Imagine you're being saved by Ichabod Crane when the Headless Horseman is after you.

*Requested by WonkruHeda*

In the dark, quiet village called 'Sleepy Hollow', everyone was terrified to leave their homes in the middle of the night. All because the legendary Headless Horseman has come back from the dead and has been beheading a number of people in the village within the past few days. No one knew how to stop him, not even the new constable from New York City, Ichabod Crane, didn't know how to stop him either. Alas, no one couldn't do nothing but hide from the Headless Horseman whenever he showed up, unexpectedly, in the village and hoped that one day he would never come back.

You lived in Sleepy Hollow your whole life with your father, Baltus Van Tassel, and your stepmother, Lady Van Tassel. You met Ichabod when he arrived in Sleepy Hollow to investigate the decapitations of the victims. You provided him hospitality while he was staying in the guest bedroom and you comforted him a couple times whenever he was having a nightmare about the Headless Horseman after witnessing him beheading a villager during the night. He was also protective of you for your safety and asked you stay home while he was investigating the decapitated bodies and finding any clues, but you ignored his warnings and stayed with him because you felt safe with him.

The night before, your father apparently was confronted by the Headless Horseman during the night and he ended up getting beheaded. You were distraught about the news of your father's death, Ichabod offered you to sleep in bed with him so you didn't feel lonely or scared. You accepted his offer and stayed in bed with him during the night. While he was sleeping, his arms were wrapped around you, protectively, throughout the night and you could hear the sound of his heart beating when you laid against his chest as you looked at his handsome facial features and his dark brown hair. This caused you to feel something in your heart that you've never felt before in your life. You wondered if Ichabod was having the same feeling as you were after hearing his heart beating.

***

It was night time as you woke up in Ichabod's bed, spooked, from the sound of thunder. You sat up and looked at the other side of the bed where Ichabod usually slept and he wasn't there. You were starting to get worried about him being outside during the thunderstorm and something bad happened to him. You quickly got out of bed, put on your slippers and your (f/c) robe, and ran outside to look for Ichabod. It was so dark outside, you grabbed a nearby lantern and took it with you. "Ichabod!" You called out, but there was no answer. You ran down further into the village, looking for him, but there was no sign of him anywhere. The thunderstorm and wind was even getting more worse. 'I hope he didn't go into the dark forest.' You thought to yourself.

Then, all of a sudden, a gust of wind was starting to pick up more, causing you stop in your tracks. You were starting to feel more scared when there was no one around, but you could sense something was coming. The wind blew so hard, the fire in your lantern went out, leaving you all alone in the dark. 'Oh, Ichabod, where are you?' You thought to yourself, before you heard galloping from a far away distance. Your eyes widened and you dropped the lantern when you saw a dark figure on a horse appeared out of the dark forest. "No. It cannot be." You whispered, as you began taking slow steps back, focusing on the dark figure on the horse when it started galloping towards you.

As it was getting closer, you gasped, in horror, when you realized it was none other than the legendary Headless Horseman. He drew out his sword and raised it up in the air as he prepared to swing it at you. 'Somebody, help me!' You screamed in your head, as the Headless Horseman was too close to you and getting ready his sword at you.

"(y/n)!" You heard a familiar voice shout out of nowhere as he tackled you down to the ground, right as soon as the Headless Horseman swung his sword. You were relieved when you looked up to see who it was that saved you. "Ichabod." You said, softly, as you placed your hand on his cheek. "I'm here, (y/n)." Ichabod said, as he helped you stand up. Then, you both heard the horse neighing, indicating that the Headless Horseman was coming back. "(y/n), the Headless Horseman is after you!" Ichabod said. You furrowed your eyebrows, in confusion. "How do you know that, Ichabod?" You asked. But Ichabod turned his head and saw the Headless Horseman coming towards you both, with his sword up in the air. "Now is not the time to explain, (y/n)!" He said, as he grabbed your hand and ran away, with you running with him, before the Headless Horseman could swing his sword at you both again.

As you and Ichabod were about to run to your house, Lady Van Tassel, came out of nowhere on her horse, with a bag strapped to the side of her dress, and shouted, "Take her, Horseman! She's all yours! Watch your head now, (y/n)." You and Ichabod stopped towards her direction, while you were shocked about her telling the Headless Horseman to come after you. You were about to run away from Lady Van Tassel with Ichabod, but you noticed Ichabod running towards her. He, then, tackled her off her horse and onto the ground, causing the horse to neigh, in fright, and run off. "Ichabod, what are you doing?" You shouted, as he was trying to keep your stepmother down. "She has something that could stop the Horseman, (y/n)!" He shouted back, pointing at the bag that was no longer strapped to Lady Van Tassel's dress.

