[A/N]: Hey guys, this is a smaller chapter but I didn't want to delve straight into a very long chapter, so I'm posting this to break things up. Plus I figured since Sleepy Hollow is on tonight, why not. I hope you all enjoy this next installment. :)
[DISCLAIMER]: I don't own Sleepy Hollow, and all credit goes to the producers. I'm just giving them the credit they deserve.
Laney wasn't sure where the Horseman was taking her. For the duration of the journey she was forced to stare at the ground, thus she had no idea where she was. If she had to guess it was somewhere in the woods. She was lucky enough to see the peaty dirt and the flicker of trees as the horse rode onward. To her dismay, the horse's galloping had become particularly painful, as her stomach was lying across the horses back and the Horseman's saddle was digging into the side of her stomach.
The Horseman was weaving them both through trees and down narrow deer trails, and for a short time the path seemed familiar. She had spent time in the woods of Sleepy Hollow as a child and the forest here was almost like a second home for her. If she was correct in her wild assumption, they were heading east, toward an old farm.
It must have been twenty minutes before she felt the horse slow down to a less hastened pace. Laney looked sideways and saw a small farmhouse coming into view. Laney recognized the farmhouse instantly, it was the first house the Horseman had struck, beheading the poor farmer who owned it. It had been an older man with no family left, so she was sure it was abandoned. Laney felt fear roiling in her, this was not good, an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of nowhere meant no one could help her.
The Horseman lead his demonic horse to the porch before he dismounted. As soon as the horse stopped moving Laney tried to escape; she climbed over the horse's back and landed on the ground on the opposite side of the Horseman.
She quickly got to her feet and started sprinting toward the woods at an unparalleled speed, a speed she never thought she could reach. It must have been the adrenaline pulsing through her veins that was propelling her forward.
Laney hadn't gotten far when she felt cold hands grasp onto the back of her jacket. An inexorable pull caused her to fly backwards, unceremoniously tossing her straight into the dirt.
For a few seconds she was discombobulated, the world around her seemed to be spinning. When things came into focus again, she noticed the Horseman was hovering over her in a foreboding manner. Harshly, the Horseman grabbed the collar of her jacket and started dragging her through the mud toward the farmhouse. Laney grasped hopelessly at the grass to slow him, but it was pointless.
Finally he dragged her up the porch steps and her back painfully ground against the wood. Angrily, the Horseman kicked the front door down and continued to drag her into the house. He passed the old seventies styled living room and took her straight into the kitchen. He picked her up by the scruff of her neck and threw her straight into a wooden chair.
The Headless Horseman must have been here once before because there was rope sitting conveniently on the table. Quickly, he tied her hands together and tied her to the chair. His dead fingers caused her to shiver as they fleetingly brushed against her skin.
Laney heard the Horseman take a few steps back. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she hadn't a clue what his next move was. She didn't think he was going to kill her anymore, he had been given more than enough opportunities, but he hadn't taken advantage of them. Which meant he had something else in mind and that uncertainty was bothered her.
The Horseman paced in front of her; the gaping hole where his head should have been was directed at her. Laney tried not to recoil at the sight of the darkened, dead flesh and visible bone. She watched apprehensively as his large fingers clawed at something that was hanging around the stump of his neck.
To her surprise he pulled off a beautiful emerald necklace that blazed like the sun. Laney had to admit it was gorgeous, but she was confounded. Why did he have a necklace? And more specifically, what did it have to do with her?
The Horseman paced behind her; she felt his hands deftly move her auburn hair to one side. Assiduous, he placed the necklace around her neck before latching it on.
She heard the Headless Horseman step back again, this time when he paced in front of her she saw, the Horseman had a head!
Laney visibly jumped in her seat, nearly causing the chair to tip over and throw her on the floor. She couldn't believe her own eyes; she even blinked a few times to make sure her eyes weren't deceiving her. When his head didn't disappear, she actually believed it, the necklace must have had some enchantment on it.
For a few seconds she studied the Horseman, he was a very stern looking man, with a severe looking expression. He had blondish-white hair that was loosely pulled back. His dark, glassy gray eyes were stabbing into her, but there was a certain untold pain and wistfulness to them, something she had not foreseen or imagined. His expression spoke to her, but it was a language she didn't quite understand, for she didn't know the Horseman.
She must have been looking at him with the most stupefied, wide-eyed expression, for she had to pull her jaw up from her gaping.
"When I saw you in the woods, I thought I was uncertain whether it was you and I could not take the chance of killing you." The Horseman muttered in shock. "But as I look upon you now, I realize I was not mistaken. It has been a very long time, Katrina."
[A/N]: I hope you are all enjoying where things are going. Next chapter the Horseman and Laney have a little chat... Feedback is appreciated, and thank you for taking the time to read. :)