A/N: Hello there again! Yes, I'm bringing you another Death Note story! :) And I'm going to get a few things out of the way first. One, I don't have an update schedule for this baby yet. I'm currently working on This Eternity, Not So Sweet and Normal Days, and other one-shots and requests from friends. The first few chappies should be up pretty quickly, and I'll try to keep a steady pace with this one. Also:

1) This is an AU story, set in a kingdom. You'll see English and Japanese references. You'll also see future and medieval references. Think of the setting as a futuristic/classic kingdom.

2) Rating is T for now, but there will be Yaoi later on, so yes, the rating will go up. Oh, and no like, no read!

3) Ages are different here, and that will be detailed later! And almost all DN characters will make an appearance in this story.

4) No Kira here, folks, so sorry. XD There'll be some special DN references, so keep your eyes open!

Oh, and this is a crossover between DN, fairy tales/fables, and the movie Ever After (Yes, the idea came from watching that movie... XD). If you haven't seen it, that's okay, you don't need to know the movie to get the story, and the story doesn't follow that plot line exactly either.

Phew...well, that's done! So, I present to you, A Deathly Fairytale...

Every man's life is a fairy tale written by God's fingers.

- Hans Christian Andersen (1805-1875)

Man never takes the time to consider the precious hours that he spends just breathing, just thinking, just living. The lives of Homo sapiens have come to be all too complicated to enjoy the natural wonders by which God has graced the land that they inhabit. Love and happiness being of those two, but I am not going to sit here and lecture on the points that should change in society. No, I will talk of certain members of society that tried to break the boundaries man himself did set.

One boundary includes status. Human have always tried to give labels and titles to themselves. To boost pride, to be thought highly of, and to get the most amount of opportunities that they could are just a few reasons why status was, and is, so important. In all forms of kingdoms reigns, and parliaments, status of man reared its ugly head.

And in one kingdom, it always seemed that L Lawliet would never have to worry about status and his future. The young boy was born into the noble Lawliet family, and his parents held a great title in the kingdom of Kisamari, and in their small village of Kanto. But, the family was far from social, and even though they were famous, they were rarely seen outside their small home. For nobles, the family consisting of a married couple, they prided themselves on keeping to and not making a show of themselves, and that included not flashing their belongings as if they had become the new royal family.

Though the Lawliet family was shrouded in mystery, Mrs. Lawliet had two good friends: Naomi Misora and Mary Kenwood. Misora was not seen often for she lived on the farther side of the kingdom, but the Lawliet woman had great faith in her for multiple reasons.

And for that reason alone was why Mary Kenwood was running as fast as she could to that woman's home, clutching the Lawliet's only child and his birth certificate to her chest. She swore she would remember this day forever as the snow gently fell around her, and it crunched beneath her small, velvet slippers.

The Lawliet's had appeared on her doorstep early that morning, six AM. They demanded she hold on to L and his certificate, stating his birth date, the name of his parents, and his noble status. She questioned why, but they just said 'something has come up; we need you to watch him'. The blonde happily obliged, the woman of the couple had been her best friend since their school days after all.

But now, the woman was shocked as she looked back at the Lawliet home as flames engulfed it, blazing brightly against the gray sky.

What had happened? Men had rushed in to save the couple, but it was too late. They had died, it seemed, from smoke inhalation very quickly.

Or had they...? Mary thought to herself as she continued running. It all seemed too suspicious. Did they know something was to happen to them? Was someone after them? Did someone murder them? All questions that would now never be answered.

Mary couldn't believe the sight when she saw her neighbor's home ablaze around ten AM, and she told the other standbys that L was safely in her custody. Still shock had warped her calm mind into a desert of chaos and mistrust.

But, at the time, she wondered what she was to do with L? She was a single woman with the important job as being an ambassador to the other kingdoms for his highness. She couldn't handle a child!

Thankfully, God had graced Mrs. Lawliet with a wonderful mind, for the woman had left a note tucked in L's blanket, reading:

If an emergency happens, take L to Naomi Misora.

Not a moment after seeing that did Mary break into a sprint so fast, she herself was surprised at the stamina she showed.

"MOM! SOMEONE'S AT THE DOOR!!" Came the girly shriek from inside the large cottage.

"Then answer it, Misa! I busy with your brother at the moment!" An older woman called back.

"Humph! Fine!" She opened the door with a huff, and curtly began to state, "What do you-" But she stopped when she caught sight of the figure in her doorway.

A tall blonde woman, dressed in a brown cloak, covered in ash and snow. And carrying a crying baby.

"Uh...Mommy?" The four year old girl called.

