Both Cecily and Roesia were following Amy on her tour. Supper was already done, the Poes declined help with cleanup, especially since both women agreed to take them back to the village and eventually Hyrule since no one left the forest. Both Fara and Modo wanted to stay behind and eat the cookies, since the adults declined saying they were full from the grand meal. They did take a few to share with Isoda.

"Why are there so many unusual rooms?" Roesia asked. Amy used her slingshot to hit the switch that hung over a doorway. The switch was hidden inside a eyeball art piece.

"Beth told you about our crazy grandpa. He was so afraid of the bad men, that he and his family created many secret rooms, many with unusual traps. He wanted to protect everyone. He was a skilled mage. Probably the best out of all of us. Stay back." She hit a switch. "Watch." The two women already seen this room; but when Amy opened it, the room went straight. Huh? Amy giggled seeing their expressions. "Magic. Meg said he was one of Ikana's grand priests. Our family, legends say our ancestors helped build the legendary Stone Tower back in our ancestral home back in Ikana. Shame about the War, I heard Ikana was once beautiful." She gestures for them to follow her. "Come! I want to show you my room. I have puzzles and games. I always need new friends to play with."

There was a team of assassins waiting outside in the back courtyard. How they got in was a mystery. The Poes were always very careful.

Later that night, the Poes were asking about Hyrule and the villages beyond. Amy was already in bed, she was excited to come along the next day. Fara was sleeping with her for their usual sleepover. Modo was sleeping in one of the guest bedrooms down the hall.

"Hyrule Castle Town is very lively. Loud music, good people, and shops galore. Sometimes the King of Hyrule opens up the Castle for visitors." Cecily tells the three Poes.

"And the men?" Joelle asks in a dreamy voice. She dreamt about finding true love. She read every book about romance, and was ready to have a family of her own.

Beth and Meg smile. They both knew how boy crazy Jo was growing up. She wrote many stories about passion. She asked if the Sheikah men were just as good looking as the Sheikah women.

"The Hylian men are gorgeous. But the Sheikah, we get ambushed by the outside villages when we visit their towns. And before you ask, yes we date and marry outsiders." All the women laugh as Joelle raises her fist in the air.

"Yes!" Her face beet red when she realized what she said. "Ahem. That's good." She couldn't wait. She loved her home, but was ready to move on. Where she wanted to live, she had no idea.

"Other than Kokiri Village, where else have you visited?" Cecily asked.

"Nowhere I'm afraid. We are guardians of this place. I'm glad my sisters are leaving, but I have to stay behind." Meg was still wearing her clothes, including her hat. When asked, she said she only takes it off when she was safely in her room downstairs. She refused to say where it was, she forbade Amy to show outsiders.

"Come on big sis. Live a little. We can always wake up the sleeping moblins." Beth insisted. She worried about her sister. Meg was the best mage out of all of them, and was a skilled priestess, but she needed to get out more. She was almost twenty when their parents died, and she was expected to run this household. She did leave in occasion, she was the only one to meet the last forest guardian when she was a little girl. Beth was sick with a cold that day and stayed home with their mom.

"Maybe another time." She looked at the two women. "You are both blessed. You," she points to Roesia "Use your magical gifts wisely. Hmm." She looks at Cecily. "Your future descendant will help bring peace."

"Me?" Cecily didn't think about children yet. She remembered the Sage's words about her husband, the one to bring harmony. But she wasn't ready to be a mom yet.

Meg smiles at a flustered Cecily.

"Forgive me. I tend to give unwanted advice. Jo, I am going to sleep. Can you two show Cecily and Roesia their rooms?"

"Come on. I already have your night clothes ready. I also have hot baths for the two of you with the most luxurious homemade soaps. Tomorrow you can help me with the farm work. The chickens will be hatching eggs and I need help to carry them to the Kokiri Village. They buy foods and various goods from us."

"Of course." The Poes were very generous, hard work won't bother the two women.

Soon they go to their rooms.

Link sighs as he reads the last passage. Their dead bodies were found by Fara and Modo. It was Fara that managed to escape first. She was incredibly lucky, she went upstairs to get a late night snack. When she returned downstairs she vomited seeing her best friend cut up into pieces.

Cecily was sleeping when she was shaken by a crying Fara.

"Wake up. Amy. She's. She's." She started crying. Concerned, Cecily hugs Fara.

"What is it?" Seeing Fara's tears. She saw traces of vomit on her clothes.

"Amy. She's dead." She was crying hard.

Cecily woke up in a instant.

"What do you mean dead. You had a nightmare." Fara was shaking her head hard. "Blood. There is so much blood. Come. I'll show you."

Cecily didn't know what to think. She followed Fara. When they got downstairs, (there was a secret passage Fara used) Fara pointed to Amy's room.

