As the three rounded the dirt road they came in view of a small, freshly built cottage tucked into clearing in the woods. Beside the main building there was a small stable and a well. Despite the gloom that hung around Sleepy Hollow both Ichabod and Jonathan had to admit that there was something different about this home.

"You built all this in two months?" The boy questioned in wonder as he surveyed the craftsmanship of the home.

"Well I did not build it on my own." Diana led the way to the door, "The new blacksmith in town and a few others were rather eager to assist." She let out a chuckle at the thought as she opened the door to allow her guests in.

The cabin provided a very welcome warmth in place of the chilly winter air. A fire was burning in the fire place, calmly providing a homey glow that brought comfort to Diana's guests despite themselves. Across from the fireplace was a couch and table as well as a loom near the door on the other side of the room.

"Through that door is the kitchen and dining area," Diana told them. "From there are the stairs that lead to the bed rooms. Despite my living here alone the blacksmith built another room which is occasionally used by a traveler if one comes by. Constable you may use that room, the door is closed if you have difficulty figuring out which one is mine." The three entered the home and closed the door gently.

"Thank you miss." Ichabod nodded.

"Of course..." Diana returned, "... and you..." She turned to the boy and looked thoughtful, "...I believe you might enjoy sleeping on the couch in the library." She mused as his eyes seemed to light up.

"You have a library?" Jonathan asked so enthusiastically that even Ichabod had to laugh a bit. He had to admit, young Jonathan Masbeth was a bright boy who loved to read whenever he had a chance.

"Of course! It's upstairs between the bedrooms; you're welcome to read any book you like so long as you're here." She permitted. "If either of you get hungry during your stay you are more then welcome to use the pantry, the access to it is through the closed door in the kitchen." She paused and looked at Ichabod who was gazing out the window in a sort of daze. "Why don't you head up to the library and see if you can find any interesting books you'd like to read? I think I should like to talk to the constable for a moment." She whispered to Jonathan.

"Alright, thank you miss." The boy looked excited at the suggestion. He turned and quickly ran up the stairs, secretly hoping that the young woman whose house they would be staying in could help Ichabod somehow.

Diana watched as the young boy bolted up the stairs with his bags in a hurry, eager to learn from her library. She could tell from the moment she met the boy that he was interested in that sort of thing; he had much too great a vocabulary to not be a scholarly type. She turned to look towards the constable now; the man was looking out the window, apparently deep in thought.

"I do hope that during your stay you will speak to me," Diana expressed, standing still as she watched her guest give a start.

"I am not in a mood for speaking at the moment." The constable replied, turning to look at his hostess.

"So I've noticed... I realize it is not my place, having just met you, but you certainly should stop brooding. You are worrying that poor boy upstairs you know." She looked up in reference to Masbeth.

"I have my reasons for being in the mood I'm in. As for the boy, he'll be fine; he's seen far worse then a melancholy constable in his time." Ichabod muttered in slight annoyance of the girl who was meddling with his personal matters. What did she know? He'd lost the girl he loved.

"I don't doubt that the boy will be fine." Diana's eyes met Ichabod's and the constable forced his own away.

"What business is it of yours to tell a stranger what to do?" Ichabod snapped, surprising himself.

"It's not my business Mr. Crane, I simply would hate to see any man so nice and young as yourself waste his life away. Nobody should miss the beauty that life here on earth has to offer; anyone who spends their time dwelling on the past is overlooking so much happiness that they were meant to receive. Now if you'll excuse me Mr. Crane I have a horse that needs tending." Diana brushed quickly past him and out the door, heading towards the stable.

Ichabod watched out the window as the young woman disappeared through the doors of the shelter beside the home. He hadn't missed the note of hurt in her voice as she spoke to him. Snapping at her the way he had had not been intentional but he had done so all the same. The girl was nice enough to take two strange young men into her home when she knew nobody else would be willing to do the same, and what did he do? In an unexpected moment he offended her and drove her out of her own house.

It was not as though Diana had been trying to hurt him. He had yelled at her because she was trying to help him. He didn't know what possessed him to have such a sudden outburst but it frightened him. His depression since Katrina left was getting far worse; perhaps Diana was right and he shouldn't dwell on the past... he just wished he knew what he could possibly look forward to in the future.

With a sigh Ichabod searched the western woods with his eyes through the window, almost expecting to see a Headless Horseman standing there, waiting to end his miserable, lonely life. If all he was good for now was hurting people maybe it would be for the best if he did.

