Witchcraft

The bus pulled to an abrupt halt in the middle of a country lane. Many of us were jolted awake, and were not best pleased. The driver of the bus stood up and ushered us all off at speed, throwing our small supply boxes at us and then drove off back down the road, shouting "CURSED LAND!" out of the window. We didn't quite know what to make of the situation, so picking up what we had, we began to walk slowly down the lane towards the old bridge, into the land supposedly being Sleepy Hollow.

All I could see for a few acres was flat, muddy, grassland. It was nothing incredibly homely, as the legend suggests, but neglected. Other schools were already building lodges and the wooden frames of houses. VanTassel manor was already built and finely furnished, as it was started a few weeks before our arrival. The detailed wall panels were spectacular, as they fit the description from the legend perfectly. It all seemed so unreal.

We were greeted very humbly by the 'Lord' and 'Lady' of the manor. Baltus VanTassel was played by a very short, podgy man with half of his hair missing and a hearty laugh. Lady VanTassel was a very tall woman, with a sharp nose and definable features. It was all a bit too much... we were given our low-class dress and corset each, along with shoes and some old ribbons to tie in our hair. Soon after our little meeting, we collected our horse from the local stables and walked towards the grounds in which the windmill was.

"So, this is where we will be living!" Esteé squealed excitedly. Sure enough, we would be living here for quite a while, the frame of the windmill was up, we just had to finish it off. It took most of the day, but by the end of it; the sails were up, along with the rest of the frame and walls. It was a simple build, with a lot of help. Tonight was going to be a bit of a struggle, considering it was already too dark to collect wood for a fire, and the windmill was not yet furnished.

"How fun..." Charlotte groaned, almost tripping over her dress and by the expression that was plastered onto her face, I don't think she was too pleased on the interior.

"Well, I guess we've swapped our PC's for petticoats." I laughed, trying to lighten the atmosphere. "Just think" I began once again, "by morning, most of the town should be up." All I received in return was a few groans and a shawl to keep me warm during the night.

"This should be nice..." Charlotte moaned once again, lying onto the floor to sleep.


Morning took its time coming, none of us slept for very long during the night. A cold breeze was blowing constantly through some of the panels, giving us a sense of a fresh morning. It wasn't long before we were all up and on our way to the market. Sure enough, my hypothesis I made last night was correct, the entire town was up now, apart from the odd fence, and everyone who was due to 'move in', to my knowledge, had.

The market felt so welcoming. You were greeted with a hearty 'hello' at every stall you stopped at or walked by. With the little money we were given, Charlotte was off buying food; vegetables and fruit, a few loaves of bred and some fresh milk. Simple life.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see an old looking woman watching me with her hawk-like eyes. Thinking of being polite, I walked over to say a simple 'hello'. My observations told me that she was unlike any of the other people currently residing in Sleepy Hollow, she seemed so much more... genuine. Her piercing green eyes dived deep into mine as she whipped out her arm holding my wrist with great strength; "He will come! He always comes! It will happen almost as before! You child! You! Its you! Beware my child! For he is dangerous!" Her tone was most unnerving, but after her almost terrifying speech, she let go of my wrist and walked slowly off, away from the market. I was shocked to find, after turning around to see where Charlotte had got to, that the woman had completely disappeared. There was no way she could of moved that fast. What disturbed me further was the fact that an old book had somehow found its way into my arms.

It was a battered old book, with a worn leather cover. The book was entitled "Witchcraft" . "I suppose it would pass some time..." I said aloud, showing the book to a now approaching Charlotte and Esteé, who were both intrigued by it and my story. I was flicking through the pages all the way back to the windmill, which had been sparsely furnished. Something about that book intrigued me, something was so... enchanting... about it.

I sat down beside the fire, on the mat, and began once again to flick through the worn pages, only this time, something was sticking between the pages. A necklace fell out of the pages of the book, onto my lap. It looked quite old; a silver chain with a flat, black crystal hanging from it. Immediately I fastened it around my neck and began to read the book, the warmth of the fire warming me, sending me into a deep sleep.


I was awakened by being violently shaken. "For god sake, wake UP!" Esteé called out. I must have been sleeping heavily.

"What time is it?" I managed to ask, standing up and rubbing my eyes.

"I have no idea." Charlotte replied, stood by the window. "Its dark, and the moon is in the west, so im assuming its around..."

"Charlotte. We are supposed to be commoners, in an old town. Therefore we are not educated enough to know how to tell the time via the moon." Esteé laughed. She was being very true to the time period, almost too true.

"Carry on." I said, yawning towards Charlotte.

