The deadbeat husband with a loose mouth

* Few days ago *

The then Princess Amarissa now Queen's friend, Keila, having witnessed the birth of the Queen's daughter, Princess Felissa, the biggest secret in Sibiah, was told to quietly vacate the kingdom or better still lay low.

Keila opted to lay low and she has been doing a great job until she met her husband. The husband, an ardent gambler and a drunkard. Sullivan wasn't always like that, the death of their only son was so hard on him, it took a toll on him.

He became so irresponsible, started drinking — he'd drink to stupor every night, became a drunkard, from drinking he was introduced to gambling by the drunkards he had made friends with.

The death of their only son took a toll on Keila too afterall she's a mother, but she had to stay sane and strong for their daughter.

Apparently when Keila's husband was still normal, carried away by love and happiness, she had told him about the secret of the royal family that was meant to be kept and not shared. Everything soon took a dark turn when her husband drunkenly shares the secret with a bunch of strangers.

....

"Haha.haha.ha.ha" Sullivan laughed hysterically after hearing a joke, he and his inebriated friends were seated in a gambling den, gambling. He was so lost in the moment that he began spilling the beans.

He moved his head forward dropping a card on the gambling table whispering "let me tell you a big secret...it is about the royal family" bursting into laughter "hahahaha", one person mockingly laughed and retorted "he's blabbing, what secret could a lowborn possibly know about the royal family", another added "that's true, that's true, he almost had me there", they all took it as a joke and laughed it off.

He looked at their faces and said "I'm serious, my wife personally knows the Queen", they all paused for a moment, the place became silent when one man broke the silence and said "the Queen?, our Queen?, you are a bloody liar mate...or wait, is your wife a royal?", Sullivan replied "No".

Everyone bursted into laughter again when the last man continued, pointing to Sullivan "this lowborn right here claims to know a secret of the royal family and...that his wife is a close friend of the Queen but is not a royal?, who would believe that, common man, you can do better than that".

Everyone went back to what they were doing. Sullivan in his drunken state hit his hand on the table and insisted "I am...uhh..not lying, I am..s–saying the truth", he then proceeded to ask them "do you...all know why...uh..the queen hasn't...conti...uh...no...conceive..yes..conceived a baby yet?".

Everyone became attentive once more and started pondering on the question when one of Severus's men who had slight interest in what the drunk man had to say, answered with a mix of low and curious tone "yes, because she is unwed, devoid of a royal consort", " that's true, that's true" everyone remarked.

Sullivan smiled "yes...yes we all know our Queen..the Queen of Sibiah is uhh..what's the word..uhh..untouched..yes..untouched by the bonds of matrimony, we all do...but do you all know why she hadn't done that?", "why?!", Severus's henchman found himself asking.

"You all....are curious and..and want to know why?...well, I'll tell...you but you have to..buy me a..uhh..a pint of beer then", everyone lost interest again and waved in disappointment, Sullivan heard murmurs like "he is a liar anyways, why would I want to buy him a pint of beer", "he was never going to say anything!", "I just wasted my time listening to this moron".

Sullivan was jesting around, teasing them, he was going to spill the beans anyways. As Sullivan wanted to say something a voice came out amidst all the murmurs saying "waitress, get him the pint he asked for".

Everyone looked at the Severus's henchman surprised when one of them said to the man "do not bother to do that, he's just blabbing, it's a waste of money".

The henchman didn't respond, he was focused, fixated on Sullivan, waiting to hear what the drunk man had to say. Sullivan was surprised too but what does he have to lose if he gets a free beer, the waitress handed over the beer to Sullivan who sipped out of it and dropped it on the table.

As he looked up, he was taken aback, he saw the faces of different people fixated on him, eager to know why. His mouth curved into a smile as he waved his two hands down "ok, ok".

He wore a serious face and sniffled "because she didn't need to", having heard that, they were all still fixated on him without blinking as if waiting for more answers, "I knew he didn't have anything to say, he just wasted our time", they all hissed.

