Authors note: here is the first chapter to this story, it starts out a tad slow but it will get better soon, hope you enjoy!

7 years later

"And then the Headless Horseman cut off the innkeepers head and stuffed it in a bag and rode off into the night!"

A few gasps were heard a 'bout the room as well as a whimper or two. A young woman soft laughter was heard and then a "Boo!" followed by a scream.

A door clicked and light spilled into the room.

"Ladies? Why are you still up? Do you know what time it is?" a voice hissed and four heads turned.

"Sorry Mister Broomsdale." said the young lady who was sitting upon the bed. "I was just telling them a story of the Headless Horseman."

The man sighed.

"Young ladies shouldn't talk of such things, it will give you nightmares." he said

A "Yes sir." was head a 'bout the room.

"Now go to bed." he said and chuckled as he watched them scramble to their sleeping arrangements.

Slowly he closed the door, leaving the girls in the dark; silence filled the room.

"Sissi, is that story really true?" a hushed voice asked form the bed.

The girl named Cecelia (Sissi) shifted and rested her elbows on her pillow.

"Well there was a big scare about it, about seven years age, just before you moved here." she said and then paused. " I don't think it's true though; I mean how could anyone be able to run around with their head off." she said with a light laugh.

"Because that one Van Tassel lady stole his skull!" the girl called Matilda piped up from the corner of the room.

"Yeah, and he had to do her bidding." Isabelle concurred.

"Don't listen to them Katherine, they're suppositious." Cecelia retorted.

"No! I bet you he's still in that dead tree in the forest."

"And I bet you he's not!"

There was a short pause.

"Tomorrow...we'll draw sticks and one of us will go into the forest and see if he's at the tree of the dead or not." Cecelia finally said.

"That doesn't sound-" but Isabelle was cut off by the other girl.

"You're just scared that you'll be wrong." she replied.

There was another silence.

"Alright..." the two believers said softly.

"What time?" Katherine piped up.

"Before sunset."

------

Your father told me that you girls were up far too late last night." Katherine heard her mother comment as she poured the tea at the rather late breakfast.

"Sorry, Cecelia was telling us a story about the Headless Horseman." she replied and bit into a piece of toast.

The older woman laughed.

"The Headless Horseman? You girls shouldn't scare yourselves with such silly fairytales!"

Out of the corner of her eye Katherine saw her father tense but ignored it and pushed her toast around on the plate.

"Cecelia's family is having me over tonight." she lied now playing with her oatmeal.

"How come you didn't tell us this sooner?" her father questioned looking over to her.

"She only told me lat night." she replied hastily.

"I'm not so sure..." he began but was cut off by his wife.

"Oh let her have her fun, she can take care of herself." she chided him as she sat down with a cup of tea.

Her husband gave out a sigh and glanced over to his daughter.

"Alright..." he said. "Alright..."

------

So did you convince your parents?" Cecelia asked as she sipped her iced tea in her family's dining room.

"Of course." Katherine responded smoothing out her dress.

"Good, then it is all settled, maybe we can put an end to this Headless Horseman rumor." her friend replied with a chuckle.

"Well I hope it brings an end to you three fighting over it at my slumber parties" she replied and the two girls laughed.

------

Four figures gathered at the edge of the town just before the woods, standing just in front of the old lookout tower that was no longer in use.

"Alright." Cecelia began. "Are we all ready?" she asked the group and received a nod from each of the girls.

Carefully she drew out four thin sticks from her dress pocket; she held them securely in her hands making sure that no one could see their lengths, not even herself.

"Alright." she said and held the sticks out.

The three girls before her immediately snatched a stick and held it firmly in their hands waiting.

"On the count of three we'll all show what we got." Isabelle finally said and the others nodded.

"One...two...three."

They opened their hands and glanced at each others sticks. All eyes quickly fell on Katherine who now held out her hand in a trembling manner.

Cecelia quickly cleared her throat.

"Now you only have to stay in the forest for two hours..." she said looking out at the woods, taking notice of the small sliver of sunlight that was quickly disappearing behind the line of trees. "Here." she finally said and removed the hour glass that was looped to the button of her pocket.

"That hour glass only does one hour at a time, so you will have to turn it over when the first hour is up." Isabelle said quickly, gazing at the ground.

The other girls followed behind her, tensing in excitement and fear; she stopped just before the line of trees and quickly wrapped the string attached to the hour glass around her wrist. Slowly she turned back to the three girls.

"Don't worry Katherine, it's just a rumor." Cecelia urged her only to receive sideways glares from the other two girls.

She gulped and turned back to the woods; taking a deep breath she began to walk forward and finally stepped into the shadowed wood. She continued walking not daring to look back, in fear she would lose what little nerve she had and run back to the safety of the town. She took another deep breath and turned the hour glass over and continued on.

------

The leaves crackled beneath her footsteps as she wandered aimlessly a 'bout the woods; now not only was she fearful of a possible Headless Horseman but also about becoming hopelessly lost.

She paused as she came to a cross road in the beaten down trail she was traveling on. She paused momentarily to debate which way to go and finally decided to go left.

As she continued to walk she thought she heard the soft sound of leaves crackling and crunching beneath feet that were not her own; she quickly turned and looked behind herself, tensing up in fear. But upon looking around she could not find anyone, and she continued to walk on.

She glanced down at the hour glass upon her wrist and wished time would go faster when she saw that she had only spent around forty-five minutes in the woods.

Suddenly she heard a soft rustling and the sound of footsteps and she looked around wildly. She began to walk faster and her breath quickened; in a sudden burst of fear and adrenaline she sprinted forward and ran a short ways before hiding behind a tree to catch her breath. She paused and listened.

For what seemed like an eternity she listened but heard nothing; then she heard something off in the distance. It was soft but it began to grow; it was a sound that all the residents of Sleepy Hollow knew, the sound of hoof beats.

Her breath hitched in her throat and she felt her body tremble as she slowly peeked around the trunk of the tree.

At first she saw nothing, but a few moments later a large black steed seemed to materialize out of the newly formed mist; her eyes grew wide with terror. She saw the rider upon the dark beast; clothed in black with a dark cap floating upon a non existent wind.

She pushed off the trunk of the tree and clumsily ran through the forest, weaving through the closely knit trees. She heard the sound of a galloping horse advancing upon her and she tried to find the strength to go faster.

The sound suddenly came to a halt and she slowed her pace and came to a stop. Her chest was heaving, lungs desperate for air. She closed her eyes and swallowed, but no sooner had she done this she felt someone grasp her shoulders harshly.