeting, but turned to her
uncle. "I heard that the famous, genius scientist,
Washu, has returned to Jurai," she said.
Kagato choked on his food.  He coughed and then cleared
his throat.  "Has she?" he asked, smiling dryly.   Ayeka
looked over Ryoko's dirty and disheveled appearance and
chuckled.
"Look at you!" she began, "If you insist on looking like
a monster, then why don't you go live in a cave like
some kind of freeze-dried mummy and become one."
Ryoko glared at Ayeka.  She replied, "If you insist on
acting like a bitch, then maybe we should take you to a
dog show because I know we'd win the blue ribbon."
        "Ryoko, do you dare speak to my niece in that
tone?" Kagato's voice was cold as he scolded her.  He
looked her over and adjusted his glasses.  "Ayeka is
right, you know, your appearance does leave much to be
desired.  You should try harder to please me."
        Ryoko winced at his words as she always did when
Kagato scolded her.  "I do try to please you," she
responded.
        "Then I suggest you try harder," Kagato
responded.  "Remember, it was I who took you in after
your mother's death.  I have sheltered you, fed you,
clothed you, but still your manner offends me.  And
remember, you are my little slave, I can do anything I
like with you, including turn you out into the street.
Would you like that?" he asked.
        "No, sir," Ryoko answered, looking down at the
floor.  Ayeka snickered loudly, but Sasami only sat
frozen, with her chopsticks in her hand.  She looked at
Ryoko, her pink eyes filled with sympathy.  She did not
like it when her uncle scolded Ryoko, but she knew there
was nothing she could do to stop him.
        Kagato turned to his oldest niece.  "That,
Ayeka, is why someone of common blood will never amount
to anything."  Ryoko closed her eyes and let the insult
pass.  That was the only thing she could do.  She turned
to leave, but Kagato swiftly grabbed her arm, pulling
her back.  His fingers dug into her skin.
        "Where are your manners, Ryoko?  I did not yet
excuse you," he said.
        "I have work to do in the fields," Ryoko
explained.
        "Very well," he released her arm.  She could
already see dark bruises beginning to appear on her skin
where he had gripped her arm.
        "Meow," Ryo Ohki whimpered.  The cabbit hopped
down from Sasami's head and followed Ryoko out of the
room.