They were obviously pissed at Sullivan and at the same time, themselves, for being eager to hear what a typical drunk man had to say. What sensible word would come out of the mouth of a drunkard?. The man that ordered the waitress to give Sullivan a pint of beer proceeded to ask the same question he asked last "why?!".

Sullivan rests his forehead on his palm placed on the table and looked up "you all still don't get it?", "stop beating around the bush and just say it", said by one person evidently fed up. Severus's henchman on the other hand stood there still waiting for the answer.

"Because she has a hidden child born out of wedlock" Sullivan blurted out. The people were utterly disappointed, disappointed mainly because they all waited to hear something a little tangible and not nonsensical like what he just blurted out.

They all looked at him with total disdain "what?!, see I said this one had nothing to say, he is full of shit", another remarked "you know you could be charged with treason if you are caught uttering this derogatory statement".

That is totally correct, in Sibiah if you are caught making a derogatory statement about the royal family you could be charged with treason and that's the most punishable offence in Sibiah – you could be beheaded or hanged, however way they want to do it, death is the endgame.

Severus's henchman's forehead and eyebrows furrowed as he began to ponder what the drunkman had just uttered 'i don't think he formed that out of thin air', he looked at the drunkman, 'no, he couldn't have just possibly formed that, there could be some truth to what he said and the way he talked, he seems very sure of what he's saying, afterall drunk men have been known to say things that can be verified to be true, I have to confirm this before telling the proprietor'.

The henchman signaled two of his minions to follow the unsuspecting drunk man as soon as he takes a step out of the house.

After gambling and drinking all through the night, Sullivan stumbled out of the gambling house, his gait unsteady as he swayed from side to side. With inconsistent strides and poor coordination, he struggled to maintain a straight path.

Unbeknownst to Sullivan, he's being tailed by the two minions. He was too drunk to notice that he was discreetly being followed.

The minions followed Sullivan through winding streets until they arrived at a quiet house, the area was quiet, not too many people live there. As soon as the minions saw the drunk man knock at the door and they saw it opening, they signaled themselves to report back to their higher-up".

"my...dear wife" Sullivan scratched his neck as he staggers inside, Keila looked outside and glanced around for a moment to make sure her drunk husband is not being followed. She shut the door and made her way to their wooden comfy chair, seated she made a deep sigh signifying her tiredness.

She could not bear it any longer, she felt like she could break anytime soon, the death of her dear son and now her husband is making things worse, It sure was not easy for her.

He stood three feet away from the door, blinking his eyes like an infant, looking at his wife "my...dear....you...uh..look beautiful today", he complimented as he staggered closer to his wife. Keila on the other hand just kept a dull face not replying to the compliment.

"I...uhhhh..mmh..ehhh" Sullivan tried to say something but his speech was slurred, he touched Keila's face "I..uhm..sor.." he didn't finish his statement when he almost slumped on Keila but she reacted quickly and pushed his heavy weight towards the bed.

He fell on the bed "pheww..nom,nom..i.mhm..cuh..mm". Leila looked at her drunk deadbeat husband on the bed uttering total gibberish, her eyes welled up, she began to question everything, began to regret why she had not opted to quietly leave Sibiah when she had the chance to, almost questioning her own very existence. Keila, oblivious to what was about to come, went to bed.

The next day after the occurrence of the same events — Keila's husband gambling and drinking to stupor. In the middle of the night, someone in black quietly entered into Keila's home, the person stealthily moved closer and closer to her. Keila not too deep in her sleep started hearing little steps when she immediately opened her eyes and was stunned by what she saw.

"Who ar....." the intruder swiftly placed their hand on Keila's mouth, stifling her. She started struggling but the intruder was too strong, in the process of her struggling, she kicked her husband on the body but the drunk man had gone deeply into sleep that he did not feel a thing, he just yawned and changed sleeping positions.

When the intruder saw that the struggle was getting too much, he knocked her out, tied her hands to the back, covered her head with a black hood and lifted her up on his shoulders as he made his way out of Keila's home.

.....

"Ehhn..where eh...where am I"