An Inconvenient Attachment

Chapter One

Chapter One 

The full moon shone brightly as Emily Harris stared out her bedroom window. She couldn’t sleep again.  

Below her window, a newly fallen frost made everything sparkle like diamonds strewn across the ground. The giant oak in the backyard creaked and groaned in the slight breeze and Emily watched the swing attached to it sway back and forth like a pendulum. She sighed deeply and moved away from the window. She slid her feet into her fuzzy pink slippers and wrapped herself in her robe. Very quietly, so as not to wake her parents, she made her way down to the kitchen hoping a nice cup of tea would be the missing link to lull her to sleep.  

Emily’s large black cat Tybalt was waiting to greet her as she stepped off the landing into the kitchen. He wound himself through her feet, purring. She reached down and gave him a good scratch under the chin. “So, you can’t sleep either?” she asked him. He gave no response as he gazed up at her, emerald eyes wide. “Nothing to say, eh?” she queried.  

Tybalt jumped onto the counter and headbutted her gently. He watched as Emily pulled a mug and the teabags from the cupboard and batted her hand lightly as she filled the kettle and placed it on the burner. She picked him up and snuggled him as she paced around the kitchen waiting for the kettle to boil.  

Soon, steaming cup of tea and Tybalt in hand, Emily made her way back to her room. Flurries of snow had begun falling which fascinated Tybalt to no end. He sat in the windowsill batting the glass as the fluffy flakes zipped past. She took a seat next to him in the little nook and gazed at the moon. Wisps of cloud danced in front of it, lending an eerie quality to the night. For some reason, Emily found herself feeling very lonely in that moment. She sipped her tea, willing the feeling away. She wondered what had brought it on. She reached over and gathered Tybalt into her lap who purred happily at the affection, rubbing his face against hers. “I can’t be lonely with you around, huh?” she mused as she loved on the mini panther in her lap.  

From the corner of her vision, Emily noticed a light shining dimly in the forest that lined the property. Tybalt seemed to notice as well. He pressed his nose against the glass and followed the light’s trajectory with great interest. All of a sudden, he sprang from the window nook and shot down the stairs. “What on earth?” Emily asked the empty room and retreating kitty. She followed Tybalt down the stairs and found him mewling at the back door. “You don’t wanna go out there, buddy. You don’t like wet, remember?” Emily chided, but his pleas became louder and more insistent. “You have a litter box, why can’t you use that?” she asked. At this point, Tybalt began clawing at the door and crying so loudly that Emily feared he would wake her parents. “Okay, okay! Let me get my boots and coat, geez. Demanding.” she whispered. She de-slippered and shoved her feet into her muck boots and pulled her coat over her robe and pajamas. Thinking quickly, she grabbed a flashlight so as not to break her neck following the cat. When she returned, she found Tybalt pacing restlessly in circles in front of the door. “What is up with you, man?” she asked him.  He stretched toward the doorknob and pressed himself against the door. Emily shook her head. “I really don’t think you’re gonna enjoy outside, buddy, but okay. Let’s go.”  

As soon as she opened the door, Tybalt shot out and across the yard toward the tree line. “Hey! Wait for me!” Emily cried and ran after him. He stopped about ten yards outside the forest and seemed to be waiting for her to catch up. She caught up to him, huffing, her breath sending delicate puffs of steam into the night air. She tried to draw a deep breath, the cold making her lungs burn, but it was cut short as the light from before came back into her line of sight.  

It wasn’t headlights from a passing car, nor a flashlight, it was too soft for that. It almost looked like an old-timey flame lit lantern. She c****d her head to the side and watched as it moved. It was far enough into the darkness of the trees that she couldn’t tell who or what was carrying it, but it was definitely being carried by something. Tybalt growled low in his throat, puffing up his fur. This made Emily uneasy and suddenly aware of just how vulnerable she was at this moment. She was far enough from the house that her parents likely wouldn’t hear her in the event she screamed. She tried to reason with herself, telling herself that it was likely a hunter or a couple kids out for a late-night stroll. She decided to make her presence known, so as not to unnecessarily startle whoever was out there. “Hello? Who’s out there?” she called into the darkness. The light stopped moving. “Hello?” she called again, watching it carefully. The light started moving again, this time toward Emily. Tybalt hissed and cowered. Emily reached down and scooped him up. “This is private property; you aren’t allowed to be here!” she yelled, but the light kept coming. Emily could almost see the outline of what seemed to be a person carrying it. “You aren’t allowed to be here!” she shouted again, trying her best to sound intimidating. Suddenly, the light disappeared and Emily could see nothing again. In an instant, Tybalt shot from her arms and into the forest like a streak of black lightning and she lost sight of him nearly immediately, but she could still hear him growling and spitting. Her mind raced as she tried to decide whether to chase after him or to go back to the house and wake her parents to inform them of the intruder on the property.  

