The next day, the lords walked into the council chambers to find the thrones gone and replaced with a round table.
"Where have all the thrones gone?"
"We had them all removed, my lords. We had a round table at Cair Paravel in the council room, and King Peter suggested to King Caspian that we should have one here. Caspian agreed."
"Kayla-."
"My lords, only those close to me get to address me by my name. You, my lords, do not. To you, I am Lady Kayla. Get it right. And I better not ever hear you call their majesties Queen Lucy and Queen Susan by their names."
Everyone else came into the council room, ready to start the day's proceedings.
"My lords. I'm glad you could meet with us today."
"The pleasure is all ours, King Caspian."
"Yesterday, if you may not know, I journeyed with my fellow rulers to the ruins of Cair Paravel. And seeing the ruins helped me come to a decision. We are going to rebuild the castle of Cair Paravel."
The Narnians in the room could not contain their excitement, but the Telmarine lords were less than pleased.
"But my king, you have this lovely castle here around you. Why rebuild a relic of savagery?"
"My lords, if we are going to call anyone a savage, it should be the Telmarines. I don't even think of myself as a Telmarine anymore. I am a Narnian now. I am king of Narnia, not Telmar."
"May I say something, Caspian?"
"Of course, Lady Kayla."
"Thank you. Throughout history in the other world, the most savage people were also the ones that were the most advanced in civilization. While the people that were called savages were anything but, only when provoked. And I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but only to Prince Rabadash of Calormen. Us Narnians were never cruel to you, but you were cruel to us."
"My lady, we did not ask for the opinion of a woman."
"I don't care if you didn't ask for it. I gave it anyways."
"Women were never allowed in the council room in the past, why should they be allowed now?"
Kayla nodded to Lucy and Susan, and the three women each threw a ball of fire at the fire pit in the center of the room, making the flames reach the ceiling.
"Do you wanna repeat that, Lord Balvenos?"
"We will not be underestimated."
Lord Gigrir decided it was time to change the subject.
"My king, now that you have your throne established, perhaps now would be the time to start searching for a queen."
Caspian looked over at Susan, and they both had worry and fear in their eyes.
"Lord Gigrir, I will begin looking for a queen when I am ready, and I am not ready now."
"Calormen is looking for an alliance. Perhaps our gracious ladies would be willing to marry a Calormene prince or Tarkhaan."
Kayla jumped out of her seat and punched Lord Gigrir hard in the face, breaking his nose.
"Over my hot damned dead body, I will marry a Calormene man! They have a very bad reputation for being abusive to women!"
"What makes you say so, Lady Kayla?"
Kayla looked to Susan for permission to tell of the Rabadash Incident, and Susan nodded.
"During the Golden Age, Queen Susan was courted by Prince Rabadash. The courtship fell through, and Rabadash threatened to hold us captive. I willingly stayed behind so that the rest of the family could get away safe. I was held prisoner by Rabadash for a week."
Kayla pushed down the sleeves of her dress, showing the whip mark scars that were still on her back. Ivar had to hold his composure to keep himself from crying.
"You these scars? These were given to me, by a Calormene man. And he would have done this to Queen Susan. But obviously, you want this to happen to us."
"And as we have said before, we will decide who we marry, not you. We are not objects that you can trade."
"My lords, all three of our gracious ladies are queens, despite the fact that one of them has not been crowned yet. But you will show them the respect they deserve."
"If not, Lady Kayla will gladly torture you, or you can answer to my brothers. Your choice."
"Why would Lady Kayla torture us?"
"Because I'm the most sadistic one in the room. Though I only inflict cruelty when need be. And you're already asking for it. Just imagine, almost all of your body would be completely covered in burns. Burns that would never heal."
"So understand these things, my lords. Cair Paravel will be rebuilt as soon as possible, and I will only marry for love."
Caspian looked at Susan as he said the last word, wondering if love was what he felt for her, and if it was, did she love him back?
"But surely, our gracious ladies-."
"HOW MANY TIMES DO WE HAVE TO GO OVER THIS?! IF AND WHEN US LADIES MARRY, IT WILL BE FOR LOVE! MEN ONLY WANT TO MARRY ME SO THEY CAN GAIN ACCESS TO MY THRONE! IT IS A WOMAN WHO SERVES THE PEOPLE OF TEREBINTHIA, AND NO ONE ELSE!"
"But from what I've read, my lady Kayla, your mother was courted by Vortigern of Camelot."
"MY MAMAÍ, WAS RAPED BY VORTIGERN! HE VIOLATED HER, LIKE SHE WAS NOTHING BUT AN ANIMAL! AND YOU WANT US TO BE TREATED THE SAME WAY?!"
"No one disgraces the memory of our aunt and gets away with it!"
Her rage had hit its boiling point, and Kayla walked over to the council room doors and grabbed the handle of one of the very large doors, ripping it from its hinges with one hand, and threw it to the ground, where it shattered into pieces. Kayla had once again put fear into the minds of everyone around her.
"Kayla, that door was solid oak."
"I know, Ivar."
"Lords Donnon, Gigrir, Sathar, and Balvenos, you are removed from the council!"
The four Telmarine lords looked at Caspian like they were about to kill him, but four leopards stood in their way.
"You can't do that, your majesty!"
"We are all sick and tired of the way you four treat the Narnians and the rulers of old! We will no longer tolerate it! Guards, escort these four out of the council chambers!"
"Yes, your majesty."
The Telmarine lords were escorted from the council room, complaining on their way out.
"I'm sorry y'alls had to see me do that. I've never been able to control my anger."
"There's nothing to apologize for, Kayla."
"The doors should be redesigned anyway."
Their parents came running into the council room, along with Aslan. Mr. Bedwell looked at the shattered pieces of the door, and Kayla looked at him like she feared for her life. He then ran to her and hugged her, and she cried into his shoulder.
"Daddy, I don't like getting angry!"
"I know you don't."
"Athair, is it in my nature to get angry like this?!"
"There were times when your Mamaí had gotten angry that bad. And your Aunt Bliss, and your grandmother Mallaidh."
Kayla looked to Susan and Lucy, fearing they could get as angry as she could.
