#hessian

Imagine that America has been plagued by a wandering figure that has traveled coast to coast. Some believe her to be a mournful spirit, others see that she is of flesh and blood. But whatever they believe in, communication with the woman is challenging; her mother language is German and her English is broken, and it unfortunately intimidates most to avoid her.

However, Y/N is no one to be afraid of. Years ago, she had been the treasured lover of the feared Hessian. The only soul he could ever yearn for more than the bloodshed on the battlefield. In fact, they had been planning an intimate winter wedding before the princes of their country sent him overseas. He swore to her that no matter what, he would return to her. The payment he was offered would be used to give his bride the wedding she deserved and build the cottage where they would raise their legacy together. But that was back when Y/N was young. Back before she had received news that her fiancé would never return. Y/N dared not shed a tear, however. Taking only the ring her Hessian had carved for her out of bone, Y/N had boarded a ship traveling to America in search of her lost love. No. He could not be dead. Of all the soldiers sent to the colonies, not her groom! He must be lost or held captive somewhere. And she would not rest until she found him and brought him home.

Though now, years later, Y/N has lost her youth to time. Her hair is now thin and grey, her dress and shoes are worn, and her E/C eyes have lost the fire of life. After so long of wandering this foreign country with no way of communicating with the locals and no currency to pay for the right path, her heart hangs heavy in her ribs. Y/N's senses tell her that her beloved is truly gone and she should face reality, and by now, all she cares about is to see him. Alive or six feet under, she doesn't care. She needs to see him before she can mourn the time they've lost together. Hell, even the sight of his beloved horse Daredevil, even if he would be elderly and wandering the plains riderless, would console the aged bride. All she wants is him.

Eventually, she finds her way into Sleepy Hollow. The town built not too far away from the battle her beloved fought in. Even if the townsfolk can not understand her, Y/N dared to indulge in a flutter of hope. But she is exhausted, she must rest before she searches the forests. She's used to the cold air, so she isn't bothered when the tavern doesn't allow her to stay. But tonight is the night the her wish is granted...

Y/N is awoken with the sound of frightened sheep and lightning. She stands up from the bed of hay she had made for herself and looks around, her heart hammering despite having faced far worse than the weather. But then the pounding of a horses hooves sound of from the distance, getting ever closer and closer to the town. Closer to her, in fact, as she had chosen a spot by the forest entrance. Y/N can feel adrenaline pumping through her veins, as if her subconscious knew she should prepare herself. Her frail hands clutch at her chest as if it would calm the hammering organ within, before the air is stolen from her lungs as a terrifying sight breaks through the fog.

The monster that she had heard of from the whispers in town. The Headless Horseman.

Y/N couldn't scream. She was too frightened, and far too tired after all these years, to utter a sound as the midnight steed raced closer and closer. She stepped back, only to trip and fall on her backside after tripping over a branch. Her breath quickened as she kicked and pushed herself as far back as her weak legs could. Finally a shrill shriek escaped her when the demons beast stopped beside her and reared back on its hind legs, braying a terrible neigh that rang her ears. She could see the glistening of the Horsemans' unsheathed sword, and tears of fear pricked at her waterline...

But something stopped him from lopping off her head. Y/N braced herself and didn't dare to tear her gaze away from the unbelievable yet undeniable spirit, watching as he slowly drew his sword back before hopping off of his steed and striding towards her. How can he see her without a head? Y/N moves to force her old bones to run away, but then she freezes when lightning strikes and illuminates The Headless Horseman. She now sees the all too familar bloodstained armor, the ever loyal Daredevil, and the metal snake head that adorned her missing Grooms' blade.

The woman was at a loss for words as she glanced between the horse she and her fiancé both loved like a son and the shoulders of the Horseman as he kneels before her shivering form. Tears slip down her cheeks but for a far different reason, mouth opening and closing like a fish gasping for air as she fought to find her voice. His leather clad hands were as cold as death, yet they cradled her wizened face as if she were priceless glass. No features could be seen, but it didn't take much to imagine her Hessians' chilling ice blue eyes locking with her own.

Finally, as his thumbs brushed away the trail of tears on her cheeks, Y/N whispers one word. One desperate word that carried the weight of all the years she repressed her mourning and let her love take the helm, and her now resurrected hope, "Ehemann?"

