Hey peeps!!! This is the second chapter!!! Hope you like it!!! PLEASE REVIEW!!!! (Please don't pay any attention to the numbers in any chapter; I don't know why they are there.)

Chapter 2: Aria

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Something wasn't right. Krystel could feel it as she walked along beside the hedge. It wasn't a bad feeling, just, unearthly somehow. She'd been past this way many times, in her refuge from the castle, and nothing odd ever happened before. But tonight was different.

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It was 10pm; the full moon was high, and surrounded by a white halo of light. The hedge beside which Krystel walked, was tall and imposing, as if fiercely guarding some ancient secret. The sky was covered in bright swirls and clusters of glittering dots, as there were no street lamps to overpower the tiny light of the far-away stars. Not a cloud covered the sky, so with the glittering blanket of night surrounding the silver-white moon, the air was filled with a feeling of magic. Krystel stopped. A deep silence surrounded her. She could hear no owl, no rustling of the grass. Krystel was becoming more and more apprehensive. The silence disturbed her. But suddenly, she heard a voice.

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A beautiful voice, singing angelically, not too far from where Krystel stood. She started walking again, desperate to find from where the enchanting voice was coming. Suddenly, Krystel found a small gap in the hedge, a waist-high hole, hidden in the dark. She peered cautiously through, and saw a large lake. Yet it could not have been very deep, for right in the middle, submerged only to just below her knees, stood a woman.

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That woman was the source of the voice. Even though she was quite far away, Krystel could see that this woman was the most she had ever seen. Dressed in a long, sleeveless gown of snow white, with long, dark hair interlaced with diamonds that glittered like the stars above. Slowly, the woman turned to face Krystel, as if she knew Krystel was there. And she did. 'Krystel' she called, 'do not be afraid child, I have been waiting for you.' Shocked, and a little scared, Krystel crawled through the hole.

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'Come, Krystel, I will not hurt you, my name is Aria.' The woman, Aria, spoke in a different voice now, as if it were merely an echo of words spoken in ages past. 'We must leave this place tonight, so come.' Krystel walked slowly up to where Aria stood. For some reason, the water was not cold, nor wet even, as if it were just an illusion.

'Where do you want to take me?' she asked, timidly. Now she was close to Aria, she could see her beautiful features in more detail. Aria's skin was pale and smooth, like a white rose petal, tinted pink at the cheeks. Her lips were deep red and full. Her hands delicate, with perfect nails. But what startled Krystel most, were Aria's eyes. Big, deep brown eyes, her pupils like pools of liquid night, with a star or two sparkling in each.

'To Gaea, Krystel, a world of perfect happiness. You have been chosen, and I am to be your guide.' Replied Aria, with a gentle smile upon her face. She seemed to glow with beauty.

'But who chose me, and why? Where is Gaea? And how do you know me?' A rush of questions escaped Krystel.

'All will be revealed on Gaea. But are you not willing to come? Are you held back by someone?' There was a tone of anxiety in Aria's sweet voice. Krystel thought for a moment. She had her precious feather, her only possession, and she couldn't go back to the castle.

'No, there is nothing and no-one for me here' Krystel replied. 'So yes, I'll come. I'll come to Gaea with you.'

'Tis as I hoped' Aria said softly. Then, to Krystel's lasting disbelief, out of Aria's back came a pair of pure white wings. The were sleek and long, and glowed with a light of total purity.

'You're, you're an angel!!' stammered Krystel.

'Yes' Aria laughed gently, 'yes I am.'

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With that, a pillar of white light came down from the sky, and enveloped Aria and Krystel in it's radiance. Krystel found herself starting to float higher and higher up the great beam, faster and faster.

'Aria!!' she cried.

'I'm with you, Krystel, don't worry' Aria's comforting voice replied, close in front of her. And with that, they shot up into the night sky, through the blanket of stars, and up to the perfect world of Gaea.

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Wahay!!! What do you think. By the way, I'd like to dedicate my story, The Girl on Gaea, to my best friend Shona Weston, better known as Shona 3000, who's writing a fanfic called The Princess. Go Shona!!!! Oh, and PLEASE REVIEW MY STORY!!!!! ^_^