Chapter Two:

Tara sat in a large stuffed chair in her library. It was late at night, but she never slept. She was dimly aware of every hurt and care of her subjects. She could do little for them, only what was humanly possible, but it her ability to sense these things was on a supernatural level. It was a power that none else seemed to possess.

She had discovered the ability when she was six years old. A dragon, Aerandir, had been born the same hour as Tara. She was presented with the dragon, and a special bond connected them. Besides always knowing what the dragon felt, she had not guessed any other kind of power from the dragon until that day,,, she had been playing with Aerandir in the gardens, and one of the cook's children was playing near by. The child had been stung by a bee, and Tara had felt the painful prick at the same moment, but there was no mark on her skin to show that damage had been done. She only felt it.

Tara had learned to deal with the passing physical and emotional pain, which grew stronger when she was near the afflicted person. She hadn't told anyone about it, just swallowed it and kept going. She had used the power to help people, but could not take the pain from them, only share it. Of course, they never knew that Tara realized their needs on such a personal level.

"Has the Queen responded yet?" Lucy asked Susan, who was going through some parchment mail.

"No, Lucy. I'll tell you when she has. You must remember that she has as many responsibilities as Peter, and an invitation to a ball may not be the top priority on her list." Susan explained.

Lucy stuck her bottom lip out in a pout and stalked away. Susan watched her with an air of tediousness. Sometimes life grew dull in the castle. She had a few friends among the Narnians, and they all treated her with respect and kindness, but sometimes she felt as though she simply needed a human friend. She knew that her siblings were each feeling the same way, at least to some degree, but humans were scarce in Narnia. They all had to wait for visits to other countries to get the interaction they wished for.

- -

"There may be more need than you realize, my Queen." Timothy, one of her advisors told her, trying to keep up with her long strides and his tone of significance at the same time.

"I understand. I will raise the training level on the army. You must understand as well, that we've already run them into the ground and they're tired. A worn out army won't do us any better than an under-trained one." Tara responded, trying not to sound impatient.

"Yes. All we ask is that you consider your options and do what you deem best." He said meekly, and turned away. Obviously, he wasn't going to get much farther at the present time.

Stretching her neck and rolling her shoulders did little to relieve the amount of pressure she felt on her frame. Aerandir nudged the Queen with her massive snout, sensing the discomfort in her master. Tara pushed the creature away gently, and focused on the task at hand.

Once the training session was over for the day, Tara returned to the castle to change out of her sweaty dress and into something more appropriate to make her visiting rounds in. She hadn't gotten far before being intercepted by an elderly gentleman, who was hobbling on one leg, and holding a cane. One of the castle guards was following behind with a look of exasperation.

"Queen Tara! I finally get to meet you." The man reached out for her hand. His voice was low and strained. She took his wrinkled hand, sending an inquiring look to the guard over the stranger's head.

"I tried to tell him that you were busy, but he wouldn't hear any of it." The guard explained.

"But you are known as Queen Tara the Caring. I was sure that you wouldn't mind honoring one of your subjects with a few minutes of your time." He smiled at her and she led him to one of the benches along the walls.

"It is fine." She dismissed the guard, and helped the man sit down, pushing her busy agenda momentarily out of her mind.

"I knew you would be so kind." The man thanked her, gasping as he took the seat. "My leg pains me every now and then." He explained.

Tara nodded sympathetically, and wondered briefly why she couldn't feel the man's discomfort, and figured that perhaps it was a phantom pain. She knew that sometimes when limbs were lost such the brain could send such false senses.

"What can I do for you, sir?" She asked.

"My wife has fallen ill, and the doctors won't come to visit her. I thought perhaps, since you're a dragon rider, you might be able to do something for us." He told her hopefully.

"I'm sorry; I don't have any healing powers. None of our riders do. It seems to be an ability that has died out. I can send a doctor to you…" She offered.

The man rejected the idea stiffly. "No, no. I'm not sure that the doctor will be of any help at this point." He told her sadly. She nodded, though confused, and watched him struggle to his feet.

"Thank you for your time. I'm glad to have met you." He told her with disappointment still in his voice.

Tara watched him leave, feeling insufficient and overwhelmed. She headed to her room, trying to remember everything she still had to do, but was oddly distracted by the strange encounter.