Chapter 65

65 Legend of the Beyor family (part 1)

“What? What massacre? Did you mean there’s a massacre inside the cemetery?!”

Never occurred to Anne’s mind that Beyor’s cemetery had a dark past. The only thing she heard about the place was how, for generations, people were so afraid of Beyor’s cemetery, supposed to be the most haunted place near the capital. Her face begins to pale. One thing that she always hides from everyone in her old world is that she was actually a coward.

She could handle one or two jumping scared whenever she goes to a haunted house theme park with her friends. After all, she is a woman who doesn’t have any expression. Anne could never scream properly or even cry because of how scared she was. Anne handled the scare with no console from anyone.

They thought she was a brave woman, not in the slightest. For Anne, living with her Alexithymia was a struggle. Society always saw her as the cold one, the one with no grasp on the situation, which was wrong. She felt everything, but she never knew how to express the feeling that came from any situation. If it wasn’t for Ed and Martha, she still doesn’t know the meaning of every expression that she finally gained.

Andy looking so confused at Anne, “You never know the legend of the Beyor family?”

“No... I know that Beyor’s cemetery is actually a family burial ground, but I never knew there was a massacre involved.” Anne tried to give Andy her reason to be so gullible about the history of the Beyor cemetery.

“Anne wasn’t from the capital, Andy, she is the silver pass recipient for this year’s entrance exam,” Said Justice to Andy, it was admirable to Anne how Justice tried to help her, but then, he said, “She was living on a remote village, not very knowledgeable beside her capacity as a good healer.”

Looking aghast at Justice, Anne blurted out words to defend herself, “Excuse me Jus... I mean, your majesty?!”

A smirk came on Justice’s face. “What? it’s the truth though,” He get closer to Anne, his body engulfing her, while his red-ruby eyes stared directly at her, “Do you have any objection, miss River Anne?” his warm breath tingling her senses.

.....

Xavier got annoyed by her reaction. He pulled Justice back to his seat, while Andy looks at the three of them with confusion on his face. Xavier gave Justice a warning look, but the crown prince just shrugged it and chuckled in his seat.

“We have a long journey until we reached the inn, Andy. Why don’t you tell us about the legend? I’m sure Anne would appreciate it.” Said Xavier, after he glared constantly at Justice.

Andy became so excited, “Yes, sir, that’s a good idea!”

The other passengers of the carriage were glad. Andy looks calmer than before. He cleared his throat and begin his story.

“Once upon a time, there was a distinguished noble called Richard Beyor. He was a scholar, a high-ranking alchemist.” Andy’s storytelling was compelling and had a good tone. He built up the tension even from the beginning. “Richard Beyor had a wife and three handsome sons, Troy Beyor, Ralf Beyor, and Drake Beyor. They lived happily in their own plot of land away from the capital until the empress called for Richard Beyor to go to the capital for urgent matters.”

Anne’s eyes grew to widen, she was so infested by Andy’s story she failed to notice two pairs of eyes looking at her with admiration. Justice and Xavier knew the whole story of the Beyor cemetery. Both of them were focused on Anne instead, rather than Andy.

“Richard Beyor goes to the capital immediately, leaving his family behind, some said that Richard Beyor was becoming the new lover of the empress,” Andy still enthusiastically telling the story, this time with more hand gestures and movement, “Some said he had a lover inside the capital, some said his dedication to his work, every rumor lead from a fact that Richard Beyor never leaves the capital until his demised five years later.”

“Five years? I mean, there was plenty of time for his family to go to the capital. How come they never visit Richard Beyor?” Anne tried to ask a question to Andy.

Andy scratches his head, thinking of an answer. “That... that was true. How come they never visited Richard Beyor for five years?”

“That’s simple. There’s no record of his family going to visit him for five years. That’s why the story mostly comes from the surviving document over the years.” Said Justice, while he stretches his arms, seems like he was going to take a nap inside the carriage.