"WHAT?!"

"There's someone here to see you..."

"Well, who-", Naomi came around the corner and gasped, "Wedy?! What...What happened?!"

Mary smiled at being called her childhood nickname, but her expression turned serious, and she still panted from the hard run.

"Is...Is that..." The very attractive brunette woman eyed the crying child.

"Yes..." Mary moved a flap of the babe's blanket to unveil large, piercing gray eyes, and tips of black hair. "It's L."

It didn't take long to explain the situation to Naomi, and she heartily took L into her arms, a wide smile covering her thinly-framed face. Ever since her husband Raye had died in the last war, known as the DEATH war, she longed for another child to accompany her daughter Misa, and her son Mello. And now, here was L, a child prodigy that she had been assigned by her best friend to raise.

It was true that L was prodigy. His genius was already beginning to show even though he was only five months old. He was already speaking fluently, and his curious nature was growing by the day. The Lawliets had had high hopes for their son, and now it was Naomi's job to make sure that they were achieved.

Misora's family was also of noble blood, and it was no trouble due to the Lawliets thinking that L's birth certificate should accompany him to Mary's home. He would keep his title due to the certificate, and he would enjoy the lavish noble lifestyle due to his new home.

Misora's other children, Mello and Misa, had mixed feelings about their new brother. Mello was somewhat happy that he had another male he could show how the world works, and play and tease. The spunky blonde two year-old figured he would enjoy the new addition, since it also seemed L was intelligent, like he was. Though Naomi knew Mello's intelligence would probably not reach the level of L's, she knew they could find solace in each other.

Misa, on the other hand, was far from thrilled about her new brother. The bubbly, yet ditzy blonde girl easily became jealous, and a new arrival was not was she wanted. She wasn't very bright, she herself knew that, but her cute, four year-old looks had charmed the whole kingdom and she had acquired a multitude of friends. Misa would make sure that she would one day be the center of attention again. No matter what the costs...

Five years passed uneventfully in L's life. Naomi raised him like a normal child, but she left out what his family name was, and who his parents were. She thought it would be best not to trouble the young lad with sad and scary thoughts at such a young age.

L was growing up to be a promising candidate for any job. His intelligence did exceed both Mello and Misa's by far, and Naomi was proud to see that the boy had grown up quite well under his circumstances.

But tragedy was to strike the raven-haired boy again; this time, in the form of sickness.

It was a quiet night, and Naomi called L into her room.

"N-Naomi?" L had never called her mother throughout the half a decade, but the older woman did not mind. She knew it was because L knew that she was not his real mother.

"L...I am dying." She firmly stated.

"W...what? How-You can't!" The normally stoic child who would rather bury himself in a book than go outside began to go into hysterics.

"Hush, now. It's...the flu, you know that."

"Flu? How can...oh...yes, it can kill."

"It just came on suddenly, sweetie, and you know of my weak immune system. The doctor said tonight may be my last night."

Tears shimmered in the child's eyes. "But..."

"Please, do not worry, you are a strong boy."

"But...what can I do? I-"

"Go into my bedside table drawer, and bring me the paper that is in there."

L obeyed, and brought the paper back to the ill woman.

"Do you see this? It is your birth certificate."

The raven's eyes widen, and he grabbed the paper from his step-mother's hands.

"L...Lawliet? That's...my family name?"

"Yes, and do you see where it says status as noble? That shows you are of noble blood."

"So...I am of noble blood? Even though I am not part of the Misora family?"

"Yes. And as long as you have that, you will always have your high status in this land. And no one can take your name away from you either."

"N-Naomi..."

"And your interesting quirks also make you very unique." She gave a half-hearted chuckle as she referred to L's unusual taste for sweets and his odd insomnia that he began to suffer from when he was one.

L finally couldn't hold back the tears any longer and he embraced the other woman in a hug. The tears flowed freely, and it was to be the last time L would ever cry for many, many years.

Naomi Misora was buried the next day next to her husband in the Kimichi Cemetery. Misa, who was now nine, was the head of the household, and though others asked her if she would need assistance, she heartily denied it. For now, her plan to get rid of L would take place, and it would come in the form of his certificate. That precious certificate that every person had that deemed who they were in life.

Once they had arrived home from the funeral, Misa casually walked into L's room, and took the certificate from his hidden spot upon his gigantic bookcase. He had hidden in secretly, but Misa had been watching and listening to her late mother and her "brother's" conversation, and she had followed L to his room and saw the blessed spot.

Now...it all will change... Though Misa was not the brightest bulb in the package, she was deceitful and conniving for a nine year old girl. And L's life was about to change for the worse.

