All right! This is just a little story I wanted to do. As should be obvious, this is Cinderella a la Yuugiou. It's in Ancient Egypt.

Beware major fluff.

Disclaimer Dude!Do your stuff!

Disclaimer Dude: Miriku does not own Yuugiou or Cinderella.

I do own the Yuugiou movie soundtrack, though! Which I'm listening to right now! Yay! Here's the story!

A Cinderella Story

Anzu stared up at the pristine towers of the palace. Her home was right by the palace walls, so she had a good view.

What would it be like, to live there?

"ANZU!"

Anzu sighed, picking up the basket of clothes and heading back to the house.

"Yes, stepmother?"

Her stepmother stood just inside the door, hands on her hips.

"What took you so long?" she snapped.

"Nothing. I was just looking at something."

"If I catch you daydreaming again, you'll get more than a warning! Now get out of my sight! The dishes need washing—do it!"

"Yes, Stepmother." Anzu ducked into the kitchen, muttering under her breath.

Ever since her father had died when she was seven summers old, Anzu's stepmother had been working her like a slave. It was always 'Anzu, do this!' and 'Anzu, do that!', with no breaks. She was now fifteen, and still living under her stepmother's iron fist. Anzu hated this life, but there was nothing she could do about it.

I wish there was. Oh, how I wish there was.

At the Palace

"For the last time, Shimon—she is not the one!"

High Priest Shimon sighed. This isn't going to end well.

"You must choose a bride. You know that. Princess Kali is the last eligible woman in the surrounding kingdoms."

"Then to the seven hells with eligibility!" Yami growled. "And to the seven hells with princesses! I'm an Egyptian, for Ra's sake! I want an Egyptian wife!"

Shimon sighed again. "Pharaoh…even you should know that task would be nearly impossible. There are so many young ladies in the kingdom—how will you choose between them all?"

The seventeen-year-old pharaoh sank back on his throne. "I don't know, Shimon. I don't know."

Shimon thought for a moment. "You could throw a ball…"

Yami looked suspiciously down at Shimon. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing. Just have an enormous celebration, and invite every unmarried woman of eligible age in the kingdom. Make it a point to dance with each one. There is no doubt that you will find her."

Yami nodded. "Sounds good to me. Make it so."

"Yes, Pharaoh."

Shimon left to arrange it. Yami sighed and moved to the large balconyabove his throne room. From there, he could see almost the whole kingdom.

Looking down, he noticed the house that had been built nearly up against the outer wall of the palace. He peered interestedly at it, before realizing that he could see right in through the kitchen window.

A girl stood there, washing dishes. Even from that distance, Yami could tell she was humming to herself.

She had shoulder length dusty brown hair and sapphire blue eyes. Yami found himself staring at her as she carefully stacked the now clean dishes beside the wash basin.

Yami watched her in delight. He thought her beautiful—even if she wasn't royal.

He found himself wanting her.

But he'd only just seen her.

He didn't even know her name.

It was at that moment she looked up.

Anzu's house

Anzu carefully set aside the last plate, still humming. It was an old hymn she loved.

She looked around, making sure there were no dirty dishes hiding in corners.

Suddenly, Anzu felt as if she was being watched. She glanced out the window—and froze.

High above her, leaning against a balcony, Pharaoh Atemu was watching. His boldly crimson eyes were narrowed in thought as he stared down at her.

Anzu yiped softly, quietly fleeing his paralyzing gaze.

What…why was the pharaoh watching…me?

Two Days Later

Anzu saw the posters all over the city. She was more excited than she had ever been in her life. The poster read:

Tonight, Pharaoh Atemu will throw a ball at his palace. All are invited. The pharaoh will choose his bride from among the women who are unmarried and of eligible age (fifteen summers).

Anzu hardly noticed the part about one being chosen to be Queen.

Everyone is invited! That means Stepmother can't forbid me!

Anzu rushed home. "Stepmother! Stepmother!"