"Around half twelve." Charlotte finally finished. Something about that last sentence made me quiver all over. I walked on over to the window, next to Charlotte and now Esteé too. There was a distinct sound of horse hooves, moving at quite a speed. The colour drained from each of our faces, unknowing of the dangers the riders of the horses could hold. Our facial expressions expressed all that needed to be said, both Charlotte and Esteé ran, in a fashion, into the back room, in the hope to hide from whoever it was. I on the other hand stood next to the window just a little longer, the sounds of the hooves grew closer, and now that they were closer, it was easier to tell that there was more than one horse. I placed my ear right up against the shutters, holding my necklace in hand, twiddling it between my fingers. Something about it comforted me. I shut my eyes and listened further. The sound of the hooves ceased and nothing else could be heard.

I walked somewhat solemnly into the back room, where I found Charlotte and Esteé sleeping soundly, on a rug in the middle of the floor. I left them there. I was far too intrigued by the sounds from outside earlier to sleep at all. Something within me was stirring, something felt different within me. I couldn't explain it at all. Throughout all these thoughts I was constantly twiddling with the necklace that I found earlier. It was odd, I had only been here two days and I felt oddly at home. Strange, why do I feel so at home, why do I feel so intrigued by the sounds. I'm normally such a shy person. What's going on... My thoughts were immediately interrupted when I spotted an orange glow coming from the clearing, behind the windmill, sheltered by a few trees. Fire.

I couldn't hold myself back any more. I needed to know what or who they were, hiding over in the clearing. I grabbed my shawl and walked slowly towards the door.

"And where do you think your going?" I voice asked. Charlotte.

"For a walk." I smiled.

"Whatever." She said. "Just don't get yourself killed."

"Why would I get myself killed? Were all actors." I laughed, walking through the door. Actors, of coarse, I knew that, but why did my heart beat strongly inside my chest and goosebumps appear on my arms. It wasn't even that cold. The clearing came into view. From my spot behind a few trees and dead bushes, I could see what resembled a group of soldiers. I crouched down, hoping to get a glimpse at one of their faces, but I couldn't, they were all wearing high-collared cloak's and the dim light from the fire didn't help illuminate their facial features. I couldn't decide weather it would be worth saying hello and welcoming them to the experience, or to stay away. One soldier began to look around, uneasily. It was almost as if he could sense I was there. The necklace around my neck grew heavy and a dim blue light shone from the stone hanging off it. I was trying desperately to hide it inside my corset, in the hope that none of them saw it. The soldier I was watching earlier had gone. Well, he could of gone, or gone inside one of the tents, either way, I decided not to stick around to find out.


I began to walk back towards the windmill, thinking of how stupid I was to be scared of the other actors. Actors, for go sake, ACTORS! Why were you scared! I felt ridiculous, but as ridiculous as I felt I couldn't help but feel slightly on edge when I heard footsteps coming from behind me. I quickened my pace, my heart was racing. There only actors, only actors. I was constantly reassuring myself, but all of that went out of the window when a hold hand grasped my shoulder. My breath instantly left my body, drawn out by the coldness of his hand. He span me around and the first thing I saw was the cold gaze from his eyes. I couldn't breathe, his eyes... were simply mesmerising. I couldn't pry mine away. I have to know where he rented his contacts from.

"Was machst du herumschnüffeln?" His voice was fierce along with his thick German accent. My German wasn't very good, as I only did it for a few weeks during the holidays. Something deep inside me told me something wasn't right. There wasn't a sheen to his eyes, like there should be when wearing contacts. Something was definitely not right. His lime-green eyes were still locked onto mine, expecting an answer. I was trying to think fast..

"Ja" I said half-heartedly, darting my eyes around. A smile emerged on his face, showing teeth that were aged.. I must of said something right. I thought, changing my mind when he let out a low chuckle.

"Sprechen Sie Deutsch?" He asked. My memories of German class were slowly emerging. It took me a few minutes to answer, but I did answer.

"Ja. Ich spreche Deutsch!" I said, quite pleased with myself, but it was portrayed with a sarcastic tone. "Ein bisschen ..." I added. Another smile was whiped across his face."Can we speak English now?" I asked finally. His hand had moved from my shoulder, to the top of my arm, gripping quite tightly.

"I am..Sorry. My Englisch is not.. Great." He replied finally, dragging me towards the camp.

"Neither is my German!" I said with a taste of anger to my tone. "Where the hell are you taking me!"

"Ironic." He laughed, finally throwing my to the ground.

I rolled onto my stomach, there were at least ten of them, including the one manhandling me. The fire had been built up, to a nice warm glow, ours back at the windmill was no where near as warm. One of the men stood out more than the others, unlike the one manhandling me, he had blue eyes. Now, when I say blue, I mean blue! They were simply incredible. The blue was almost unnatural. Unnatural. What in understatement.

