A/N: New story. Tell me what you guys think, please!

The stories had started out harmlessly enough, intended to warn children away from the thinly-frozen surface of the village pond in the winter. The adults from the small Irish village who crafted these tales were originally inspired by the ghostly mist that would rise from the pond's surface and creep its tendrils up the banks, slowly unfurling, as if beckoning anyone close enough to come near-but when a disturbing presence began to make itself known, the stories evolved.

They were told with a bit more urgency.

Parents no longer threw out a careless warning towards their children as they ran off to play by the pond; the children were sat down, sternly spoken to. The creases in their parents' brows should have been warning enough-but you know children.

Dying to explore the rolling hills of the winter countryside rather than stay cooped up indoors in front of hearths, the children of the village would wander. When they returned, they told tales that deeply worried their parents-stories of a boy with hair and skin as white as snow that would often climb up the banks of the misty pond to join in their games. They spoke of him with joy in their eyes, telling of how he would laugh and run and frolic like any normal child, but when it was time for them to return home, the pale boy would say farewell with a sad smile and walk back towards the water's edge where he seemed to disappear.

Yes, the children spoke of the strange child fondly; however, fairy tales are not always taken kindly by adults.

Rumors among mothers began to circulate while their husbands were out hunting.

There was a faerie plaguing the water, they said. The more they thought about it, the more things fit into place: even in the summertime, the pond, as small as it was, would remain frigidly cold as if held in the grasp of the dead. Muffled crying could be heard, entangled with the whine of the wind, if one listened closely on stormy nights. Windows left shut overnight would be half-open by morning, the mark of a poor-practiced thief, but the glass would be marked with delicate frost patterns that looked carefully hand-drawn. And then the stories their children told, of playing with a white-haired boy by the pond.

Too much of it added up.

In a close-knit rural village as small as this one, rumors spread quickly as the plague among families and households. Mothers began to speak with fear that their children might be in danger.

A couple men of the village yearned to take action, but didn't dare do so without a nod from their town's leader, Keiran. Therefore, a meeting was planned.

By far the most intrigued by the children's stories was a lithe man by the name of Pitchiner, called "Pitch" by those around him because of his head of raven-black hair that stood out with stark contrast from the other villagers' locks of reds and browns. Pitchiner, who was one and without a family, served as a village hunter along with three other stronger men: Caden, Ryann, and Mael. Pitch, though he never spoke it out loud, considered himself to be somewhat of the brain to their brawn.

He was an expert hunter, after all, always knowing the best locations to lay traps and remaining aware of animals' hiding places during the winter. So, when the men of the village were called to council on a crisp November night by Keiran, it was Pitch that spoke up with a plot to rid the pond of the faerie or kelpie or spirit that plagued its icy depths and posed a possible threat to their children.

It was around a crackling bonfire that the group of hunters and a few craftsmen gathered to discuss plans to eliminate the threat.

"I can construct a cage of sorts with the limbs of the Alder that grow by the pond to contain whatever it is we are dealing with," suggested Caden, one of the village hunters, voice gruff.

He was met by vigorous nodding by the men all around as firelight flickered against their rough features.

Keiran, a stocky man with rough red stubble leaned forwards on his stump, interested. His booming voice was next to be heard over the crackling of firewood.

"And how do you plan to lure the thing into your trap?"

"If I might", Mael spoke up, "shouldn't we need meat to lure a kelpie, or a binding spell to nag a faerie? Last time I checked, meat was in high demand around here, and with winter setting in-"

He was cut off by the smooth, sure voice of Pitch as he interjected.

"Have you not heard the stories of the children? Whatever we're dealing with is brave, bold—it shan't need much luring. It seems to me like the children might hold more truth than you give them credit for. Young ones are strangely wise about these faerie happenings, you know, if that is indeed what we're dealing with."

A few of his companions nodded in agreement, but Pitch was met with a curt frown from Keiran's direction.

"Are you saying we should go about believing all the fairytales our wild-minded children come up with? I'm sorry, Pitchiner, but you are well aware that we have real problems to attend to with the winter coming in so harsh. Game is in high demand. And what do we do with the thing once we've caught it?"

Pitch didn't falter. "No game will be wasted, you have my word. This thing has taken this village by trickery, and we, in turn, will use trickery against it. Boy-faeries are fond of games, mischief, are they not? They are curious by nature. As for what we do with it: we'll do what must be done."

The surrounding men grunted in agreement.

Ryann spoke next. "Our wives will be freed from their worry, our children freed from any danger. I am with Pitch." More nods of approval.

Keiran nodded slowly, contemplating. "Then go. Pitchiner, Ryann, Mael, Caden-I entrust to you four the safety of this village. You are the best hunters we have; I have faith you will not let us down."

Pitch smiled, standing up, a thin smile creeping across his gaunt features, grey in the dim light.

"I shan't."

A/N: Getting the drama bomb rolling! If you guys surprise me with some reviews I'll have the next chapter posted tomorrow, I promise! Thanks for reading, don't forget to review! xx