Anzu's stepmother looked out.

"What is it, girl?"

"Have you seen the signs? The pharaoh is giving a ball! And all women of eligible age are invited! May I go, Stepmother? Please?"

Anzu's stepmother opened her mouth as if to say no—and paused. A smile spread across her face.

"Of course you can go, dearie." Her voice was syrupy and sweet. "You have to finish your chores first, though…."

Hours later

Anzu slumped dejectedly against a wall. Her stepmother had loaded her up with so much work, it would me a miracle if she got it done by the next morning.

At this rate, I'll never make it to the ball.

Suddenly, she realized that that was her stepmother's whole intention. To keep her away from the ball.

Anzu sobbed in frustration. Am I not allowed to do anything? Go anywhere? Why must my life be so wretched?

And the tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.

At the palace

The ball was in full swing. Minstrels played all sorts of music; slow dances, fast dances, chain dances. Yami sat up on his throne, watching.

He ignored the girls at his feet, scanning the crowd for a familiar face. The one he had seen out his window.

"Oh, Pharaoh!" one of the girls simpered. "Choose me as your wife! I'll be ever so loyal!"

The girl next to her elbowed her. "He's going to choose me! Aren't you, Pharaoh?"

"No, me!" a third girl cried.

Ignoring the catfight beneath his nose, Yami continued to desperately scan the crowd.

Anzu's house

"Don't cry, hon."

Anzu jerked her head up. A woman stood before her—one she'd never seen in her life.

She was a buxom blond, with a long white dress. She had fancy white gloves, and carried a staff that was as tall as she was. A pair of gossamer blue wings spread from her shoulders. She smiled kindly down at Anzu, who was gaping.

"Wh-Who are you?"

The woman laughed. "I'm your fairy godmother, hon. Just call me Mai."

Anzu stood up, still trembling. "Well…why are you here?"

Mai laughed again. "That should be obvious, deareh. I'm here to get you to that ball."

Anzu gasped. "Really?"

"Really."

Mai cast a critical glance over her clothes, frowning. "That'll never do, though, hon. Oh, Yuugi! A little help would be wonderful, deareh!"

Anzu gasped as a short boy appeared. He didn't seem to have wings—but then again, he didn't seem to be a fairy godparent.

He looked almost exactly like Pharaoh Atemu—except that he was noticeably shorter, and had huge amethyst eyes.

"Anzu hon, this is Yuugi. He's the pharaoh spirit-friend."

Yuugi bowed, grinning. "Nice to meet you, Anzu."

He looked over the ragged dress she was wearing, and shook his head. "No, that won't do at all."

Anzu almost grinned as Yuugi stood on tiptoe, whispering as close to Mai's ear as he could get—which happened to be her left shoulder.

Mai nodded. "Good idea!" She looked at Anzu. "This won't take long, hon. All I need you to do is turn in a circle—slowly, now."

Anzu did so. Mai twirled her staff—and Anzu's appearance began to change.

Within minutes, she was wearing a dress the style of a queen's, though considerably less extravagant. It was cerulean blue, with silver trimming. On her feet were delicate glass slippers. Anzu gasped—only very rich people had glass shoes.

Mai glanced at Yuugi. "Do you want to do the hair?"

Yuugi nodded.

Mai grinned at Anzu. "Yuugi's an expert at hairdos. Just look at his and the pharaoh's."

Yuugi smiled, and waved his hand. He then pulled a mirror out of nowhere.

"Go on, Anzu—take a look! You'll love it!"

Finding the young spirit's cheerfulness unavoidably infectious, she looked in the mirror—and let out another gasp. She wore a blue silk headband, and her hair had been styled like the royal women put theirs. A small golden spike hung from each earlobe. Looking at her wrists, she noticed that she wore gold armbands.

Yuugi grinned, and Mai nodded in approval.

"You look wonderful, deareh! Absolutely wonderful! Now, go to that ball and win the pharaoh!"

