Halloween Challenge from The Heart of Camelot:
Premise 1: Scary Story—Telling scary stories around the campfire is an extremely popular premise, but that's because it's a great one. Your story can take place in either a canonical or modern setting, but your characters must be sitting around the campfire in the middle of the woods for one reason or another. Other than that, make it scary, throw in a little twist, whatever you like! Just stay true to the basic premise.
Characters/Pairings: Arthur.
Rating/Warnings: K+
Setting: Pre-series, Arthur is five or six

This was written for The Heart of Camelot's Halloween Challenge. It took me forever to come up with an idea for a story, but I'm fairly pleased with how this turned out. The song is "Come Little Children" from the movie Hocus Pocus. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: Neither Merlin nor the song belong to me.

Come Little Children

"Come little children I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment."

The words echoed on the breeze, softly, gently, almost too soft to hear. The knights looked around nervously, fingering their swords without thinking. The woods were dark, the moon full and casting shadows among the trees. Their fire cracked and sparks flew into the air, a piece of burned wood falling and sending more sparks flying. The knights drew closer to the fire, the oldest and the obvious leader drawing the small child closer to his side.

The boy, no older than five or six, looked around nervously, biting his lip. The red cloak wrapped around him was too big, dragging along the ground and pooling around his feet. He burrowed his head into the knight's side, closing his eyes tightly. He didn't like the woods, had never liked the woods. He hadn't wanted to come in the first place, but he couldn't tell his father that. He couldn't look like a coward, not in his father's eyes.

"Come little children, the time's come to play here in my garden of shadows."

The little prince opened his eyes, looking around the circle. The knights were all glancing around, trying to hide their nervousness from their young charge, but he could see it written plainly on their faces. He wrapped his hand around the cloak, holding it tightly and burrowing his face once more into the knight's side. He could hear the words echoing in the breeze, the soft calling of a woman, a young woman. He wondered if the knights could hear her, but he kept his face hidden.

"Is he asleep?" He heard one of the younger knights ask.

"Yes." The knight he was burrowed into replied quietly, his deep voice rumbling and vibrating against his face. "Hush or you'll wake him."

"He's a lucky one, to sleep in this place." Another knight muttered. "It's not natural."

"Robert." The knight hissed in warning, holding the little prince tighter to him.

"It's not." Robert grumbled, but he said no more.

The group fell into silence, the only sound being that of the crackling of the fire. The wind began to pick up, the singing growing louder to the young boy's ears. He felt his heart begin to beat faster as he listened to the words—Come little children….Come little children.

"They say a witch's spirit haunts these woods." One of the knights suddenly broke the silence and the boy shook his mind clear of the singing.

"Quiet!" The knight holding him ordered. "None of that, not tonight."

"We can't just sit here in silence." It was Robert again. "Let the lads talk, Alain."

The child waited for Alain to argue back, to demand silence, but the elder knight remained silent.

"Build this fire up, Pellam." Robert ordered. "Then you can tell your story."

Peeking from behind the cloak, the boy watched as Pellam added more wood to the fire, causing the light to roar to life. The light danced before him and the image of a cloaked woman appeared, before disappearing as he blinked his eyes.

"The Witch of the Woods was killed many years ago, before King Uther took the throne." Pellam's voice was low as he began the story. "For years she wandered these woods, casting her spells with her voice. They say that she would sing a lullaby that only children could hear and that once the child heard the song they would wander off, following the song. The children would go as if in a trance, not knowing why they followed the strange woman, but once a child followed the song they were never seen from again. On the night that the witch was slain she was found with the bodies of three children, drained of their lives so that the witch might forever live and be young. They say that on nights when the moon is full, she roams the woods just as before, calling for all the children to come to her so that she might live once more."

As the knight finished his tale, the fire cracked and a shower of sparks flew into the air, causing the child to stiffen in fright.

"That is enough storytelling for the night." Alain said gruffly. "Pellam, you have first watch. We will leave at first light. Get to bed."

The boy closed his eyes as the knights began to move and Alain lifted him in his arms and carried him to his bedroll beside the fire. The knight laid him down, running a gentle hand through his hair.

"Sleep, Arthur." Alain whispered. "You are safe with me."

Arthur opened his eyes and blinked, looking into the eyes of the kind man before closing them and turning over onto his side, pulling the cloak under his chin. Within moments he was asleep, the knight's story forgotten as he drifted into the land of dreams.

"Come little children, I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment."

The voice drifted on the air, sweet and calming. Arthur's eyes fluttered open as the voice sang in the wind. The fire had died down, casting an eerie glow among the sleeping knights. Yawning, the boy rolled over and pulled the cloak under his chin once more, his eyes closing once more.

"Come little children, the time's come to play here in my garden of shadows."

His eyes opened once more and he sat up, the chilly air hitting him as the cloak fell. He looked around, wondering where the voice was coming from. He saw nothing save the sleeping bodies of the men who were with him. He sat there for a minute, just listening as the breeze picked up once more, bringing the soft lullaby with them. The words seemed to curl around him, beckoning him.

"Follow sweet children I'll show thee the way through all the pain and the sorrows."