"Aren't you going to apologize to her sir?" Ventured a voice from behind Ichabod. The constable turned around and caught sight of Jonathan standing in the doorway, looking at him with a mixture of concern and determination... for what he doubted even the boy knew.

"Perhaps," Ichabod's eyes returned to the woods.

"Perhaps?" Mabeth's voice seemed disappointed. "Sir, she never met us before today and yet she offered her home to us. She was only trying to help-"

"I know! I know..." Ichabod was startled as yet again he yelled at someone who was intending to help him in his confusion. He turned and opened his mouth to apologize to the boy but before he could Jonathan was out the door and headed into the stables himself, leaving Ichabod to his own thoughts and demons.

Jonathan entered the barn quickly, injured by his guardian's angry tone of voice when he suggested that he make amends with Diana. He stopped in his tracks when he saw the woman of the house standing outside the holding pen of a horse, looking at him as if she had no idea what he was doing here.

"I-I'm sorry to bother you miss-" He stuttered but was cut off.

"Shh..." Diana pressed a finger to her lips. "Come here," she gestured that he should come and he hesitated. "Don't worry, I'm not going to punish you for following me, I just want to show you something." She chuckled.

"Alright..." Jonathan approached her slowly, stopping beside her. He'd grown a lot and now, at the age of 12, stood at her height. Quizzically he looked at her, not taking his eyes off of her own.

"Look in there." She pointed in the holding pen. The fence was high but he could easily see over it as he turned to follow her finger.

Never in his short life had Jonathan Masbeth seen such a remarkable sight. Oh he'd seen plenty of things that were unbelievable... but never anything like this. There, standing no more then ten feet from them was the most beautiful horse he'd ever seen. The horse was the purest white, with a muscular yet graceful build and a long ivory mane and tale that swished occasionally. It's eyes were what made the horse so unusual however, instead of the usual black that one found so often in horses this mare's eyes were a crystal shade of blue.

"What do you think?" Diana asked as she looked over at the horse herself.

"I've never seen anything like it..." Jonathan gasped in awe. Well perhaps that wasn't true... but he was not about to tell Diana of the giant coal black steed whose eyes glowed like hot embers when it crossed through the gate between this world and hell.

"She's finally full grown. I found her when she was a colt; her mother had been killed by hunters who thought her to be a unicorn. I've been raising her ever since." Diana told him, taking pride in the beautiful young mount.

"What's her name?" The boy wondered with a curious glance at Diana.

"Ivy Rose, but she prefers to be called Ivy." Diana smiled a little as the horse whinnied and pawed the ground. "You've got your oats girl, go ahead and eat!" She called to the horse before turning to the boy beside her. "So what brings you out here? I was certain you'd be reading."

"Ichabod yelled at me." Jonathan answered her.

"He did? What ever for?" Diana crossed her arms and leaned against a post.

"I asked if he was going to apologize to you." He admitted.

"You did, did you? Well that was very kind of you Jonathan but I'm afraid that decision is his to make." She thanked him sincerely. "Now tell me, why in all the world would those batty old officials in New York send a constable down here to investigate what's been going on? It seems to me that Sleepy Hollow is more then a little bit out of Mr. Crane's jurisdiction."

"Have you heard about what happened here about a year ago?" Jonathan wondered, trying to decide the best way to say this.

"I'm assuming you mean the murders? The ones the Headless Horseman committed under the command of the black witch that was, at the time, Lady Van Tassel?"

"Yes. Well I used to live here in Sleepy Hollow, my father was the fifth person killed by the horseman. The night of my father's death Mr. Crane arrived from New York, they'd sent him here to test his theories out... Mr. Crane believes in proving the guilt or innocence of someone before punishing him."

"I see."

"At any rate, his superior's sent him here and he was the man who investigated the murders. He crossed blades with the horseman more then once and was nearly beheaded himself. One day we actually found the horseman's grave, as well as the gateway to hell that he rode from. Eventually the horseman's head was restored to him by Mr. Crane just in time to save Katrina Van Tassel; after which the horseman took the witch back through the gateway with him."

"So that is the story? Whatever happened to Katrina Van Tassel?" Diana wondered.

"Katrina came with us to New York... she lived with us in Mr. Crane's home for some time before she began seeing a blacksmith and moved out."

"Ah... so I presume that is the reason for Mr. Crane's distress?" The redhead looked at the boy.

"Yes, he didn't take it well."

"Well I suppose you and I should be getting into the house; the sun is setting and I don't want you to be out here in the cold at night. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if my guest fell ill. You go on ahead and I'll follow after I lock up the stables." Diana watched as the boy obediently left for the house. She hoped that the boy's guardian would apologize to him before she returned.