Author's Note: Another long update for a short chapter... but I've got another one coming up HOPEFULLY soon! I've got a 3 month old puppy now and it's a bit of a hassle, but sleepy puppy time is good writing time, as well as socialization time at the coffee shop. Starting to move forward with the plot of this story here and the next chapter is going to really start to turn things around a bit. Hope you enjoy this small bit and the next should be along soon!

- Phantom's angel

The forest was more welcoming this time. A slight glimmer shone through the trees, quilting the ground in patches of sun shine, inviting Christine to wander into the winter's hesitant light. Birds whistled to each other in the clearing, urging the intruder to join them, but Christine remained in the cover, content to the darkness. She longed to remain where the shadows lurked and the voice would call her.

She pressed further into the forest, leaving the beams of sun behind her, entering a land she hardly knew. Despite knowing well the dark winters of the North, the black of the trees was far more strange here. It invited her to join as a lost friend rather than a thieving robber; it accepted her as she accepted it.

As sure as Christine clung to those shadows, the voice she searched for began to sing through the trees, growing more radiant within closer proximity. Christine smiled wearily, unsure if this melody should be enchanting her so. If the voice were from a korrigan, she feared what could happen to her, even in a dream. But Christine had already seen a korrigan and would surely be able to identify another. However, should it be another spirit which beckoned Christine…

The voice did not speak to her, but sung a tune without words. Its beauty was without measure, for even her original sense of vigilance was now lost to its enchantment.

She strayed closer and closer until, like before, she could feel the presence of the voice all around her. It was cold and almost painful, like misery washing over her. But she remained and reached her hand out to once again take hold of the voice.

As her eyes wandered, she caught sight of the only remaining light within the trees. Two specks of light which were level with each other were distant within the trees, yet remained steady on her.

"Sing…" she heard the voice say through the melody it sang.

Christine obeyed, staring straight at the beams of light so intent on her. This time, she chose a song she sang at her parting with her home in Knivsta.

"Once I walked a dreamland, twilight shadowed me, Till the I saw the Norn stand underneath the tree…."

The sadness in her heart began to match the longing for the unknown found in the presence of the voice. She longed for everything she once knew, yet longed for something new to take hold of her. She wanted the voice's presence to envelope her again.

Christine closed her eyes for a moment and took a sharp breath of air, hoping this was all real. As she peaked again through her reluctant eyes, the lights remained, golden-amber in color and almond in shape. They seemed to stare at her and urge her to sing more.

"I asked, 'Where has my life fled, where has gone its force?' 'It´s given to the Gods'" she said, 'Come look into the Source.'"

"Sing for me…" the voice encouraged.

And she continued.

Christine sang more, finding herself frightened by the sudden power behind her normally plain voice. It was dark and commanding, taking control of her senses and feeding off of the darkness. It was as if she were no longer in control of her own senses. Though she longed to stop, she also could not find the courage to. Her heart spilled with the songs lyrics, finding her own words slipping into the tune she knew so well.

"To which of lands do I belong? Which direction will lift my song?' And when the darkness claimed the night, a demon came and beckoned me…"

Finally she seemed to capture her own will and held her hand over her throat, claiming that which belonged to her. She gasped and looked toward the glowing lights, somehow knowing that they held the answers. Yet they remained silent now. No longer did they offer her a melody to hang onto, but remained serene and silent.

The air was still between them – the glowing eyes and Christine's trembling form – and now Christine had become very afraid of the dark.

She took a step away from the glowing beams and as her foot touched the ground, the lights began to dim. Christine tried to return toward them to stop them from extinguishing, but it was too late. They were becoming thin in the night sky until they were completely gone.

"Come back!" Christine cried out.

Christine panicked, realizing how lost she was without the lights, and began to run through the forest, searching and calling for their return. The faster she ran, the darker the shadows grew until she could no longer see what was in front of her. Her hands reached out in front of her, groping through the blackness, but all her fingers could feel was cotton. She grasped and clutched and pulled until she was awake in her bed, sitting up and gasping for breath.

Once again, it was all a dream.

After recollecting her thoughts, Christine pulled the covers off of her legs and sat on the side of her bed, letting her feet dangle over the side.

Another dream.

Another dream with this voice.

When would these images leave her at peace?

Even in the comfort of her own bed, she was plagued with the image of the spirits which she now was accused of speaking to in Perros. There was no stopping the limits of Perros' effect on her and Papa.

Raoul's words were now ringing inside of her head, reminding her how dire it seemed to resolve the mystery of these visions she'd been having.

She knew she was right in her claim just that afternoon.

Only Christine could pacify the rumors and the accusations set against her. It was clear that neither Raoul nor Philippe would be of any help to her. She was alone in her struggle.

But the longer she sat alone in the darkness, the more determined she became.

Before she knew it, Christine was up and creeping about her room, throwing aside her nightgown and fastening her cloak across her shoulders. As she crept down the stair and reached for a lantern, she turned and looked back up toward her father's bed chamber.

She pressed her fingers to her lips and threw a kiss off of their tips, bidding her father goodbye, only for a while.

She prayed her journey would not take her long, but she feared greatly that she would not be home by morning.