Hello, and welcome to my first fanfiction! I shall begin by chatting about things that you most likely don't care about and will probably skip to read my story and figure out for yourself whether you think it is or isn't worth reading the rest of once I post it. Well, here's a disclaimer: I don't own anything out of Sleepy Hollow. Also, my pen name has nothing to do with the story. I actually began writing the story before I made the account on here and just needed a good name, so I might change my pen name somewhere along the way.

Oh, and "Squee" is speaking and 'Squee' is thinking.

Selene

Prologue

His Last Battle

A black stallion tied to a post away from the other soldiers' mounts was rearing and striking out at the grooms closing in on him. He was a monstrous beast; most of the men didn't even come up to his shoulder, and he had eyes the same color of the recent bloodstains on his ebony coat.

"What is going on here?!" The head groom had just walked into view. "The general won't like it if his horse isn't cleaned up."

A few of the grooms shuddered. None of them liked their new General. The last person to leave his horse a mess hadn't been seen since. True, the German mercenary did abandon his own army and join the Americans, but there was a rumor that his troops had forsaken him and he'd only joined the American ranks for revenge. Still, he was the best they had, ergo he became general.

"But it's not our fault!" Cried one of the older grooms. "The brute won't let us near him!"

"Then who tacked him up for the last battle?"

"One of the new lads."

"Well? Then what are you waiting for? Go get him!" They scrambled to do as he ordered, none of them wanting to be the ones around when the general found his favorite warhorse still covered in sweat and blood.

A moment later, one of the old grooms returned with a boy dressed in raggedy clothes. He kept his head down so his hat covered most of his face.

"Ah, this is the boy?"

The groom nodded. "Yup. Found 'im not too far from the town we passed not too long ago. What was it called? Sumthin' about a hollow…"

"Yes… Well. What's your name, boy?"

"Oh, 'e's mute sir. Can't talk."

"Yes, that's what mute means." He snapped, clearly growing agitated with this old man. "Well, boy. Can you look after this horse?"

The boy nodded, the gesture so slight if you hadn't been looking for it you wouldn't have thought he'd moved at all. He took one of the discarded buckets of soapy water and approached the great black horse.

"Is it wise to let a lad approach that beast when he nearly killed some of our best men?" Asked the head groom.

"Aye, tha's wha' I thought the other day." The old man chuckled.

To the head groom's astonishment, when the boy got within range of the stallion, the beast didn't even try to attack. Instead, the horse nudged him, causing the boy to spill water down his front. The demon who'd been tethered to that post a moment before was nowhere in sight; the horse there now was as docile as the boy himself. The boy set the bucket down and began to scrub the charger's inky coat. By now other grooms had gathered to watch. They were shocked when the great stallion lowered his head and sighed with pleasure under the boy's ministrations.

The head groom shuddered. "That ain't natural. How can a horse go from wild to tame just because of a boy?"

When the boy was almost done, the General's mount had fallen asleep to the onlookers' bewilderment. But a moment later the fiend's nostrils flared and one of his ears twitched. Footsteps were coming from the tents where the army was camped out. The warhorse lifted his head slightly and nickered. A moment later, the grooms (including the head groom) scrambled once again. There was only one man the stallion ever treated thus.

The General appeared from behind a small clump of tents. He was the only one in the army who didn't wear one of the gray soldiers' uniforms. Instead he wore the black armor he arrived with. The chest plate was outlined with strange silver markings and so were the gauntlets he wore. The rest of his outfit was completely black just like his horse, from his tall boots to the worn cloak than fluttered in the light breeze. The rest of the men would have accepted this, but his armor wasn't what frightened them.

He had long, black hair which wasn't unusual among his fellow mercenaries, and his face was well defined with high cheek bones and a strait aquiline nose, but his teeth were filed into points which made his face appear demonic when he grinned, and he had inhuman, ice blue eyes.

He walked up to the stallion who nudged him like he had the boy. The General smiled and removed his gauntlets to rub the horse's face.

"Wie sind Sie, Freund? Behandelten sie Sie gut, während ich weg war?" he muttered to the large horse.

The boy finished strapping the saddle onto the great charger's back before stepping back to watch the general talk to his horse.

The general turned to look at the boy who was looking up at him. Now that the boy's face was uncovered, it was obvious no boy could have such a beautiful, almost exotic-looking face. She smiled up at him.

"I missed you." She said, stepping closer.

He plucked the hat disdainfully from her head, spilling her short dark hair onto her shoulders. "I loathe this ratty thing. Get rid of it."

She smiled even wider, trying to hold in a laugh. "You greet me the same every time, and every time I give you the same answer, 'I would if I could, but I can't.' No women are allowed in the army, so I have to stay in disguise."

He dropped the hat onto Daredevil's back and swept her into his arms. She laughed out loud then eeped and put a hand over her mouth, making him laugh. She leaned against his chest and smiled, closing her eyes so she could just listen to his heartbeat.

"After the war." She murmured.

"Hmm?" he replied, his voice sending vibrations through her body.

She opened her eyes, but stared at the horse's now shining ebony coat rather than look at him, worried at what she might see there. "After the war, when we're all through here, what will you do then?"

He though a moment, resting his chin on the top of her head. "Go home. Back to Germany with Daredevil." He stepped back and patted the horse's neck lovingly then looked down at her again with a question in his gaze, his eyes saying more than his words.

"Then, what will become of me?" she looked up at him from beneath her bangs.

"I'm not sure, but if I remember correctly, they don't care what gender your groom is in Germany." He smiled down at her as she beamed up at him, the unspoken promise ringing between them.

She then became aware of the action in the tents behind her General. The sounds of hushed orders and men clambering around to get their equipment masked the sound of her and her general.

"Now, my little one, come here." He said, grinning. "I also remember in Germany, it is a lady's duty to wish her man luck going into battle."

His face began to descend toward hers, but she put her hands on his shoulders to stop him.

"Swear to me you will return."

"I swear I'll try."

She shook her head. "That's not good enough. You have to swear to me." She looked pleadingly up at him.

He hesitated, then sighed. "I swear, nothing will keep me from returning to you."

She pulled him down and he needed no further urging. They stood locked together, lost in the moment, neither one wanting to let go, but knowing they had only minutes before the other soldiers would come to get their mounts. The imperial stallion Daredevil was the only witness to their last moment together.

Thanks for reading, even if you didn't like it. If you did like it, then review and tell me so, or if you didn't then review anyway and tell me how I can improve. Any advice is helpful even if you're telling me to burn this and get rid of my keyboard. And if anyone has a better title or pen name I am open to suggestions. Thanks again,

Nox