Quickly, she decided to chase Tybalt down because she couldn’t stand the idea of him being lost or alone or hurt. She ran with one arm held in front of her to shield her face from the whipping branches, her flashlight beam swinging wildly between the trees. “Tybalt!” she called both as quietly as she could and as loud as she dared. She heard a meow in the distance that told her Tybalt wasn’t far ahead of her. She slowed, trying to minimize the sound of her footsteps so that she could hear him better. “Here, kitty, kitty!” she cooed into the darkness. Another meow sounded and Emily could tell that he was definitely directly in front of her somewhere. Suddenly, she stepped into a clearing lit beautifully by the full moon. Emily gasped as she realized there was a man sitting on the stump in the middle of the clearing. In his lap, Tybalt sat purring contentedly.  

“Hello, Emily.” the stranger said.  

“Who are you? How do you know my name?” Emily asked, doing her best to mask the fear rising in her. She was now very keenly aware of how isolated this spot was. She found herself thinking how stupid it was to run into the forest in the middle of the night knowing full well that there was someone out there. She stared the stranger down, taking in as many details about him as she could. She wanted to be able to describe him to the police later, if he didn’t murder her. He was tall and thin, with a shock of shaggy snow-white hair. His features were fine and aquiline, androgenous in nature, though his voice made it very clear he was male. “You’re not supposed to be here.” she said, her voice quivering slightly. 

“My name is Bayard. You have no need to be afraid of me. I’m not here to hurt you. That other character, however, wished exactly that. That’s why I took care of him for you. Nasty piece of business.” the stranger replied. 

“What are you talking about? I’m not afraid of you.” Emily bluffed. “Answer my other question. How do you know my name?” she demanded. 

“Tybalt here has been telling me all about you.” He stroked the cat, who arched to meet his touch happily. He continued speaking, “I already knew you, of course, I have known you your entire life.” Bayard said, simply. 

“That’s impossible. I’ve never seen you before. There’s no way you know me. Unless you’re some sort of stalker. Are you?” Emily queried, head racing. She wanted to get as far away from this stranger as quickly as possible, but she couldn’t leave Tybalt behind; what was he thinking, cozying up to a stranger like that? 

Bayard looked wounded. “A stalker? No. I’m hurt that you would think such a thing. I’m not a stalker. That beast I slayed, that was a stalker.” He stood, gently urging Tybalt off his lap and began to slowly pace the edge of the clearing. Emily felt as if he were studying her somehow. She made sure to stay facing him, turning as he moved. Tybalt rubbed himself against the man’s legs, keeping time with him around the clearing. Emily tried to send telepathic cues to him to come to her, but it was in vain; the traitorous beast seemed all too content to purr at the stranger’s feet as he paced. 

“What beast? There are no beasts out here. The only things out here are squirrels and chipmunks.” Emily said, trying hard to appear and sound much more confident than she felt.  

“That is where you are wrong, my dear. Many a monster stalk the deep dark wood. Just because you are unaware doesn’t make them unreal. The particular beastie stalking you this night goes by the name of dullahan.” Bayard said. 

“So, it was a man. A man named Dullahan and you’re telling me that you ‘slayed’ him in my backyard?” Emily asked before she could stop herself. She prayed her smart mouth wouldn’t anger the stranger. To her surprise, he merely chuckled. 

“A man? No. A dullahan is no man. A dullahan is a creature you would liken to...oh what is it? Ichabod Crane and all that balderdash.” Bayard paused to think, forefinger pressed to his temple. 

“The Headless Horseman?” Emily asked incredulously. She hoped if she kept him talking that he wouldn’t notice her nervous eyeing of the tree line.  

“Ah, yes! A headless horseman, except that he isn’t headless per se. His head is simply...” Bayard waved his hand, searching for the right words again. “Unattached. He carries it along with a whip made from a human spine atop an enormous black steed. He is death to all he catches. Were it not for me, it would have been you he caught.”  

Tybalt finally broke stride with Bayard and sauntered over to Emily, rubbing up against her legs. She was so relieved; she was sure she was going to have to rush the stranger to retrieve him and escape. She scooped him up and held his purring form close to her. She edged closer to the tree line, preparing to make a break for it. “You’re nuts. Headless horsemen and human spine whips? You expect me to believe that?” she asked, trying to distract him from her true intention.  

“I suppose I shouldn’t. Our worlds are very different after all.” Bayard answered simply. 

“Our worlds? Buddy, we both live on earth. The more you talk, though, the more I’m convinced that you actually believe what you’re saying. That makes you scarier than if you were lying.” Emily said.  