"Sie Snooping über. Es ist ein Feuer westlich von hier, mit zwei anderen Bewohnern der Windmühle." The soldier whom threw me to the floor spoke, almost bowing his head t the taller, paler looking man.

"Ich bezweifle, sie meinte schaden." He replied. With a sharp tone to his voice, and his thick German accent. By this time I had lost the trail of the conversation and had sat myself up. The blue-eyed soldier seemed to have more authority than the one with supernatural green eyes. Supernatural...a word I seem to be using far too often. "Lassen Sie sie an mich." He muttered, looking down at me, looking pitifull. There was obviously something I was missing. Something they knew that I didn't. That didn't matter now though. I was being pulled off the gound and briskly walked towards a tent. I hope, at least, he speaks English.I didn't fancy trying to communicate in German, considering I don't know what I'm saying half the time. The authroitive soldier gestured for me to sit down on a chair, so i did. His teeth were filed down into sharp points, and his raven black hair was messed in all directions. I sat there, for at least 5 minutes, watching him mess with maps and pieces of paper, until he eventually turned to face me, leaning onto the table behind him, arms crossed.

"So." He spoke. Thank god, somebody who spoke English. "What are you doing here?"

"I...err..well.." This was not going well, at this rate, he would think I was snooping about. "I was wondering what you were all doing here. Your obviously quite late to the experience. Have you been to the Manor yet? They brief you on the whole synopsis." I stopped for a few seconds to admire his confused face. "Err... I would also appreciate it if you could tell that other bloke.. to not throw me about like that, I mean I know we have to make it realistic, but that was a bit uncalled for." His expression changed from confused to amused quite quickly.

"What are you going on about, wench?" He laughed, standing up, continuing with his faffing.

"Who you calling wench? You look like freaking corpse!" How dare he! I know were only actors but... His laughing interrupted my thoughts. Why are my thoughts always being interrupted...

"It seems you do not understand." He began, in a way that suggested he was going to bore me with a long statement or story.

"Spare me the boredom! I think its you that does not understand." I was growing quite irritated with this, and since it was early hours of the morning I was very tired.

"No. I remain with my previous statement. For you are the one ceasing to understand. We have been observing your... experience... for the entire duration of it. We are not part of it, far from it in-fact. You have not noticed anything... different?" His tone changed from amused once again, to almost irritable.

"Well, I would love to know where you got your contact lenses from. There pretty cool." I was laughing by the seriousness of his face. "Your face powder also, I though I was pale but you... well that's just something." My giggling continued until he grasped my bare arm tightly. His skin was so cold.

"What are... contact lenses?" He asked. Oh god... wait... I froze in place for a few minutes, the cogs in my head turning. Were in the supposed town of Sleepy Hollow, in the middle of the Western Woods, where the Hessian Mercenary supposedly died...mercenary... A knot tied in my stomach. The Headless Horseman... was described as a tall, raven haired man with unnatural blue eyes in the legend. Suppose, he got his head back...

"Hello in there...?" The soldier asked, shaking me slightly. I didn't respond... I couldn't respond. I was simply terrified.

"Well, I think you understand now. My name is Blair." I let out a small giggle, causing him to look at me strangely. "Your name, it means battlefield. Scottish if I am not mistaken. "Indeed, my mother had a fascination with the Scots. Anyway, I am the leader of this group of Mercenaries. You would of done wisely to stay away..." He trailed off. I was sat, fiddling with my necklace. Blair walked briskly over to me, taking the pendant of the necklace into the palm of his hand. "Where did you find this?" His voice was stern, and I didn't want to anger him.

"It fell out of a book I received, oddly, it appeared in my arms after I spoke to some lady warning me about someone who is coming." My ramblings drew on for around 5 minutes before Blair stopped me by placing his index finger onto my lips.

"I see." Was all he said. "You will stay here. Your friends will be sent warnings to get out of town before sunset tomorrow. If they fail to do so, they will risk their lives." My heard felt as if it would leap out of my chest, it felt irregular.

"What do you mean?" My voice was shaky, as was the rest of my body.

"We have orders from Hell to … shall we say, stir things up a bit." He let out a laugh. You shall not be harmed, you may be of use to us. You know what they say...'He always comes! It will happen almost as before!'" He laughed in a mocking tone. "Heads will roll" sprang into my mind. My fears were just confirmed. I was sat in a tent, with the living corpse of the famous, legendary Hessian Horseman.

Help?


Sorry i took so long to update :) I've been buisy with coursework and have been trying to complete my Thunderbirds fic before continuing with this, otherwise it'll never get finished, but since it nearly is, i decided to update. This chapter was way better than the other. So, please R&R , never know, i might update sooner. :) xx Also, the German in this chapter, was mostly translated, as im a bit rusty :) Just to let you know :)