Lucas had warned him that Rachel's appetite for sex had increased ten-fold when she was pregnant. He had made fun of his brother for his weakness at the time, not understanding that his wife was probably worse than Rachel had been and he was quickly realizing that he didn't have a choice in the matter at times. Which was why he was currently tip-toeing around his—no their palace hoping to avoid his pregnant wife.
If any member of his army saw him, they would laugh at him for being so cowardly. His wife wanted sex, he should be happy that this was the case. But she wanted sex nearly three times a day, and their love-making was vigorous, he wasn't some machine.
"Your highness?"
Charlie froze, and slowly turned to look at Santana's mother. He'd been caught, now he needed to think of an excuse to get out of this mess. He doubted he could explain why he was sneaking about without losing some of what made him so powerful. "Ma'am," he manages forcing a smile onto his face. He had just wanted to hide in the stables and see how his horses were doing.
Maribel studied the man in front of her, "I imagine that my daughter has been running you ragged," he looks around suspiciously and she knows she has his attention for a few moments. "It isn't wise to simply stay still, I will walk with you. I wish to know the man who is to be the father of my grandchild."
Charlie bows his head ever so slightly, "Of course," he said extending his arm for her. When she takes it he looks around once more before making sure that Santana wasn't going to just appear, and begins to make his way to the stables. "You will be free to stay for as long as you want of course, a child must know his family."
"You have been very good to my daughter, and I'm glad that she's learning to love you," Maribel said carefully.
Charlie smiles, he was pleased to hear that. "I love your daughter with every fiber of my being, I would conquer the world for her if she asked," he admits.
Maribel made a mental note of his words, he had admitted to loving her deeply, which meant that she could get what she could make him an ally if she was going to plead her case to the Emperor. "I must admit, I am grateful that you're a good man, and that you didn't raze our lands to the ground after the incident on your wedding night."
"I'd be a very lonely man if I killed everyone who wanted to kill me," Charlie says with a hum. He glances at Maribel for a moment, "I'm aware that you wish to renegotiate the terms of our agreement, perhaps because I have grown to adore your daughter, Santana mentioned it." Charlie says before checking his corners, for a pregnant woman she was sneaky.
Maribel flushed immediately, "I hope you do not take offense—"
"Of course not, you simply thought you could manipulate my feelings for your daughter to your advantage, the terms are more than fair, it's the amount of taxes we collect from every state your size, and it's not as if your nobles aren't wealthy. I mean you can bring it up with my father, or you can simply refuse to pay in which case my brother will take his army and destroy your city. I imagine you would be spared and kept as our prisoners. Though it would be a relative life of luxury, you are after all my wife's mother." Charlie said firmly.
Maribel gawped, she had misjudged him, he had appeared to be an idiot as far as she was concerned but that had been a misconception and she had made a blunder. "I apologize—"
"Of course, this part of the conversation never happened," Charlie said smoothly. "You were telling me about Santana's childhood, and what she was like—"
"There you are."
Charlie froze in his spot and turned to look up the stairs to spot his wife standing there. "Santana, I was having a lovely conversation with your mother about your childhood, and then I was going to show her the stables, you're welcome to join us. To defend yourself against a mother's memory."
Santana blinked finally noticing her mother was currently walking with Charlie and she narrows her eyes. Her mother had worked fast, separating him, making sure that he could listen. She hoped that he hadn't given anything away, or made any promises. She would ask him the questions later, she knew he gave off the aura of an idiot sometimes, but she had seen flashes of something princely. A term she was sure he would balk at. "That's why I was looking for you. You did promise you'd take me."
Charlie smiles, perhaps Santana was tired as well. "We can go now—"
"And then we can have lunch and retire to the bedroom," Santana finishes for him smirking at the fact that his eyes widen, and for a brief moment she witnesses his fear. She was mostly joking to see his reaction, and it was hardly her fault he managed to scratch that itch. She had been a virgin before she met him so, the reality was this was all his fault. But she was tired to and she really did want him to hold her in his arms. Maybe that would lead to something else but she was worried about the baby.
"Right of course, perhaps we should have another discussion with the midwives that came with us," Charlie said as he extricated himself from Maribel and climbed up the stairs to see his wife and help her down.
"I don't want them poking and prodding," Santana grumbles at him.
"They don't poke and—" Charlie snorts when Santana jabs him in the side. "Okay, maybe they do but I assume they have your best interests at hand. I can stay with you this time if you wish?"
"You'll worry," Santana points out, "And they'll end up talking to you because they'll think you can insist on things that I don't want to do."
"There are things that you're not doing?" Charlie questions and is met with a look from Santana. Of course there was. "Of course, I'm going to worry about you Santana, I'll be joining you."
Santana rolled her eyes, "They're operating under the impression that I'm Rachel, and your mother. By their accounts my pregnancy is going well. Your culture has a strange fascination with boys. They think it's a boy already because I haven't had any complications so far."
"There is a line of succession to think about."
"Which you don't," Santana said. "Is this where you'd rather be? Being a farmer for horses?" Santana asked as they reached the bottom of the stairs and left the palace.
"Santana, wait till you see the horses, it's relaxing work."
Santana rolled her eyes, glancing at her mother who was following them at a distance. "You say that about zapping your brother with lightning."
Charlie huffed, "That's also very relaxing, you should try throwing a fireball at his head, I assure you that it will be funny."
"And have your mother accusing me of enabling your bad habits? I would like Judy to think I have a positive influence on you."
"So, I should stop zapping Lucas?" Charlie bristled at the idea. Someone needed to remind Lucas that he wasn't the best thing to happen to the world.
"No, you can continue to do that, and you should do it. Lucas is terrible at times but expect a shake of my head and a reproachful look," Santana smiles as the door to the stables is opened. It smells like a barn, but she's in a stable and she shakes it off. Most of the time Charlie's army had smelled far worse. There were at least fifty horses in rather large stalls.
"This is the mare barn, the stallion barn is a bit farther. Every year before I normally go out for war, I check to see which male foals are worth keeping for a warhorse, they are never mares." Charlie places a hand on the snout of one of his horses resting his head against hers. "You can ride any of them they're all trained, but during the winter they don't get nearly enough exercise, so careful."
"No oranges this time?" Santana asks.
Charlie laughed, "No, they all have their favorites I imagine, but I don't have time to spend as much time as I want here." He looks around the barn. "You must pick your own horse, I know you have Comet, but what's mine is yours."
Santana blinked there were quite a few horses there to choose from, "I don't know that much about horses—"
"I'll help," Charlie promises.