“Emily, I assure you, I am not scary. As I said before, you have no reason to be afraid of me. I would never hurt you.” he answered. 

“I am definitely not believing that. You’re a creepy dude lurking around the forest at night, who somehow knows my name, telling me campfire stories about headless horsemen and how you rescued me from one. If you aren’t a stalker, you’re mental.” Emily said as she primed herself to run.  

“I told you, I’m not a stalker. I’m not here to hurt you or abscond with you. I have no intention of the sort. I simply wanted to meet you. I would say that it’s rather fortunate for you that I showed up when I did.” Bayard countered. 

“Right, because of the dullahan. You said that already.” Emily said, edging ever farther away from Bayard. “You said you wanted to meet me, why?” she asked, looking for that perfect window of opportunity to escape. 

Bayard shrugged casually. “Well, I’m your fiancé. One should meet their fiancé at least once before their wedding day, no?” 

Emily stood, frozen in place, Bayard’s words having shaken her to the core. “F-f--” she stuttered, trying to repeat the word, but she couldn’t make her mouth work. She was now 1000% sure that this man was a lunatic. She knew it was absurd, but the only thing she could think was ‘I’m only 17, I can’t get married.’  

Bayard eyed her curiously from across the clearing. “Are you alright? You’re very pale suddenly.” he asked. 

Even though she couldn’t operate her mouth, Emily found her legs worked just fine. She took off, sprinting through the forest blindly, no longer concerned with waiting for the perfect opportunity. She held Tybalt closely to shelter him from the branches and snags. She could hear Bayard calling after her but he didn’t seem to be following as she broke through the tree line and into the backyard, so she made a mad dash for the house, throwing herself through the back door, slamming and locking it behind her. “Mom! Dad!” she yelled as she bounded up the stairs. She burst through her parents’ door. Tybalt, having had enough of being roughly handled, catapulted from Emily’s arms directly onto her father’s head.  

David woke flailing, knocking the lamp from the bedside table. He roared savagely, swatting at the assailant balled up on his head. Emily’s mother, Daya, woke with a squeal. “What? What? What’s happening?” she cried frantically. 

“There’s a man outside!” Emily shouted at them, cutting through the chaos.  

David snapped to attention. “A man? Who is it?” he asked, jumping up and stalking toward the closet. 

“I don’t know! Tybalt was begging to go out so I let him, but then he ran off into the woods; so, I chased him in and when I found him, he was all snuggled up to this man who called himself Bayard and said he was my fiancé!” Emily said, speaking so quickly even she wasn’t sure she understood. 

“Emily!” Daya shouted, astonished. “You ran into the woods in the middle of the night? What were you thinking?”  

“I was chasing the cat!” Emily explained desperately. 

David emerged from the closet, zipping his jacket. “Where was he?” he demanded. 

Emily quickly explained where she’d encountered Bayard and David bounded down the stairs. She and her mother watched from the window as he trekked into the woods. Soon, his flashlight beam disappeared among the trees. They stayed, watching intently until his beam reappeared sometime later. When David re-entered the house, they met him at the foot of the stairs. “Well, did you find him?” Daya asked eagerly.  

David shook his head and shrugged off his coat. “No, all I found was footprints. Someone’s been out there on a horse, did you know that? A horse.” David continued talking about going into town and getting “No Trespassing” signs to post, but Emily could barely hear him over the sound of her own blood rushing through her ears. Her heart was pounding and her hands felt numb. Had he said a horse? A horse like a headless horseman might ride? Her mother’s voice brought her out of her spiraling thoughts. “Did you hear your father, Emily?”  

“What? No. What did you say?” she asked, shaking her head. 

“I said to stay out of the woods for a while. It may be poachers out there. Could be dangerous.” David repeated.  

“Poachers?” Emily asked, bewildered. 

“Yeah, I saw some animal bones out there. All tangled together. It was weird.” David replied. 

The whooshing of adrenaline came back to Emily’s ears. Animal bones...all tangled up. Bones, like the dullahan supposedly carried. She shook her head. No, there were lots of reasons animal bones would be in the forest. That’s, like, the natural place for them to be, right? She was trying to reason with herself, but after the night’s strangeness she was having a hard time trusting her thoughts. “I think I’m gonna go to bed. I’m...” Emily trailed off as she trudged up the steps. 

“We’ll go talk to the sheriff after school, okay?” David called after her. She nodded vaguely and disappeared up the stairs.  

When she was safely behind her closed door, she flopped in her bed and closed her eyes. Her brain wanted to further contemplate the night’s events but she refused. She put on some music and let the gentle melodies lull her to sleep.