Mello had been laying flowers at his mother's grave; beautiful white lilies that grew all around Kanto during the springtime. As the young boy was coming back to the home, he heard a shout of distress.

L! God, not him too!

The blonde boy burst through the house door and was shocked to see his step-brother on the floor, his arms clutching his bony, lithe shoulders, his gray-black eyes wide in fear.

"M-Misa...please...don't..." L whispered, and Mello was confused until he saw his blonde sister standing over a blazing fire in the fireplace.

"What the hell are you doing Mi-" Then, L's birth certificate came clearly into view for the blue-eyed blond boy.

"Misa...are you-Don't! You can't!" Mello said incoherently, the intelligent seven-year old knew exactly what his sister had in mind.

"Oh, I can brother, and I will." Her tiny, girlish hand stretched closer towards the fire.

"Do you realize what will happen if you burn his certificate!?"

"Hai. Of course I do." She paused and looked down at L with disdain, "He will become our-my-servant."

All three knew of the caste system that had been set up in the kingdom of Kisamari by the great-great grandfather of Sochiro Yagami, the current king. At the top was the royal family, consisting of Sochiro, Sachiko, his wife, Sayu, his daughter, and Raito, his son, and the heir to the Yagami throne. After the royal family came the warriors and certain families that had ties to the royal family. The next level consisted of all nobles and their families, followed by the peasants and farmers after them. Finally, the last level consisted of slaves and servants.

There were few rules involving the system. You could marry outside your level, and associate with each other and there was mostly equal treatment, but the slaves and servants were the one exception. No equal treatment was given to them, and they were made to work extremely hard and were looked down upon with disdain.

There were also two ways you could become a slave or a servant: One, you were born that way through your parents being either one. Or two, you had lost your birth certificate for some reason that stated what your class was. Only one copy was issued at birth by the royal priests, and it was needed to be kept safe, for you would never receive another. There were too many people in the kingdom to keep a complete set of every person's certificate at the royal grounds, and it was illegal to make copies of the certificate.

If it was discovered that your certificate was gone or destroyed for any reason, it was reported to the priests, and you were immediately taken out of the family registry, and thereby dubbed a servant or slave. There was not much difference between the two; it depended on your personality and attributes which title you were given (Slaves were the worst of the two, many died each year due to over-excruciating labor). You would be forced to work in another's home, following their every command. You would become the scum of the town.

In L's case, since he was adopted, he would be forced to work for his adopted family if Misa's plan went without a hitch. But there was one issue: Mello and L were about to see her burn the certificate with their own eyes, and it was illegal to destroy someone's certificate purposefully. This, though, didn't stop it from happening. It was indeed a common occurrence, but many of those that did the terrible deed were never caught. And that's exactly what Misa was planning.

"Misa, if you go through with it, I'll just tell everyone that you did it. I won't hesitate to-"

"Yes, you will Mello! Because if you breathe one word about this to anyone, I'll spread the nastiest rumors about you, and damage your reputation so badly, you'll be exiled from this place. And, I'll tell everyone that you got Mother killed, that you went to that witch in the forest and asked her to make Mother sick! And guess what Mello, they'll believe me! They all already do!"

It was true. Everyone in Kanto trusted Misa Misa one hundred percent. They were victims to her charms, her cuteness, and most likely, if Misa started saying she was God, every one would believe her. And it wasn't like Misa lied all the time; Now that she was about to, everyone would trust her.

"Mello...please do something!" L begged to his older brother. They had become closer over the past few years, and the raven hoped that he would help him in some way.

The blonde boy bit his lip, contemplating. He was torn between his options. Oh, it wasn't that he didn't want to help L; it was the fact that he couldn't. He knew Misa would tell terrible lies about him, and he knew that even if he tried to deny them, the people of Kanto would believe her, not him. Mello was known for being a trouble maker and a part-time liar.

He sighed, running a hand over his face, and turned his back to the scene.

"I'm sorry, L."

With that, Misa threw the certificate into the fire, and L screamed with fright. He knew his fate was up in the air now, and it would only be a matter of time before disaster struck him.

And disaster did come in the form of the holy priest that resided in Kanto. He decided to check up on the children, and make sure they were settled in for the rest of their lives. When the man was checking all three birth certificates of the children, just to make sure everything was in order, Misa brought up L's.

"He never had one...at least I don't think so." She said innocently. "Mother never showed us that he had one."

This sent the priest into a twitter, and of course, he scavenged the house, trying to find it, while Misa devilishly smirked, and L shivered with fright. Mello tried to comfort his step-brother, but the raven heartily ignored him, breaking Mello's heart in the process.

