A/N: I had to do this story for English so I thought I might as well post it here. We had to break to the traditional stereotype of the damsel in distress that always needs to be saved by the prince. Instead, it's the woman who kicks butt! Please read and review!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*CINDERELLA*~*~*~**~*~*~*~*~*~*~**~*~

Once upon a time there a girl named Cinderella. Ever since her father died she had lived with her evil step-mother and her two ugly step sisters. Most people who knew Cinderella thought that she was a sweet, gentle young lady. Her evil step-mother used Cinderella's meekness against her, forcing Cinderella to do all the horrible chores around the house, thinking that she would be too frightened to object. But little did the evil step-mother know, there was much more to Cinderella than meets the eye.

Cinderella had a horrible temper, and she wasn't happy about the fact that she had to sleep on the floor in the attic while her step-mother and step- sisters slept in the most luxurious rooms in the house. Neither did she appreciate being bossed around by someone who wasn't her mother. But Cinderella was cunning and smart, and she wasn't about to let someone take advantage of her.

So she decided to take matters into her own hands. She blackmailed her step- sisters into doing the housework, and since they were so terrified of her viciousness, they quickly agreed.

"You will also bring me some of your nice clothes to wear," Cinderella told her step-sisters with a wicked grin on her face. "And don't you even think about telling your mother about this, or I'll tell her that you got liposuction." She and her step-sisters both knew that their mother was insanely jealous of Cinderella's natural beauty, while the other two sisters weren't so fortunate. But even so, getting any sort of cosmetic surgery would have been a disgrace to the family.

Cinderella's plan was perfect. Her true colours were never revealed to her step-mother, who suspected nothing. While her step-sisters did the housework, Cinderella took her father's horse ( even though her step-mother had forbidden her to ride it ) and rode it through the forest in her old jeans and T-shirt.

One day, she happened to meet a handsome but extremely stuck up prince, who was practicing sword fighting. Cinderella loved all sorts of sport, and stopped to challenge him to a duel. The Prince was skeptical at first, for Cinderella was small and delicate looking, and he didn't want to hurt her.

"You're just too chicken to fight me!" Cinderella taunted him. "You're scared that I'll beat you!" The Prince scoffed haughtily at that remark. To think, the future king being beaten by a girl! It was too ridiculous to even consider. After all, he was so much smarter and stronger than her.

So the two of them fought and no more than thirty seconds later, Cinderella was triumphant and the Prince was left stunned and furious. "What are you doing out here anyway!" he yelled, to cover his embarrassment. "You should be at home, washing the dishes like a real girl!"

This made Cinderella so mad that she kicked him so hard that he fell backwards into the river, coughing and spluttering. After poking her tongue out at him in a mocking way, she rode off in a huff, hoping that she would never have to see his despicable face again.

When Cinderella finally made her way back home, she found that her sisters had finished the housework and were gossiping excitedly over a piece of paper. She peered curiously over their shoulders and saw that it was an invitation to a ball. The King was inviting all the respectable young ladies in the kingdom to his castle, so that the Prince could choose one to be his bride, and therefore she would become Queen.

Cinderella snorted in disgust. Who would want to marry an egotistical pig like that? She thought with a sideways glance at her sisters, who were talking about how they were going to make themselves beautiful for the Prince. Some girls didn't have very high expectations.

Despite her deep resentment for the Prince and his stupid ball, Cinderella's step-mother gave her job of helping her step-sisters get ready for the big event. Knowing that Cinderella wasn't allowed to go with them, the two step-sisters teased her relentlessly. Cinderella didn't mind though, as she knew that she would at least get a few hours to herself while they were gone.

When the night of the ball finally came, Cinderella watched the three extravagantly dressed women leave with a sigh of relief. She then sat down to read a book, only to discover that she was hungry. She searched all around the house, but she couldn't find any food anywhere. The invitation to the ball, which lay on the table, caught her eye.
UNLIMITED FREE FOOD AND DRINK It said. This was perfect as far as Cinderella was concerned, so she rummaged through her step-sisters cupboards for something decent to wear. Looking beautiful wasn't exactly high on her list of priorities, but she needed to fit into the crowd. After all, she wasn't invited. Unfortunately Cinderella couldn't find anything, as all of her sisters' clothes were far too big for her. She let out a sigh of annoyance and decided that she needed a Plan B.

Suddenly, there was a flash of white light. Cinderella found herself standing next to her fairy godmother, who offered to give her a beautiful dress. Cinderella agreed.

Seconds later Cinderella was dressed in a sparkling scarlet dress covered with jewels and silk. She looked in the mirror with distaste, thinking that she looked ridiculous. Pants were more her style, but if she didn't take this offer, she'd probably starve to death. The fairy godmother also insisted that Cinderella should travel in style, so she turned a pumpkin and a few mice into a horse and carriage.

When Cinderella arrived at the ball, everyone turned to look at her, thinking that she was the most beautiful girl there. Even the Prince ( who didn't even recognize her as the plainly dressed girl who had kicked his ass earlier that day ) left the group of girls who were fawning over him to talk to her.

Cinderella was surprised to find the Prince standing outside her carriage door when she opened it. She was about to say something rude, when the Prince offered his hand out to her and said, "Let me help you get out and lead you into the castle."

Cinderella batted his hand out of the way. "I am perfectly capable of getting out of a carriage by myself, thank you very much," she snapped in annoyance. "I'm not stupid!"

As soon as she stormed away towards the table of food, the Prince realised who she was and ran after her, calling her a bunch names that should not be repeated. He had never encountered a girl who was so loud, un-cooperative and disobedient.

The King, however, had seen the whole thing, and thought that Cinderella was the most independent and strong-willed girl he had ever seen. She was just the right person to help run the kingdom.

"How would you like to be Queen?" The King asked Cinderella, who had already piled her plate high with food. "And marry THAT?" Cinderella exclaimed, glaring at the Prince. "You've got to be joking."

The King sighed. She was right. His son wasn't exactly the ideal husband, but he couldn't afford to lose Cinderella. So the King decided that Cinderella would be the Queen of all the kingdom when he died. He also denied the Prince his thrown as he thought that the Prince wouldn't be able to handle the responsibility.

When the Prince heard this he threw a tantrum. "This can't be possible! Running a kingdom is a man's job! She won't be able to handle it!" he screamed.

"Oh, get over yourself!" Cinderella retorted, smacking him in the head.

So when the King passed away, Cinderella became Queen. No one knew what happened to the Prince ( rumour has it that he was washing dishes for a living ) but Cinderella ran the kingdom all by herself. She was fair and wise and everyone loved her ( except the Prince ), and she lived happily ever after.