But, then, Ichabod and Lady Van Tassel started crawling towards the bag, while trying to pulling each other back, fighting to get it. "(y/n), grab the bag!" Ichabod shouted. You, then, ran to where the bag was at and you immediately grabbed it before Lady Van Tassel could grab it. "So you wanna play heroine, (y/n), then, I hope you could dodge this!" Lady Van Tassel said, as she pulled out her gun and pointed it at you. "No!" Ichabod shouted, as he tackled her down, dropping her gun at the same time. You, heard, galloping from right behind you, knowing it was the Headless Horseman coming after you.

With Ichabod trying to tackle Lady Van Tassel down so she doesn't retrieve her gun and the Headless Horseman coming, you quickly noticed a piece of wood nearby, grabbed it, and swung it at Lady Van Tassel's head, knocking her out. You turned and ducked your head down as soon as the Headless Horseman swung his sword at you again. Ichabod, then, stood up and grabbed the bag from your hand. "This should help stop the Horseman." He said, as he pulled out what was in the bag. A human skull with sharp teeth. You cringed, in disgust, as you looked at it.

"Horseman!" Ichabod shouted, as he turned to the Headless Horseman's direction, while holding up the skull. The Headless Horseman looked at as if he recognized it, so he galloped back to the two of you and Ichabod tossed the skull to him. The Headless Horseman caught it and, then, he put the skull on top of where his head should be. You stood next to Ichabod, your arms around his torso and his arms wrapped around you, protectively, as you both watched the transformation happening on the skull.

Moments later, within seconds, the transformation was completed and it showed a scary man with black hair, bluish white eyes, and sharp teeth. The two of you were worried about what he was gonna do as he looked at the two of you. Then, he turned toward Lady Van Tassel's direction, galloped towards her, and picked her up. He looked down at her as she was beginning of wake up. She looked at him, shocked and scared, as if she saw a ghost, before she let out a scream, in horror, as the Horseman rode off and headed back to the dark forest.

As soon as the Horseman was out of sight, you let out a sigh of relief when he was finally gone and, then, you turned and faced Ichabod, who was looking at you, concerned. "Are you alright, my dear (y/n)?" He asked. You nodded and said, "Yes, Ichabod, darling. But I don't understand. How did you know the Horseman was coming after to me?" "I went to check on my horse and I overheard Lady Van Tessel chanting with witchcraft, to summon the Horseman to come after you." Ichabod answered. "But why would she do that?" You asked. "After she summoned the Horseman, I heard her mention that once you were done for, the will left for you by your father would go to her." He explained. "I knew something was strange about her." You said.

"I was about to warn you, but, then, I heard your voice and the Headless Horseman coming. I couldn't let you get killed by him, (y/n). I ran as fast as I could to save you, hoping that I wasn't gonna be too late." "And you did save me, Ichabod. Twice, in fact. I don't even wanna think of the slight second of would've happened if you hadn't been there. I was really worried something bad had happened to you when I woke up and found you missing. But it doesn't matter now because you're here and you're alright." You said, as you embraced him a tight, but gentle hug. Ichabod hugged you back, with an arm wrapped around your waist and the other hand on the back of your head, holding you close.

Moments later, Ichabod pulled slightly away from the hug and said, "I won't ever leave your sight ever again, (y/n). This case is now over and I think home is the right place for the both of us now." You furrowed your eyebrows, in confusion, when you questioned, "Home? You mean, as in—" "New York City, yes." Ichabod finished for you, which surprised you. "Come with me to New York City, (y/n). I cannot imagine going back to New York City without you there with me. You won't have to live in Sleepy Hollow ever again and I can give you a new life in the big city."

"You...You really mean it, Ichabod? You let me come with you?" You asked. "Of course, darling. After all, I...I really like you. Really, really like you." He said, nervously, while scratching the back of his neck. You chuckled and said, while wrapping your arms around his neck, "And I really, really like you too, Ichabod Crane." He smiled a bit down at you after you said that. "So, I take that as a 'yes', then?" He asked. "Absolutely." You said, and, then, you pressed your lips against his. He was surprised at first, but, then, he kissed you back, while he placed his hands on your waist. You exclaimed, happily, when you felt him pick you up, in a bridal style, without breaking the kiss.

Moments later, you both pulled away from the kiss to breathe and, then, looked into each other's eyes. "But right now, I think sleep is probably the best thing to do. In the morning, we'll leave." Ichabod said. You smiled and said, "Sounds like a plan to me." Then, Ichabod smiled more as he placed a kiss on your forehead before he started walking, while carrying you, to your house.