Eleanore Crane

the widow winship

That night as everyone was asleep, a loud gunshot was heard, echoing through the fields. Elenore's eyes immediately snapped open as she quickly sat up in her bed. She looked around the room, seeing her Papa sleeping peacefully in his bed, not at all phased by the loud sound.

Not being able to fight her curiosity, Elenore slipped on her shoes and pulled her cloak from it's hanger, quietly slipping it on. With one last glance at her Papa to make sure he was still sleeping, which he was, the young girl fled from the room and outside the building.

She ran up to where some of the men from the village would lay in little wooden huts at night with their guns, to protect the town if the horseman came. She would keeping glancing behind her or looking right and left, scared that something was going to jump out and get her.

When she finally got to the edge of the Forrest, she stopped dead in her tracks as shock and fear overtook her body. There, right in front of her was the so called myth himself. The headless horseman.

The horseman had been chasing the man who had shot at him but paused in his chase at the sight of the little girl. Elenore didn't move a muscle and just stared at the headless body, even without eyes she could tell that it was observing her, the horseman then turned in the direction where the man had run off to and back at the girl, he quickly made a decision and continued on his pursuit of the man.

Elenore let out a breath and her shoulders slumped in relief. She was truly thankful that the horseman had not killed her but she couldn't help but wonder why he did not do so, why he just stared at her. She shook her head, ridding the question from her mind and ran all they way back to the van tassel home. Luckily when she got back to her room, her Papa hadn't moved an inch, she was able to hang up her coat, slip off her shoes and silently get back into her bed, as if she hadn't even left at all.

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The man must have been able to escape the clutches of the horseman as no deaths were reported the next morning. Elenore, Ichabod and young Mazbeth were in the graveyard stood in front of three open caskets, Each contained the headless bodies of three of the four known horseman murder victims.

"Peter Van Garret, Dirk Van Garret Jonathan Mazbeth. Five victims, four graves"

Two graveyard diggers had just finished digging up the coffin of the fourth victim, Elenore and Mazbeth both stood over it, each holding a candle lit lantern and their free hands were entwined, Ichabod walked over to them and waited as the diggers opened the coffin.

"The widow Winship" He said while holding a white cloth over his mouth and nose, he kneeled down next to it moved a piece of ripped fabric on the body's dress, revealing a small wound across her stomach.

With, the help of the grave diggers, the widow's body was brought into the towns small medical center, startling the elderly man who was doing paperwork in the room.

"This is most irregular constable" He exclaimed as the body was lifted onto the examination table and Mazbeth put down the constables bag of tools.

"I should hope so doctor, but in this case necessary, we need to operate immediately"

"Operate? she's dead"

Ichabod looked at the man a little annoyed, he obviously knew that the woman was dead.

"When we say operate we mean, of course, that we will need the operating table" The poor doctor looked very confused as Ichabod began to lay the tools out on the table " Once more the neck wound cauterised, the...." He gagged a little "sword thrust to the stomach, the same, but to what purpose"

"To what is your purpose is the question, what manner of instruments are these" The doctor said while picking up one of the constable's tools and examining it. Ichabod quickly snatched the tool back "Some of my own design"

While the men had been talking, Elenore sat on a chair in the corner with her drawing book and quill, she had drawn a beautiful young lady who had baby in her arms, The lady just happened to be wearing the same pink dress as the widow Winship had at her time of death. However, Elenore had draw the baby with a light blue coloured ink and it had little wisps around at, as if it was made from smoke. She turned back to her first drawing that she had done during her time at sleepy hollow, the drawing of a very large oak tree, in front of the tree were four wooden coffins, next to the fourth one she drew a coffin that was quite smaller than the rest, in that same blue ink.

The whole time she was drawing it was as if she was in some kind of trance.

"All right then" She was snapped back into reality by her Papa's words, she looked up at him as he spoke "step outside young Mazbeth" He turned to the grave digger, who was also the father of Thomas "Thank you very much for your help but I must ask one more favour"

"Whatever you need constable"

"Would you mind watching Elenore while I work, It shouldn't be very long"

"Not at all Sir, my boy has been asking to see his friend again, come on darlin' "

Elenore stood from her seat and walked over to the two men, she kissed her father on the cheek before leaving with the ginger haired man and going back to his cabin.

"And if you don't mind doctor, my concentration suffers greatly when I'm observed" Ichabod said as he guided the elderly man out of the room and got to work.

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Around an hour later, Ichabod emerges from the medical center, drenched in blood.

"I am finished"

"What in gods name have you done to her?" Shouted one of the many men who had been stood around, waiting for Ichabod.

"We are dealing with a mad man" Said constable proclaimed, tightly clutching the blood stained rag in his hands.

"What did yo find out constable?"

"The widow Winship, was with child"

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Later on in the evening Ichabod and Elenore were out on a night time horse ride per Elenore's request. Ichabod sat behind her, his hands holding onto the reins and protecting his daughter from falling off of Gunpowder. At the moment they were crossing a roofed wooden bridge. Just as they reached the end, they were stopped by the sound of another horse coming from behind them.

Ichabod placed a gentle hand on Elenore's shoulder which startled her a little.

"No matter what you hear Elly, keep facing forwards, alright?"

"Yes, Papa"

"Good girl"

Ichabod nodded to his daughter before slowly turning around to face behind them. He was a little confused when he didn't see anything behind them but he knew that there was someone or something there.

"Who's there!" He called out.

There was a moment of stillness before the dreaded headless horseman and his noble back steed came into view, unlike any time he had been spotted before, he was holding his sword high up in the air and it had a lit jack o lantern on the end. Ichabod opened his mouth in shock but no words we able to escape him. He whipped back around and got the horse sprinting off into the woods as the horseman chased after them.

"What is it Papa?"

"Don't worry baby, it's alright, just don't turn around!"