His Incredible Queen Luna

Chapter 2 Tomb

Leona found the last journey of her life quite peaceful. Before the two gardeners drove the car away, they fixed the carpet with ropes in the truck’s bed.

The path leading to the main road from the garden had plenty of rocks and potholes, but she didn’t get bumped upside down like a ragged doll.

When the car drove out of the woods and back to the main road, Leona vaguely heard ecstatic cheering coming from the city below the hill-the castle was located on the hillside in the north of the capital.

“They are cheering. The coronation must have been on,” she heard one of the gardeners say. Before today, she had met them once or twice. She knew they were both hard-working, good people.

“Yeah,” the taller one who was driving the truck answered. “It’s Princess Leona who brought peace to our kingdom. She will be a great Queen. It’s a shame we can’t witness her ascend the throne.”

“But to think it differently,” the first one commented, “we are paying respect to her in our way.”

He then turned his head from the driver’s cab to look at the carpet. “Who do you think it was?” He asked out of curiosity.

The driver shrugged his shoulders, “You've heard what the Beta said. She was the Queen’s maid. I bet she wasn’t someone important. Or else, he would give her a proper funeral.”

“But he said she had made as much contribution to the country as the Queen,” the first one insisted. “She must be someone.”

“Then we’d better find her a good place to rest.”

The driver shrugged his shoulders again. He wasn’t interested in gossip. That was the end of their conversation.

After hitting a big bump at the turning, the car started heading downwards smoothly. Leona felt her feet pulled towards the cab of the truck under gravity. And the thick smell of the lush woods was getting thinner and thinner.

After about 20 minutes of silent driving, the truck came into the city. It was extremely quiet now. All the stores were closed and the streets were empty. People were watching the coronation on TV. Leona wondered how Austin had explained to those elderlies of the Kingdom’s Committee.

The coronation can’t be canceled at the last minute. That’s why Austin chose to kill her right before it started. He probably had pretended to panic about not finding her. And those committee members would just persuade him, “You must take the place of the Queen to carry on the ceremony.”

Austin would say, “No, I can’t. I am not a wolf. I can’t rule the Kingdom.”

Those elderlies would insist, “You are just taking the place of her for the moment until we get her back.”

Only she would never be back. That’s how Austin became the King.

Leona had always known Austin was a tactful person. She just never thought he would be so practical.

The car went straight across the city towards the suburb in south. There was a short section of the ancient city wall in the lawn. In front of it was a clear creek running through happily. People went there for picnics all the time.

The driver stopped the truck at the wall. Leona first thought he was going to have a rest or take a leak.

But the other gardener’s voice overruled her assumption. “Why did you stop? We can’t bury her here!” He sounded suprised and concerned, "This isn't a place for dead people."

The driver had opened the car door. “Yes, we can,” he said, and his tone was decisive, “Beta said we can’t let anyone know she came from the castle, which means she is a Jane Doe. We can’t bury her in the cemetery without a name. This is the best place for her. Great view. Girls love to come here for dates all the time. She will rest in peace.”

He then jumped out of the cab and then went to the truck's bed. There were two shovels placed beside Leona. He picked both of them, and then gestured to his companion, "Come on. We need to get this down before the cornation is over."

The other one then hopped out of the cab too. He took one of the shovels from the driver's hand, and started to pick the location.

Leona heard them argue.

“How about besides the monument? It was built for our lost soldiers, and could be used as her tombstone,” the other one suggested.

The driver disapproved. “Too close to the river, ” he said, “When the water rises in rain it may expose her body, could cause trouble.”

“Then we bury her right under the wall,” the first one said, “Kids like to dig beside the wall, but we can transplant some flowers above her tomb. I am sure she would love it.”

“That will do,” the driver said. And they started to dig under the wall.

The soil there was solid, hard to loosen. It spent them almost an hour to dig out a hole big enough to bury a grown-up. After they finished their job, they both panted out of breath.

“Damn, that was difficult. Hope it’s deep enough,” the other gardener said, wiping the sweats on his foreahed with his sleeve.

The driver wiped his sweats too, but he didn't make any comments.

After taking a short break, he leaned the shovel beside the wall and walked back to the truck. When he reached the bed, his body suddenly went stiff.

“Damn,” he cursed with his brows lifted, turning his head to his companion, "Where the hell is her body?"