~By the Lion's Mane: The Call~

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty

Four months of negotiating and trading later, we began laying the foundations for Cair Paravel. I was up late at night going over my sketches and blueprints, perfecting my measurement s and making sure it was all just as it had been.

I left the Telmarine fortress to stay seaside in a small hut built to house me while construction was in progress. I spent all of my days barking orders at the workers and overseeing the building. At first many of the Calormene workers refused to listen to me, since I was a young woman, and so I cracked down.

"It is outrageous that I, a man a good twenty years your senior, should have to take orders from a mere girl! Why is a wench like you overseeing construction when she should be married and working in her husband's kitchen?" one of the arrogant Calormenes confronted me when I gave him an order.

I glared at him, barely suppressing my fury. "How dare you speak to me in such a manner!" I snarled at him, our faces inches apart. I had to stand on my toes to be at eyelevel with him.

He glared back at me, his black eyes glistening. "Women belong in the kitchen. Their purpose is to serve their husbands by cooking and bearing sons," he answered with a smirk.

My face red with anger and my hand on the hilt of my sword, I answered him in a low whisper. "That may be the way things are done in your country. In mine, however, women are the equals of men. Caspian knows it, the Narnians know it, and if you like, I would be more than happy to prove it to you."

The man laughed and grinned, his white teeth stark against his dark beard. "Fight a woman? I would never bring myself so low," he retorted.

I drew my sword from its sheath and pressed its point to the hollow of his throat. "No, I insist," I hissed.

The man didn't move. I raised an eyebrow. "What, do you not dare cross blades with me, sir?" He continued to glare at me. I clicked in mock-disapproval, and said, "A shame, for I had been so hoping I would get some practice."

I turned away from him, about to sheath my sword. But before I did, he cried, "How dare you insult me, you queer little bitch!" and came at me with a sledgehammer and stone chisel.

He swung at me with the hammer, and I rolled out of the way as it hit the ground with a heavy thud. I slashed my sword down, but he blocked the blow with the metal chisel, and my blade slid off of it with a ringing sound. He made another forceful swipe with the hammer, but again I dodged the cumbersome weapon with ease.

I swung my sword at him, and he attempted to block it with the handle of the hammer, but my blade cut through the wood, splintering it in half. He flung one piece at me and it glanced off of my shoulder.

My heart was pounding with the sudden rush of the unexpected battle, and fury coursed through me as I realized he would kill me if he managed to hit me with the hammer. I swung my blade at his head and then struck out with my foot to trip him as he dodged. He flipped onto his back, and I pointed my sword at his throat again.

But I had forgotten about the sharp chisel. He flung the thing at me like a knife, and I automatically blocked my throat with my left arm. It struck my forearm, cutting deep, and pain flashed through my arm.

I cried out in anger and from the pain, and jabbed my sword harder against his neck, drawing blood. "If I ever catch sight of you again, I will not hesitate to run you through with this sword." I drew back my blade, and then kicked him. "Get up, and get out of this country," I hissed.

He climbed to his feet and disappeared in a sullen silence.

I turned to the crowd of workers that had assembled during this dispute. "Let this be an example to all of you. Do not cross me. You will take orders from a woman whether you like it or not, or you will leave this camp and gather no pay. Here in Narnia, women are the equals of men, and you all had better grow accustomed to it."