So in chapter 4, I wrote about an arranged marriage between Susan & Caspian in which Caspian was the prince of Telmar. There was a mention about the counsel being unlikely to accept a woman, and I got a prompt from It's-all-about-the-magic requesting to see Susan "kicking Telmarine counsel butt!"
Susan knew nothing could go wrong with her newly betrothed by her side. She was absolutely terrified, but they could easily face this together. And what was it that frightened her so? Not anything physically violent (at least, she didn't expect so), nothing deadly. Just a council meeting. But with Telmarine Lords who were not afraid to loudly voice their opinions about the place of women, even queens. And that terrified her.
She didn't have to do this. She was the one who had insisted on it. Not that Caspian had argued against it much when he had realized that all his silly preconceived ideas about woman being simply ornaments were wrong.
"You ready for this, love?" he asked.
"I'm a bit nervous," she admitted.
"Remember, I fully support you," he said, placing his hands on her arms and looking her straight in the eye. "They might make a lot of noise, but in the end, they'll have to let you be an equal leader."
"But you do need the majority of the council's approval before you act, unless it is in wartime," she pointed out. "And your uncle is the acting king, so wouldn't it also need his approval?"
"Lord Protector. So he acts as king until I come of age, which is only a year away," he explained. "Maybe we should leave the part about opening council seats to ladies until after I have full power though. But they better accept you as my queen."
"I'm rather surprised. I didn't think you would feel that strongly about this," Susan commented.
"My incredible queen, are you really so blind to not see that I fell in love with you the moment you slapped me and smeared ash on your face?" he said teasingly.
"You said I was still beautiful," she chuckled, remembering it.
"And you got mad at for me for missing the point. Just as I'm not too happy that you keep missing the point that I love you and that you made me realize I'd be an idiot to not want such an incredible woman ruling beside me," he said, taking her hands in his and pulling her close.
"So… you're not just doing this to make me happy?" she clarified.
"That's just an added bonus," he said, twirling a strand of her hair. It was amazing how much this woman had changed his life by entering into it. She meant everything to him now, and he found himself incredibly lucky that she had agreed to the match. But… one question lingered. "And… Susan?"
"Hm?"
"Do… um… I mean… I kind of sort of…said that I love you there…" he stammered out, feeling his cheeks burn from embarrassment at his complete lack of eloquence.
"And I love you too," Susan responded, already understanding what her future husband wanted to ask before he even got to it. She smiled and kissed him chastely on the lips.
"Now, the council," he said, leading her in on his arm.
"What is a woman doing here?" Lord Donnon demanded before she had even set foot in the room.
"As my future wife and your future queen, you would be well advised to treat her as such," Caspian said sternly.
"I'm sure my lord meant no disrespect to your highness or your highness'… future wife," Miraz said, "But all the same, a woman cannot be in the Chamber of Lords when it is in council."
"As I am sure you didn't intentionally mean disrespect towards me by referring to me merely as his highness' future wife rather than acknowledging that I am a queen by my own right," Susan said loftily, raising an eyebrow.
Miraz opened his mouth and shut it silently. For once, he was lost for words. Caspian wanted to laugh so much.
"Not here," Lord Scythley said in a patronizing tone. "You forget you are no longer in Narnia."
"My dear lords, Narnia is recognized by your nation as a sovereign state and therefore, I am considered a visiting queen by your own law and am afforded the respect of being referred to as a queen. I'm sure it was a lack of knowledge on your part, Lord Scythley, that made you forget such protocol. I will be generous and forgive it this time. Do not expect such charity should you forget again, now that you've been properly educated on the matter," she said in the same patronizing manner he had spoken to her with.
Lord Schthley blushed like a schoolboy being reprimanded by a stern teacher.
"You're doing incredible so far," Caspian murmured comfortingly. Susan was relieved to know he wasn't upset with her treating his lord in such a manner.
"Your highness!" Miraz said to his nephew. "You should not let your… the queen harp on in such a manner."
"And what manner would that be?" Caspian asked threateningly, just daring his uncle to insult the love of his life.
"Just… just…" he said. Having regained some of his bluster, he continued with, "This behavior is unseemly for a woman, for a queen especially."
"Those who do not treat the queen with the respect her majesty is worthy of deserve more than simply being schooled in protocol," he said.
"But she – her majesty, I mean – should not even be in this chamber," he protested.
"We thought it best that your future queen who will be leading you should begin understanding how the council works before the wedding," he said.
The council broke into shouts of protest at the idea of a woman leading the council.
Caspian raised a hand for silence. "I should have clarified, alongside me of course. As equals," he said, knowing full well that this would not placate them the slightest bit.
"My prince!" Lord Montoya called. "Your highness cannot simply overrule our council and place a woman at our head."
"By what law?" Caspian demanded. "The law allows for split power over the council. We see no law against it."
He was stretching it a bit here. While nothing forbade it exactly, nothing implied it should be done. But now that Susan was at his side, he wanted her by his side in anything and everything.
"But a woman!" Lord Montoya protested.
"We are rather disturbed to see that the council has little knowledge of its own laws," Susan said, falling into the royal we naturally. "This ought to be rectified immediately. If any of my lords wish have tutoring on the laws you were supposed to grow up knowing, I can oblige."
The idea of a woman having to teach them anything infuriated them.
"Excuse me?"
"First, we had a lord not know his proper protocol. Then, the lack of understanding of how power over the council could be divided, followed quickly by a protest against a female leader despite the complete legality of it," she said in rather superior tone.
Most of the lords wisely kept quiet to not give her more reasons to point out that they were acting ignorant. But a few still thought they could beat her and Caspian.
"She is completely unqualified for the position," Lord Montoya repeated. "My prince, you have been brought up to lead this nation. This… interloper has not."
Susan tensed.
"Easy there. He's just an a**," Caspian whispered in her ear. She nodded and forced herself to relax. Out loud, he reminded, "Speak to the queen with the proper respect, or not at all."
"By what does my lord base his claim on?" Susan asked haughtily.
"You know nothing of our history, our politics, anything of us," he said.
"Would you bring up the same complaints if she was a man?" Caspian retorted angrily to an awkward silence.
"And what do you base these … conjectures upon?" she said, arching an eyebrow. She was thankful she had made herself study Telmarine culture the moment they became important in Narnian politics.
"Ah- Are – You're not seriously saying you do know such things?" Lord Montoya protested.
"Try me," Susan shot back angrily.
"Do… do you know why the council exists?" he began.
"After the Battle of Oxnard, thus ending a civil war," she began before launching into the entire history she had memorized.
"There. Are you satisfied, Lord Montoya?" Caspian said with thinly veiled sarcasm. He nodded wordlessly, amazed.
One of the younger lords, eager to please, offered, "My prince and my queen, by the time you will take over the council, my carpenters can construct an appropriate chair for her majesty."
That show of support discouraged the lords who were still against Susan being a part of the council.
"In the meantime, she will sit beside me and anything she says is to be respected as much as if I said it," Caspian said firmly. It probably wouldn't quite happen, but it looks like they were headed in the right direction.
After the council, the happy couple found a moment alone. Caspian picked her up, swung her around, and kissed her.
She giggled. "What was that for?"
"Because you are so amazing," he said.
"So are you. Without your support, they wouldn't have let me say a single word."
"And with the two of us supporting each other, we can change Telmar for the better. It's always been my dream, but I had no idea how. But you're my inspiration. You've given me ideas and incentive for improving Telmar," he said, kissing her.
She returned the kiss. "I love you. I … as much as I love Narnia, I love it here too. Because this is where you are."