Anne immediately grab his arm and asked, “Wait, so the legend is based on compiling documents? There’s a timeline for the story, then?”

“Sadly, we never know, it was allegedly the real documents about the story of the Beyor family, but there are no other living people that could get us the real story about the family,” Answered Justice, he pull his arm from Anne’s grip, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a long day, you can hear the story more from the librarian.”

With it, Justice snoozes over in his seat. Anne could see dark shadows under his eyes. The crown prince was tired. Xavier touch her shoulder and smiled at her.

“Don’t mind him. He rarely slept this past week, so much paperwork coming for him.”

Anne nodded her head, “Yeah, I can see his dark circle, poor man, I’ll brew him some tonic when we arrived at the inn,” Anne then turned her head to Andy, “I wanted to know more of the story, but please maybe not as loud as before.”

A slight smile came onto Justice’s face. He felt warm inside when the girl noticed his unfit condition. An unfamiliar feeling, but he loves it all the same. He continued to lull into his sleep, leaving Xavier and Anne to hear the rest of the story from Andy.

“So, that’s about it, five years in his own townhouse, until death comes knocking on his door.” Andy’s storytelling evolves. In Anne’s mind, the young man really fits into becoming a narrator.

“So, what happened after his death?” Asked Anne. She was invested in the story now.

“They called his family, and that’s when his now grown sons came to fetch the deceased, they rest inside the townhouse, waiting for the morning to come...” Only the sound of a galloping horse outside that can be heard inside the carriage, everyone grew quieter, waiting for Andy to continue his story, “They make a deal to guard their father’s dead body in turn for every three hours, Troy got the first shift, while his brothers get some much need its rest. The night was still young when Troy heard a sound coming from his father’s study room.”

The atmosphere becoming creepier by the minute, it is high noon right now, Andy took glances at his audience, both of them were looking at him, he cleared his throat and continued the story, “Troy came inside the room, there’s a golden device on the desk of his deceased father. He tried to pick up the device, when a scream came from the other room, the room where they kept Richard Boyer’s dead body.”

“Oh my God.” Anne was muttering, while her face become much paler than before.

Xavier noticed and asked her, “Are you alright?”

“Yes... Yes, continue Andy. I want to know the ending.” Said Anne, nervously at the librarian.

Andy nodded his head, “I’ll make it quick, Troy never knew where the screaming was coming from, and when it’s Ralf turn, the same thing happened again, the sound coming from the study, a golden device that cannot be touch, and a screaming from the deceased body being kept.” His eyes looking around the carriage, he wanted to make sure that Anne was still comfortable enough, “and then come Drake’s turn, the same thing happened, a sound from the study room, he looked and saw the golden device, before he reached the device, a scream coming from the other room. But, unlike his two brothers, Drake ignored the screams and took the golden device, he put the device inside the trunk with all the valuables that they will take home... Afterward, he goes back to the room where his father’s dead body resided...”

“And then? What happened?” Asked Anne.

“Drake Beyor saw Richard Beyor’s dead body was in the position of trying to get out of his casket, with a terrified look rigidly plastered on his face.”

“My God! What happened? Was he... still alive?”

Andy shook his head, “No, the body was already being separated from his organs, and got pumped by all the mortuary liquid to be preserved. If he wasn’t dead before, he was surely dead in the mortuary, by all of those chemicals.”

“Make sense,” Muttered Anne while her hand tapping on her chin. Xavier was tempted to grab the hand and kiss it, until her eyes met with him, “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Oh nothing, just wanted to say that we are almost arrived at the first inn to have some lunch.” Xavier tried to avoid any of her questions while he cleared his throat.

They, in fact, were already inside a small village near the capital. The carriage stopped in front of a small inn with huge benches outside for serving lunch. Anne looked around the carriage. Xavier was in the middle of waking Justice from his nap, and Andy was putting his large bag on his shoulder.

“Wait, what about the story?” Anne was asking Andy, disappointed about the anti-climactic end.

Andy smiled at her and said, “To be continued.”