When it was deemed L's certificate was gone, the priest wrote down that he was now a servant to the rest of the Misora household, and that he was to be treated differently from now on.

"But L's our brother!" Misa proclaimed while oozing child-like innocence and wonder, "He has to be treated fairly!"

"Sorry, Misa. It's just the law. But he's your servant so you can treat him at home however you wish."

"Well, we'll treat him good! Right Mello?"

"..." Mello just nodded

"That's what everyone says." The priest stated, "But the thrill of having someone that bows down to you without hesitation gets to them, and they treat their servants harshly. But, you won't be looked down upon if you do, Misa, so don't hesitate, alright?"

The elderly man left silently, but he waited outside the door.

When he heard a scream of pain from L, and a shout from Misa, he knew that the remaining Misora children would come to be like the rest of their society: haters of those beneath them.

All throughout Kanto, the news spread of L's reduction in status. The lie that Misa had told the priest also spread like wildfire: That Naomi had known L's certificate had been destroyed a long time along when his parents had died, and she didn't report it to the royal priests; she was keeping him illegally as one with noble blood was what Misa had told him. The blonde girl was "crying" by the time she finished her tale, claming her mother had asked her to keep it a secret.

This lie spread like a disease through Kanto and the kingdom, and Naomi's reputation was tarnished indefinitely. All believed it too, because L had never been seen much outside his home. He had not attended school (Naomi realized it wouldn't be good due to L's high intelligence) and many took that as a confirming sign. The young man had also been anti-social, and even though that was just L's nature, the people of Kanto took it as a bad sign. Also, the one person who could vouch for Naomi and say that L's certificate wasn't destroyed, Mary Kenwood, had "disappeared" mysteriously. Some say she was killed, others say she just left. It was a complete mystery...

The name Lawliet was also forgotten about. It didn't matter if that was where L had come from, all that mattered was what had been stated on that certificate. And now that it was gone, so was L's past. L was now just L.

All of the raven's belongings had been destroyed by Misa too. The blonde forced him to continue his living in the basement, giving him only a cotton sheet and a pillow to sleep with. Her commands were harsh, she ordered him to do all kinds of chores and to obey her bidding. She even made him do idiotic and humiliating things, such as try on her new outfits in front of her friends just for laughs, or she would send him out to the store to buy something, such as bread, and then she would just destroy it, and told the boy to go back and buy another. L had to follow all commands, lest he be arrested or killed.

L was not given much to eat, only two sparse meals a day, and he was forbidden from wearing any fancy designs and clothes. This was fine to him. The growing lad was more comfortable in the traditional servant attire: a plain white t-shirt and blue jeans. He also wasn't fond of normal food, and his fancy for sweets had grown tremendously. But since he needed strength, he ate what was given to him.

Mello also tried to repair the burnt bridge between him and L. He would sneak sweets away and take them to his step-brother, but L's cold stare never changed to anything else. What made it even worse was that Mello was forced to hurt L due to Misa's threats. He was made to order his brother around, and force him into tasks as well. This just kept damaging their relationship, but Mello swore he would one day get L to care for him again.

L was also abused by his sister, being hit and kicked repeatedly whenever she wished. And he could not object to her disgusting behavior...but secretly, he trained in the basement. Naomi had taught him various martial arts before she passed, including capoeria, and L wanted to keep up his training. Even though he could never harm Misa or Mello, the insomniac boy realized it may be helpful later on in life...

...

Years passed, and nothing changed. Except L. He became quieter, colder, and less caring to those around him. He saw himself as nothing but L, and he tried to push the memories of the past away. The raven knew his heart was dead, and no one could bring it back. Sometimes, he'd catch glimpses of happy families, royal or peasant, and he would wish that was still how things were with him and his own "family".

What family...? Mine...is dead...

So L gave up on happiness, he gave up on those fairy tales that parents spew to their kids just to make them happy. His life was to never be like that...

But...he was wrong...and when fourteen years had passed, and L was nineteen, the guy and his heart were about to get a wake-up call...

A/n: Well, there's the first chapter! I really hoped you enjoyed it! Please leave a review!

Oh, and here are the ages for everyone:

-1st chapter: L-5, Misa-9 and Mello-7

From now on, the ages are: L-19, Misa-23 and Mello-21

Raito will appear next chapter, and so will a lot more people, so look forward to that.

Again, I hoped you enjoyed this. I haven't written any real AU stories yet, so I'm excited to see where this goes! See you soon!! :)