Yuugi held up a hand. He had become serious.

"Wait. Remember this, Anzu—at midnight, the spell is broken. You have to be out of there before then."

Anzu nodded. She hugged Mai and Yuugi, the latter of which blushing furiously.

"Thank you…both of you…"

Yuugi twisted free of her grasp, still blushing. "It was nothing. Just our job. Now, go on—have fun!" He grinned mischievously. "He loves to sit in the garden next to the fountain. It's his…'special place'."

Anzu smiled, before dashing out the front door.

Mai grinned. "She's grown up so fast…"

Yuugi nodded. "So did Yami."

Mai's grin faded into a frown. "I just hope this works…"

At the palace

Eventually, the simpering girls had been chased away from the foot of the throne by the palace guards—a fact which Yami was grateful for. He was beginning to despair of ever finding the one face he was looking for.

A middle aged woman walked up, and began to talk to him. Yami pointedly ignored her, continually scanning the dancing individuals below him. Taking the hint, the woman walked away in a huff.

At that moment, the front door swung open. Everyone froze—even the minstrels—as they all looked up to see who else had arrived.

Anzu

Anzu took a deep breath. This was it. She was there, she was going to do it.

She proudly raised her head, and pushed open the doors.

Silence fell as she stepped into the throne room. She gulped softly. Everyone was staring at her. Even—

Even—

Pharaoh Atemu himself was staring at her, eyes wide in shock and wonder.

He was decked out in all his glory—the crown with the Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness; the jewelry; the tunic trimmed with gold; the flaring cape of midnight blue. Anzu felt herself paralyzed. With love; with fear.

She stood in the doorway, nervously wringing her hands. She had no idea what to do.

That problem was solved in the next instance.

Yami

Yami had never seen anyone as beautiful as she. Everything about her radiated perfection—her sapphire eyes, her dress, the way she carried herself. He felt drawn to her. Everyone else seemed to fade into the background as he rose to his feet.

Anzu

Anzu gulped again. Pharaoh Atemu had risen from his throne; he was striding towards her, determination in his step. She was frozen; unable to move a muscle as he approached her. She barely had time to notice that he was half a head taller than her before he bowed to one knee.

He took her hand in his, placing a light kiss on it.

"My lovely guest…would you have this dance?"

Anzu's mind was still slightly numb.

"B-But…I c-can't d-dance!"

More than half the young women giggled. Atemu cut them off with a raised hand.

"Then," he said quietly, "it appears you will be learning."

The next thing Anzu knew, she was being swept across the dance floor by none other than the king of Egypt himself.

Yami

Yami marveled at how quickly she learned, at how graceful and elegant she was. She moved with practiced ease, despite her previous insistence that she'd never danced in her life.

He was falling in love with this stranger more and more with each passing second.

He didn't notice that other dancers had joined—all his attention was focused on the girl in front of him, teaching her to move the way he moved.

Yami caught a brief glimpse of the middle-aged woman from before, staring suspiciously at them—but it immediately slipped his mind as the two of them swept past the exit to the gardens. He quickly slipped out into the dark night, motioning for her to follow.

Anzu

Anzu stared up at the stars as they walked, feeling more than a bit awkward. Atemu walked with a sort of quiet strength and grace, and she kept forcing herself not to stare. She hung back a bit, being careful not to get hit by the pharaoh's flaring cape.

Atemu glanced back at her once. His crimson eyes were unreadable.

Anzu gulped softly.

Suddenly, they entered a small courtyard surrounded by hedges. In the center was a fountain. The water caught and reflected the moon- and starlight, refracting it in millions of glistening droplets. Anzu gasped. It was so—so—

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

Atemu's voice startled her. It wasn't only that she hadn't expected him to speak—it was his tone; quiet and thoughtful. He stared off into the space right in front of him, humming softly.

Getting her courage up, Anzu tapped him lightly on the arm.