Arthur got to his feet, stumbling slightly as the cloak tangled with his feet. He rubbed his eyes and looked around once more. Behind a tree, just beyond the fire's light, he saw a slight movement, a small figure with a hooded cloak pulled around it. He watched the figure raise a hand, waving toward him. The words came again, drifting from the hooded figure.

"Weep not poor children for life is this way, murdering beauty and passions."

The boy took one step, then another toward the figure. In the back of his mind, he heard a voice telling him not to follow, to lie back down and wake Alain, but the soft woman's voice pushed the other away. It filled his head, echoing with each step that he took. He could see the cloaked figure, the singer, moving just ahead of him, always a few feet away. He wasn't aware that he had left the camp, had passed right in front of Sir Pellam as he guarded the sleeping knights. All he could see was the woman beckoning him forward; all he could hear was the sweet melody she sang to him, for him.

"Hush now dear children, it must be this way to weary of life and deceptions."

He followed as the woman moved on, swaying with the lullaby. Her dark cloak—deep green? Blue? Black? He couldn't tell.—swished around her, hiding her from view. Her voice drifted along the air, sweet and low, the way he pictured his mother's to be if he had a mother. He smiled softly, picturing the woman's face, her beauty that was surely hidden behind the cloak's folds.

"Rest now my children for soon we'll away into the calm and the quiet."

He was deaf to the frantic shouts of "Arthur! Prince!" that sounded from behind him as the knights, woken by a terrified Sir Pellam, crashed through the woods in search of him. He was blind to the green glow that weaved in and out of the trees, surrounding him, encircling him as he walked. All he could see, all he could hear, was the woman. He saw her draw alongside a tree, her cloaked hand holding onto the bark, drawing intricate patterns that glowed a bright green. He walked toward her, eyes locked on her and her alone. He raised his hand, reaching for her.

"Come little children, I'll take thee away into a land of enchantment."

She turned toward him, her face hidden deep in her hooded cloak. She reached a hand out toward him and he reached toward her, ready to take her hand. He was only inches away when a hand circled around his waist and he was jerked into the air. He let out a sudden cry as Alain tightened his grip and held him close, holding his sword out between them and the cloaked woman. Without a word, the knight lunged out, his sword passing directly in front of the woman who jumped back with an inhuman hiss.

Her hood fell and Arthur gasped at the hideous face that appeared instead of the beautiful woman he had pictured. She was only half human, with skin peeling back to reveal the bleached skeleton beneath. A blue-green glow came from the figure as she hissed, her voice reduced to an animalistic quality.

"I will have the boy." She rasped, reaching out, the misty glow following.

Arthur buried his face into Alain's neck as the knight backed away, swinging his sword at the mist, but the metal only passed through as the mist continued to lazily drift toward them. Alain turned and began to run, but a raspy spell sent him tumbling to the ground. He dropped his sword, wrapping his arms around the boy in his arms to protect him from the fall. The mist was all around them, circling them, growing faster and brighter as it surrounded Arthur. He felt himself moving against his will, breaking free from Alain's grasp and moving toward the witch. He saw her mouth open, revealing two razor sharp fangs that dropped from the roof of her mouth like a snake. She hissed, her hands waving him forward.

From behind, he could hear the frantic yells, ordering, begging, pleading. He moved closer, stiff in fear but forced to move against his will. The blue-green mist swelled around him, growing brighter and brighter. His heart pounded, racing in his chest, threatening to explode. The witch reached out her hand, closer, closer, closer…

A hand roughly shook him, a panicked voice called "Arthur!" and he woke with a start. The boy gasped, jumped to his feet and began to fall as his feet tangled with the cloak. Two hands caught him quickly, steadying him as a voice spoke softly and gently.

"Easy, Arthur, it was just a dream. You're all right now. You're safe."

Arthur blinked and looked up to meet Alain's worried eyes. Without a word, the boy jumped at the older knight, wrapping his arms around his neck and burying his face as deep as he could. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the tears that began to spill from his eyes. Alain drew him up against himself, gently rubbing his hair, letting him cry himself out, all the while whispering comforting words.

"It's all right, Arthur, I'm here. It's all right. You're safe."

"The witch." Arthur murmured, voice muffled.

"There is no witch." Alain replied, glaring over at Sir Pellam who blushed and bowed his head. "It was just a story, Arthur."

"She was real! She wants me!" Arthur cried, pulling back and looking at Alain through teary eyes.

"She won't get you, Arthur." Alain said softly, meeting Arthur's eyes so that the boy could see the sincere honesty in them. "You're as much my son as Leon is, Arthur, and I won't let anything happen to you."

"Promise?" Arthur sniffed.

"I promise." Alain smiled and wiped the tears off of the boy's face. "Now, why don't we go back to sleep." At the panicked look in Arthur's eyes, Alain drew the boy to him once more and leaned up against a tree. "It's all right, Arthur. I'm right here. Go to sleep."

Arthur just nodded and curled up in the knight's lap, hands twisted in the man's cloak in a death grip. The other knights returned to their own spots and the camp grew quiet once more. The fire crackled and Arthur yawned, feeling himself relax as he listened to Alain's heart beating gently. As his eyes closed, he thought he saw a black figure move against the tree, but his eyes shut and he fell into a dreamless sleep.

"Come little children the time's come to play here in my garden of shadows."