He had no mouth, so he could not speak nor could she kiss her as she longed to do so. But as he hooked one arm underneath her knees and the other braced underneath her back allowing him to carry her as if she were a young bride again, she swore in the very fibers of her soul that she could hear her beloveds voice whisper back to her, "Du bist so schön wie an dem Tag, als ich dich verlor."

The missing Groom and the wandering Bride were now reunited. She cared not if he would take her to Heaven's Gates or the deepest pits of Hell as she clung to her undead love. All that mattered was that they were together and would never be separated again.

~ Or ~

Imagine that The Hessians' bride Y/N, unfortunately, died before she even reached shore. A heavy storm ensured her ship sunk to the depths of the atlantic sea, with no survivors. However, in a twist of fate and tragic irony, her soul found its way to the resting place of her soulmate. Not within the western woods, but the quaint town of Sleepy Hollow, where she would be reincarnated as one of the Sleepy Hollow girls born into the following spring.

Y/N is an... Odd girl. Born to a carpenter and his wife, she found an odd comfort among the dead. It's not that she was heartless; she understood how tragic it was to leave behind your loved ones who would weep with your absence. She didn't entirely understand it herself, honestly. But death seemed more familar to her, as if deep within her soul, it had gradually became a comforting omen. For what? She couldn't say. But it didn't stop her from picking beautiful flowers and preserving smiles for the dead, from freshly dug graves to hunted beasts. That, along with unexplainable dreams of herself in a far off land with a terrifying yet intriguing figure, is how she became the black sheep of Sleepy Hollow.

She could never remember the name of the phantom haunting her dreams, but she would always remember his winter blue eyes and his bloodstained teeth when he pulled away from her lips, and how she never flinched away from the pain. It sounded like a nightmare, and for the longest time she believed it to be, though nothing could explain the sense of longing Y/N had for those dreams. She attempted to share her nightly visions only once with her mother, and it forever changed the way she looked at her. For years, Y/N felt so alone in a town where everyone knew everyone, until Katrina Van Tassel was the one who dared to see past her dark fantasies and intrigue of the grim when they were teens, and Y/N offered her comfort when her precious pet cat passed away, "It's not a permanent goodbye. You two will see each other again. I'm certain of it."

Katrina, with her interest in white magic and fairy tale romance, made Y/N feel less alone. For once, she wasn't the only girl in town who was drawn to what people feared. And it was because of her affiliation with the Van Tassel heiress that her family slowly but surely rose in hierarchy in Sleepy Hollow. Her father being one of the men who built this town with his bare hands certainly made them a staple to the village, but now, they were being invited for tea and holidays to the manor of the richest farmer in the county. Whispers of Y/N were now being kept behind locked doors rather than uttered within ear shot, but most of all, Elizabeth Van Tassel treated Y/N as her own daughter. It truly was as if she and Katrina were sisters by blood.

Y/N was right by Katrinas side when her mother passed away via brain fever, as suspicious as she found it personally. Y/N was there when the kindly Mary became the new lady of the house and stepmother to Katrina. And years later, when she and Katrina were both suitable bachelorettes and confided in each other over their lack of anticipation to marry the men who took a fancy to them, was the night when The Headless Horseman first rose. Y/N had been peacefully asleep as carnage rang out in the night- in fact, she couldn't remember another night she had slept so deeply. She had no idea a night of bloodshed had even occurred until the next morning when the town was in a state of hysterics with the found body of the Van Garrets. Needless to say, this was yet another reason for the town to regard her with contempt.

Of course Y/N was so sorry for the Van Garrets and their loved ones. And at first, she had been just as frightened as the rest of the town. But as the news settled, she realized that something within her felt a thrill like no other. As if somehow, she knew something good was coming her way, and these decapitated corpses were its calling card. But what the Hell could she possibly look forward to with the sight of the headless?!

Meanwhile, Mary has kept an eye on Y/N for a while. She decided to pay a visit to her sister with a lock of Y/N's hair, so that her powers tied to the other world could determine who the girl used to be. It was evident that she did not belong in Sleepy Hollow, and her response to the news of her dark avenger rising convinced the witch as such. And with her sisters' magic, she was able to determine the bride of the Hessian had been delivered to this very town, and Y/N was her new form.

It was hard to tell if she remembered her past life, but she knew her demonic Horseman would recognize his betrothed once he was face to... Shoulders, with her. She will be his great reward for his servitude, along with his head. All she had to do was convince Y/N she was trustworthy for when the time was right...

~

I couldn't decide which plot I preferred, so have both! I will post my HC's for The Hessian soon, too.