"Are you all right, my pharaoh?"

Atemu looked at her, smiling softly. "Please. My name is Atemu. And…yes. I think I'll be fine."

He went back to staring at the stars. Anzu unconsciously leaned against his arm.

Atemu put his arm around her shoulder. "You know what? I think we can even dispense with the royal name."

Anzu gasped. Not even the High Priests used the pharaoh's true name—not after he was crowned, anyway. That was a special honor, reserved for those that were extremely close.

Atemu smiled again, before whispering in her ear. "Call me Yami. It is my name, and you have my permission to call me by it whenever you like."

"Thank you…"

It happened so fast that she barely knew what happened. One moment, her sapphire eyes had been locked in his crimson gaze. The naxt, she was in the middle of her first kiss.

Anzu melted into Atemu's—Yami's, she reminded herself—arms. They would have stayed like that for longer, if the midnight bells hadn't begun to ring.

With a gasp, Anzu pulled away. "I'm sorry—I must go!"

She turned and ran, hearing the chimes. She was so intent on getting away that she wasn't watching where she was going. She stumbled, and lost one of the glass slippers.

"Wait!" Yami cried.

Anzu ignored him, running as fast as she could. Through the still dancing crowd, out the ballroom door, out of the palace.

Yami

Yami watched her go. He couldn't stop her. In seconds, she was gone.

He almost reverently bent down to pick up the shoe she had dropped.

"My lovely," he whispered. "I don't even know your name…"

Anzu

The moment Anzu opened the door to her house, the spell wore off. Within seconds, she was back to looking like an overworked slave.

Mai and Yuugi appeared—the former looking impressed, the latter grinning broadly and applauding.

"Bravo!" Yuugi cheered.

Mai nodded in approval. "You did good, hon. Real good."

Anzu smiled sadly at them, and rushed off to her room.

Mai raised an eyebrow. "What's her problem?"

Yuugi had become serious. "I think I know."

"Well, I'm lost, hon."

"She really fell in love with him—and now, they've separated. She's heartbroken." His face took on a momentarily absent look. "And, if I'm not mistaken, so's Yami."

Mai's expression darkened. "Oh…no…"

Yuugi's face brightened. "Wait—they've got a plan! Don't worry—everything will go right. Trust me on this."

The next morning

Yami sat on the throne, the glass slipper in his hands. He just looked at it, turning it back and forth so that it caught the light.

How will I find you? I don't even know your name…

"Pharaoh?"

Yami looked up. It was Mana—apprentice of High Priest Mahaado.

"Hello, Mana."

Mana sat cross-legged in front of the throne. "Something's bothering you," she said bluntly.

Yami smiled softly. "Yes. Something is."

Mana thought for a moment. "It wouldn't be that girl from last night, would it?"

"How observant." Yami sighed. "I didn't even get her name. I want to see her again—even if it's only to give this back." He gestured at the slipper in his other hand.

Mana's face brightened. "I have an idea! If that's her shoe, it'll fit her foot perfectly, and no one else's! You can ask every girl who was there to try on the shoe—and if it fits exactly, it's her!"

Yami sprang to his feet. "You're right! Thank you, Mana! Thank you!"

He strode across the room to the door, snapping out orders to the guards. At the door, he paused.

"Come with me, Mana—I'm sure you'll be able to help."

Five hours later

Still nothing. No one's foot would fit. Not one.

He was beginning to despair of ever seeing his lovely dancer ever again.

Mana poked his elbow. "Don't give up yet! We still have one more house to check!"

Yami nodded, regaining his composure. But he felt severely disheartened as he knocked on the last door.

Anzu

Anzu had heard rumors of the event, but was utterly shocked when the pharaoh and High Priestess-in-training Mana arrived at her house.

There was a knock at the door. Anzu ran to the door and slid back the flap of skin over the spyhole.

She peered out—and a pair of crimson eyes, framed by goldenrod bangs, peered right back in at her.

