By: Alyza Van Tassel
Inspired by Tim Burton's 1999 film, "Sleepy Hollow,"
and Washington Irving's original tale.
All suggestions welcome. Please do not
sue me, this is just MY version of the story!!!!!!, and I am certainly not
profiting in any way by this, other than having the pleasure of knowing that
other people will read and like my writing. Please ask me for permission before
using this story anywhere and do not plagiarize, or I'll chop your head off like
a tulip! :) Hee hee, I'm kidding…but don't you DARE copy without permission! (If
you ask me to let you put it on your site or something, I'm pretty sure I'll say
yes…but ASK first! K? PLEEEEEASE?? :) (E-mail me at: Alyza_@excite.com) Alyza,
Eliot (as MY character), and all other people who do not appear in the originals
belong to me. A couple of things about the story. No, at first, the Headless
Horseman is not ghastly-looking in the BEGINNING like in the movie (sharp teeth,
I mean) I'll let you know how he changes as the story progresses. K? And
remember..... NO PLAGIARISM!!! Or else!!!
Chapter the Second
A week later...
"WHAT?????!!!!!?????"
Sephine shrugged. "I heard him say it."
Alyza
slumped in her chair. "Are you certain?"
"Yes, Baron Von Grimm has asked
your father for your hand in marriage."
Alyza felt nauseous. "And...?"
"Your father agreed."
Alyza stared. "How could he do such a thing? The
Baron is so....old!!"
"Thirty-and-one to be exact," Sephine said. "He's
very, VERY rich."
"But I despise the man!!"
Sephine didn't know what to
say. "Talk to your father, Alyza. He does not know what Von Grimm is really
like."
"Oh, I fear all is lost..." Alyza suddenly looked up. "Forgive me,
this must make you very uncomfortable," she said.
Sephine's expression was
sad. "I am fine, Alyza," she said. "Still, I advise you to talk to your father
about this."
"I shall do that."
Sephine walked to the door, then
suddenly stopped and turned around.
"Alyza?"
"Yes?"
"Are you going
to marry him?"
"No."
"At any cost?"
"At any cost."
Her long-time
friend smiled, then became sad again. "Then...good luck." she said. "I'm sorry."
As Sephine shut the door behind her, Alyza remained in the soft chair, a
grim expression on her pale face.
Later that night, Alyza sat silently on her bed, clutching the sheets in her
hands. The engagement had been confirmed and the marriage was inevitable. She
had tried to dissuade her father, but to no avail.
She hated Von Grimm, and
he knew it. Why had he decided to marry HER, of all the people in Sleepy Hollow?
Marriage to him would be her worst nightmare, and she knew it. Alyza knew
she could not let it happen. But to go against her father's wishes...oh, that
would prove terrible. Refusing the baron meant disgrace for her family. THAT she
wanted to avoid the most.
Alyza sighed. This was nerve-wrecking. She was
deep in thought when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
"Enter," she said wearily, expecting her father. But to her surprise, a
young, handsome man walked in. He was 23 years of age, tall of stature, and had
a distraught look on his face.
"Baltus!" Alyza jumped up and flung herself
into the arms of her cousin. "Why, what are you doing here?" she asked,
momentarily forgetting her troubles.
"Hello my baby cos, I'm here for the
engagement party," he replied.
Alyza's look turned sour. Seeing it, Baltus
frowned.
"Oh, no," he said. "Something is wrong, isn't there?"
"Yes,"
she responded gloomily.
They stood in silence for about five minutes, one
standing still, the other pacing around the room.
Baltus finally sat down. "I should have guessed," he said. "How bad is it?"
"Bad, but I have no choice," she said, looking away and sitting down.
Baltus nodded. He didn't know how she really, truly felt. Well, he was a
guy. She couldn't tell him everything...
"I don't know what to say. So suddenly--"
"I've been hearing that from
quite a few people today," Alyza replied, waving him away, almost impatiently.
"I shall deal."
Baltus looked confused. Deal? What was this? He had been
away from home for a few years, making his business in New York, for a few
years. His cousin had changed, so much. He remembered her as a little child. His
heart filled with indignation. She was still so young. She was not ready for
marriage!
"I'll have a talk with my uncle," he said, getting up.
"Don't
bother, I already have," Alyza answered as the door closed.
After she was sure Baltus was gone, Alyza let a single tear slowly make its way down her cheek, tremble, and drip to the floor. She hadn't cried in what seemed like ages. The moon shone deceptively outside the window.
There was only one thing to do. One thing...
Ines, ignoring the protesting maid, burst into Mr. Van Garrett's study.
Genevieve, who was inside, silently reading, jumped in surprise.
"Ines! You
startled me," Genevieve said. "What is going on?"
Ines was breathless.
"Alyza is gone!!!"
"Gone?" Genevieve knew she was not imagining this!
"Are you certain?" she
finally asked.
"Her father checked everywhere!" Ines gasped out. "She's
nowhere to be found."
"Oh, Good Lord," Genevieve said, sitting down again.
"Do you think she...fled?"
Ines stared at her, then understood. "The
marriage..."
Genevieve continued her theory. "Or worse..."
"You mean..."
"Genevieve!" The voice came just from outside the study. Both young women
immediately recognized it as Sephine's. A moment later, she ran inside. Her long
dark brown hair was a mess; someone must have dragged her out of bed for this
news. Knowing Sephine, who was always neat, that must have been exactly what
happened.
Her face was pale, even though she had been running. She should
have been flushed. This bothered her two companions.
"Oh my, Sephine, what
is wrong?" Ines asked, fearing the answer that was to come.
"You had better
come and see for yourselves," Sephine said. Her eyes glowed like a cat's in the
dim light. She led the way outside, with Ines and Genevieve following close
behind, wondering.
Alyza's aging father stood on the mud-drenched riverbank. He was a pitiful
sight, in a state of ruined wreck. Ines could not contain herself and ran ahead
of her friends.
"Mister Van Tassel?"
He turned around. There was no
trace of hope in his eyes, only despair, of one who had lost something precious
and dear to him.
"My God, what has happened?" Genevieve asked, making her
way to the old gentleman.
He didn't answer. He just pointed. The trio
followed his gaze. Ines felt faint.
There, stuck, lifelessly clinging to a branch sticking out of the water, was
a bloodstained white dress. Or, rather, a nightgown.
Alyza's nightgown.
"Oh, no..."
"My dear Alyza...what have I done? What have I done?" The
whisper came from her father. Sephine went to offer comfort. The priest,
Reverend Steenwyck, Sr., opened the little Bible that he always carried with
him.
As the people who had gathered at the shore slowly drifted away, the final words of release to the Christian soul glided over the wind. "As there is a time to be born and a time to die...God rest Alyza Van Tassel."
A woman's head, wrapped in a heavy scarf over half her face, and a black
bonnet, stuck itself out of the coach's window.
"How far until New York
City, sir?"
"Fifteen miles at the most, madam," the coachman replied, not
taking his eyes off the road.
The woman took a deep breath. "Excellent. We
should be able to reach it before sundown."
"I hope so," the man said and
drove the horses harder.
"I'll be able to get lodging," the young woman
muttered to herself as she settled back into her seat. She untied her scarf and
took a mirror.
Alyza Van Tassel admired herself for a moment. "I hope this will not trouble my father too much," she said to herself. She would write him a letter, of course, once she reached New York. It was time to be independent. Now, more than ever.
She smiled.