Hi there! I'm back, and without further ado, A Slipperless Cinderella!

oOoOoOoOoOo

Thunder crashed outside the manor, shaking the window panes while screams of pain could be heard from down the hall.

Yura had been in labor for fourteen hours now, struggling to give birth to her third husband's (may he rest in peace) child.

Kagome, a young girl of fourteen, sat huddled in the kitchens, her ash covered face buried in Kaede's protecting arms. Both she and the elderly lady jumped when the door was thrown open and bounced off the wall.

Another young girl, only a year older than Kagome, stood in the doorway dressed in an expensive nightgown, her own frightened eyes taking in the two with thinly veiled disgust.

"You are to report to mother," her eyes narrowed out her step-sister, "now!"

Kagome shakily left the safe haven that was Kaede's arms and made her way to the master bedroom with heavy feet.

A shaking hand knocked on the oak door.

"Come in!"

The screams had faded sometime ago, only to be replaced by a shrill cry, the source of which has nestled in a nursemaids arms.

"Well!" an exhausted Yura snapped, "The child is your responsiblity now. Don't you dare let any harm come to him!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kagome Hiragoshi, servant in her own home, was preparing the evening meal while Shippo Afurohea sat at the kitchen table telling her about the days lesson.

This was a daily occurrence; Yura Afurohea, Shippo's mother and Kagome's stepmother, had hired one of the most expensive scholars available to teach her son. She over-looked one thing though, the man was a scholar not a teacher. It all evened out to Shippo barely understanding anything the man said. He was only six for crying out loud! (and those were Shippo's exact words to Kagome) So, the young kit went to Kagome for help. He would tell her about what he had been "taught" that day while eating the treats she made for him earlier in the day. Somehow, though Kagome rarely made any vocal corrections to his ramblings, he always seemed to leave the kitchen understanding a lot more about the subject then he had before.

Today's subject was Ancient Egypt.

Kagome was singing softly to herself as she cooked while Shippo began his explanation in-between bites of the chocolate-chip cookies Kagome had provided.

"Bast is the goddess of dawn, civilization, home, bounty, plenty, enlightenment, creation, truth, the Moon, Sun, art," he trailed of un-able to remember the rest and looked to Kagome for guidance.

She simply smiled at him and kept singing softly while she cooked. When he continued to watch her she began to sing a bit louder (he could now make out the words) and moved to the refrigerator.

Now Granny said

"Sonny stick to your guns

If you believe in something no matter what

'Cause it's better to be hated for who you are

Then loved for who you're not"

She was five feet of concrete

New York born an' raised on slick city street

She'd cold stare ya down, stand her ground

Still kickin' an' screamin' at ninety-three.

I remember just how proud she looked,

Layin' in that hospital bed,

Takin' her last few breaths of life,

An' smilin' as she said,

"Don't get to high on the bottle,

Just a lil' sip every now and then,

Fight your fights, find your grace

An' all the things that you can't change

An' get right with the man"

When she stepped over the fat cat Boyu, his memory jogged.

"And dancing, singing, and cats!" he finished, puffing his chest out with pride at Kagome's loving smile.

"Very good! Now, can you tell me what she looked like?" Kagome asked absently while paused on her way to the stove with the milk in her hands to rub Boyu with her foot.

"Erm," he said while watching her interactions with the over-fed feline, "she had a full cat form and… she, uh, sometimes had the body of a woman and the head of a cat."

"I'm impressed; you do your father proud, Shippo."

At these words the young kitsune beamed. His father had married Yura five years after Kagome's father had died. Then, two years later Shippo was born, but his father didn't live to see it. This didn't overly surprise Kagome (Yura had never kept a husband very long), who had become Shippo's nurse as soon as he was born. Not that she minded; she adored the kit. Now, you may ask why Yura didn't tend to her child. Well, the answer is simple enough: she didn't want to be bothered with such a trivial thing. It wasn't that she disliked the kit, oh no! Quite the opposite, she spoiled him with lavish toys and adored showing him off. And, now that he was older she spent more time with him so she could coo to him how special he was.

"You better hurry along and get ready for dinner; it'll be done soon," Kagome advised with a soft smile.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Sesshomaru-sama! Sesshomaru-sama!"

A handsome face calmly looked up from the parchment in front of him and looked towards the source of the noise.

"Yes, Rin?"

The small girl in front of his desk, now known as Rin, smiled up at him and offered him a fist full of wild flowers, "Rin picked Sesshomaru-sama some pretty flowers!"

Sesshomaru stood from his desk and took the flowers, patting Rin on the head. He put them in an already prepared vase (the girl brought him at least two bouquets a day) before scooping her up in his arms and settling her on his shoulders.