"Open up, in the name of the pharaoh!" a young girl, who Anzu assumed was Mana, called.

Anzu yiped. She didn't have time to react, because she was shoved aside by her stepmother.

"Get working," she hissed. "Don't let the pharaoh or the young priestess see you."

Anzu nodded, and slipped off to continue washing clothes.

Yami

A woman opened the door. Yami recognized her as the middle-aged woman from the night before.

"Pharaoh! It is an honor!"

Yami knew a suck up when he saw one, and wasn't fooled.

"Of course I heard of your search," she continued. "There's no one in this house but me."

Mana raised an eyebrow at Yami.

:Liar.:

Yami wasn't surprised at her use of mind-speech—Mahaado did it all the time.

"I'm afraid I'll need to look myself."

He pushed past her before she could argue. Mana followed him, patting the satchel that held the glass slipper.

Yami peered into every room. Mana followed, using mage-sight.

Nothing.

:Okay…I guess she wasn't lying…:

Yami smiled sadly. "Come on, Mana. Our work here is done."

He turned, and began to walk towards the door. He didn't notice the girl coming out of the laundry room with a basket of weth clothing until he slammed into her.

Anzu

One minute, Anzu was bringing the clean laundry out—the next, she was on the floor, and so were the clothes. Someone had slammed into her. She heard a giggling, and felt her face grow red in embarrassment.

"ANZU!" her stepmother shrieked. "Now look at what you've done! Apologize to the pharaoh! Then pick up those clothes!"

Muttering apologies, Anzu scrambled around, picking up the clothes.

Someone grabbed her under her chin and forced her head up. She found herself looking straight into the crimson orbs that were the pharaoh's eyes.

Anzu's stepmother grabbed her by the shoulders, pulling her put of Yami's grasp.

"I'm sorry—new slave—very clumsy—"

She turned to Anzu. "Get up to your room," she hissed. "Don't come back down until the pharaoh leaves. I don't need filth like you dishonoring me!"

Yami

It was the girl that he had seen before—the one he'd seen from his window. And—she looked like the woman from the ball.

Anzu…

The woman was yelling at her to get up to her room.

"Yes, Stepmother."

She turned to walk away. Yami saw the derisive smirk on her face as her 'stepmother' paled.

"Wait."

Anzu froze.

Yami walked up to her.

"Mana?"

Mana placed the glass slipper in his hand. Yami saw Anzu's sapphire eyes flick from his face to the shoe, then back in stunned silence to his face.

Smiling softly, Yami slid the slipper onto her foot. It was a perfect fit.

"No!" the woman howled. "This can't be right! She wasn't there! She couldn't have been!"

"I suggest you hold your tongue," Yami said icily, "before it gets chopped off. You're in enough trouble as it is for mistreatment of your household members. Mistreatment of your family is going too far."

Yami turned to Anzu, who was just standing there in stunned silence.

"Come with me."

Feeling numb, she followed him out. He brought her around to the gates of the palace. He got a few strange looks from the guards, but gave no explanation for the girl following him.

They went inside. Up a flight of stairs, into a sunny room.

"This is yours," Yami said, indicating the room with a sweep of his arm.

"B-But—why?"

Yami smiled softly. "Oh, come now. You can't expect me to forget last night that easily."

Anzu's face brightened. "You mean—you remember?"

"Of course." He paused, and glanced sideways at her. "You know…the consequence of stealing is usually death…"

Anzu paled. "Wh-What? Wh-What did I steal?"

She suddenly found herself pressing against his strong body. His arms were around her. She was suddenly closer to him than she had been to anyone in her life.

"You stole my heart," he whispered into her hair. "And, for all I care, you can have it. Stay with me, Anzu. Be my queen—Queen of Egypt."

Anzu couldn't find the words. She looked up at him, sapphire eyes dancing with joy. With her whole being, she answered his desperate plea for comfort and companionship.

Yes.