The Constable's Child

The Proposal

It was All Hallows Eve night and Ichabod and Katrina had decided to throw a party. There was music, food, games, and dancing; everyone was having a marvelous time. Katrina and Ichabod were dancing together, although Ichabod was a tad halfhearted in his movements. Katrina had noticed he seemed rather preoccupied of late.

"Ichabod, is everything okay?" She asked.

"Of course." Ichabod smiled. "How could anything not be okay, especially when I have someone as wonderful as you in my life?"

The answer briefly mollified Katrina, though she was getting the sense that Ichabod was waiting for something. He kept glancing over to the small cabinet by the front door, which was standing next to everyone's coats, jackets, or cloaks, a short space away. As the party started to wind down, Ichabod made his move. He went over to the door, reached into the cabinet drawer, and pulled something out, tucking it under his coat. He then walked back over to Katrina.

"Ichabod...? What's going on?" Katrina asked.

"Katrina, our time together has been the best time of my life." Ichabod declared. "And I never want it to cease."

"Alright..." Katrina replied, unnerved by the sheer seriousness of the look on Ichabod's face.

"I can think of only one thing that would make me happier." Ichabod declared. "And that's just one little answer from you."

Ichabod extracted a small velvet box from his coat. Everyone there froze in surprise. Nobody was more surprised than Miss Van Tassel herself. She was staring at the box like she didn't even believe it was there.

"Katrina Van Tassel." Ichabod opened the box, revealing a beautiful ring, a single diamond set into the gold band. He kneeled down on one knee, proffering up the ring. "Will you marry me?"

"I-I-I-I-I..." Katrina stuttered, tears of shock and joy starting to fall from her eyes and stream down her face. "Yes... Yes, yes, yes! Of course I will!"

Ichabod smiled as he took the ring out of its box and carefully slipped it onto Katrina's finger. He stood straight before Katrina smiled and passionately pressed her lips against his. Everyone at the party clapped their hands and cheered for them.

A few days after the party, the planning of Ichabod and Katrina's wedding immediately took place. It was certainly a lot to do, but it was nothing the great Ichabod Crane couldn't handle. Eventually, after a few months of hard work and careful planning, everything was ready.

0-0-0-0-0-0

The night before the wedding; Ichabod almost couldn't believe that he was getting married to the woman of his dreams in the morning. Unable to fall asleep, he decided to go downstairs to get himself a drink of water. As he was about to take a sip, he was suddenly startled by young Masbeth enter the room and Ichabod nearly dropped his glass.

"Sir?" Masbeth asked. "What are you doing up so late?"

"Oh! I'm... sorry, young Masbeth." Ichabod stuttered, regaining his composure and setting his cup down. "I couldn't sleep."

"Any reason why?" Masbeth asked.

"Perhaps..."

"Is it about tomorrow?"

"Yes... it... it's the wedding." Ichabod explained. "I'm terrified..."

"Oh. Forgive me for this sir, but... you're terrified of almost everything."

"Not everything. It's just... this is such a big step for Katrina and myself and... and I don't know if..."

"Sir, from what I heard, everyone usually gets nervous just before something like this happens in their lives, especially their wedding. But don't worry; you and Miss Katrina have been through so much together, I'm certain you can handle a wedding... and the time that follows."

Ichabod thought about what his young servant just told him; true, he and Katrina had solved mysteries, fought against the forces of the supernatural and dark magic, and they even defeated the vengeful spirit of a Headless mercenary... all without a scratch, so if they could handle all of that, they could handle anything that came their way. Ichabod looked back at young Masbeth and gave him a smile.

"You're right, young Masbeth." He said, letting out a sigh. "Thank you for talking some sense into me. I needed it."

"You're welcome, sir." Masbeth replied, smiling back.