"Where are we going, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"It's time for your lessons, is it not?"

The girl tightened her small, chubby arms around her guardian's neck, "Rin doesn't want to go to lessons! That lady scares Rin!"

"Me, Rin. That lady scares me," he corrected gently.

"Rin's new teacher scares Sesshomaru-sama, too?"

He resisted the urge to sigh. No matter how many specialist he tried, his niece still referred to herself in third person. He supposed it was due to the fact that Inuyasha had been the one responsible for teaching her how to speak, as the girl's human mother had died during the child's birth, and therefore could not undertake such duties.

"No, Rin. I was correcting you. Now say it again. 'That lady scares me.'"

"That lady scares me."

"Well done, Rin."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kagome gave an exhausted sigh as she collapsed against the God Tree, which was located on the border of the estate.

"Tired?" a voice asked from beside her seated position. She opened her eyes, not surprised to see her neighbor and best friend Sango sitting beside her.

"A little," she responded with a small smile.

Sango snorted, " 'A little' my ass. That bitch should be exterminated for all the work she forces on you. If it wasn't for Kaede-baba she'd have worked you to death by now."

Kaede was the kind, elderly lady that was in charge of the staff. She was a surrogate grandmother to Kagome and always made sure that she had breaks in which she could regain some of her energy.

"It's not that bad," Kagome said gently.

"It is so and you know it," Sango said while scratching behind her fire-neko, Kilala's ears, "This estate rightfully belongs to you. Your father left it to you! Not Yura and Kikyo!"

Kikyo was Yura's daughter from a previous marriage. She and Kagome looked remarkably alike and had often been mistaken for blood sisters in those few years in which Yura had been married to Kagome's father.

"And what of little Shippo? Yura would leave in a rage if I took control of the estate, and she'd take him with her. I can't lose him, Sango," Kagome explained.

"It's not fair!" Sango exclaimed.

"Life rarely is."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"You called, your highness?" Miroku asked, forgoing the usual bow. Miroku never bowed. Why should he? Sesshomaru was his longtime friend; no body bows to their friends.

Sesshomaru threw the same document he'd been studying for the past week at Miroku.

"King Inutasho's will," Miroku said looking over the documents, "You have to…"

Miroku broke out into laughter.

"Control yourself. This is serious. I need you to assist me in finding away out of this," Sesshomaru growled.

Miroku, still snickering, commented, "This is your father we're talking about. There are no loopholes."

Sesshomaru knew this of course, but with the monk's confirmation, he was forced to accept it. Damn his luck!

"What am I going to do? Marriage for the crown!"

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo A week later oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Kikyo's sequel of delight rang through the morning air at the Hiragoshi estate.

"Mother! Mother! Can you believe it? A masked ball!"

Yura smiled of the breakfast table at her daughter. She of course had already heard the rumors concerning the ball. It was to find the prince a mate. The deceased King had left an ironclad clause in his will: Prince Sesshomaru could only take the throne when he'd mated. There would be a series of three balls, and her Kikyo was going to be the star of all of them.

"This calls for shopping, my dear Kikyo!"

In the kitchens, Kagome shared a look with Kaede.

Kaede laughed lightly while she spoke, "You may find it absurd now, child, but it will not be long before such things begin to stir your interest as well. It does all young females, and one as beautiful as yourself will be flaunted with the often."

"What do you mean? You can't really believe I would become so twittery over such a thing as a ball."

"That is not what causes the excitement to run so heavily through Kikyo's veins, but the prospect of the young men who will also be in attendance."

Kagome frowned gently, letting the thoughts run rampant through her mind. 'Young men? Does Kaede honestly believe I have time for such rubbish? The only young man in my life needs my complete attention and love. There can be no other.'

A small smile touched Kagome's full lips as she continues washing vegetables, her mind filled with thoughts of her young Shippo.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

That evening found Sango, Kagome, and Kilala back under the God Tree, discussing the ball. br br

Well, arguing about the ball.

"You have to," Sango insisted, "If I have to go, so do you! You wouldn't leave me, would you?"

The proud youki exterminator put on her best puppy dog, vulnerable face and waited patiently for her friend to crumble.

"Think Sango. Yura would never let me go. Besides, what would I wear?"

"Leave that to me, child."

The girls turned to see Kaede standing to the side of the God Tree. Sango flashed her a mischievous smile and then looked back to Kagome. br br

"Well?"

Kagome threw her hands up in defeat, "Fine."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Mmmkay. So, this was originally a one-shot, but I decided to go through and but a lil' more detail into it and turn it into a multi-chapter fic. Whatta ya think so far? Should I continue or just post the one shot?