"There. Amy." She refused to go in. Cecily went inside hoping Fara just had a nightmare. What she saw, she felt faint.

Diary, it was awful. Killing the Poes was one thing. But why take so much rage on a little girl? Cecily was crying telling me this story. Even Roesia was having trouble holding back her emotions. They wanted to give them a proper funeral, but the people that did this, they were ruthless. Luckily they couldn't figure out how to get past the Lost Woods.

Blood. So much blood. Amy's body was cut up into pieces. Her head, her arms, her torso, her legs. Oh goddess. She was spread apart all over her room. Cecily knew the blood was still warm, she had to warn everyone else. She quickly ran to Fara who was shaken.

"Fara. Honey. Where is Modo?"

"I don't know. He wasn't in his room." Fara ran to his room first, but he wasn't there. She didn't know where Roesia was, or the the other sisters. None were in their rooms.

"Okay. Stay with me. Don't let go of my hand. Okay?" Cecily took Fara's hand. Thankfully she didn't fight. "Let's find Roesia and Modo. Then we can warn the others." They went back up the passage.

Cecily wasn't foolish to call out, whoever did this was a professional. They had to be very quiet. Cecily was grateful she was very well trained as a warrior. However, she had a disadvantage. She had no weapons and was only in her nightclothes. If she could find some shoes, she could take everyone and run.

Cecily told Fara to hide in the closet in a room. Cecily saw a closet full of clothes. She kicked herself for not taking her bow, but she thought Fara had a nightmare. She went to grab it, till she heard voices. She dove underneath the bed, hopefully she didn't sneeze, it was dusty down there.

"Did you do it?" A gruff voice asked walking in the room.

"Yep. Don't worry she didn't suffer long. I slit her throat before I carved her."

"Good. I hate the thought of killing a child, but orders are orders. What about the other three?"

"The priestess is hiding somewhere, she won't leave without her sisters, the other two are hiding somewhere. I seen weapons. There are two more people here. Maybe two children as well. Possibly kokiri."

"Argenta says they are Sheikah. Stay alert."

"Yes sir."

Cecily almost pissed herself. She recognized those accents. Garo assassins. She thought they were extinct. She knew how ruthless and blood thirsty they were. They would sacrifice their own firstborns for their missions. She prayed for Amy's soul. Good thing she studied hard in school. Almost no knew this, her best friend growing up came from a far away land. Her father was cold and emotionless, but he got permission from the Sage to live in town. He had that accent. He rarely interacted much with the other townsfolk, but he proven to be a good warrior. Petra, before she died mysteriously, told her secret. That she was a Garo. He father was wanted for treason. His crime, going AWOL. She disappeared the next day, her and her father's belongings were found outside of town, their bodies never found. Rumors were they were found hiding and rather then put the whole village in danger, Petra's father surrendered. As for Petra, she went to find where her father went, but disappeared herself. Her history books say the Garo race always destroyed their bodies in a badge of honour. Even traitors. The Sage ordered their home torn down, and made sure extra guards were in place for the next few years just in case. She knew the Garo committed suicide after competing their mission, her father said they were the last of their kind. They were believed to be wiped out by the War in Ikana.

Cecily knew they didn't have much time. The Garo were very intelligent. They were also disciplined. They wouldn't hesitate to kill Fara and Modo. She whispered to Fara to stay inside. She quickly changed her clothes, they weren't suitable for fighting, but they were warm and thick. No way was Cecily fighting, she had to protect everyone. She had no choice but to take the secret passage. She took her nightclothes and took them with her. She prayed to Nayru and Foire to keep Fara safe.

She had no idea if the Garo knew about the secret passage, but she didn't want to chance them finding Fara. She took her clothes to fool the Garo, she wanted them to think she was hiding somewhere else, far from the bedrooms. She stayed in the passage for awhile, straining hard to listen to any noises. When she heard whimpering, she was tempted to turn back, when she recognized Modo's voice. Luckily there were cracks, he was hiding in the library. He was kneeling behind a couch. Cecily needed to save him, but she had to make sure he was alone. After a few minutes, she saw him get up. When she saw him trying to go out the door, Cecily had no choice but to come out, poor Modo was trembling with fear seeing the hidden passage open. Seeing Cecily, he runs to her arms.

"Modo. Where's Roesia?"

"The backyard. She is hiding with Beth. Joelle, she's dead. I saw the bad men killing her." He starts crying.

Cecily wanted to cry, but she needed to go into warrior mode. Other than Modo and Fara, her new friends and fellow neighbour needed to be saved. She takes Modo upstairs and leaves him in the closet with Fara.

"Okay. I need you both to be very quiet. Don't come out under any circumstances till I come get you. Don't move, don't make a sound. These are dangerous men. Promise?" The children nods. Before she shut it, Modo asks what happens if she never comes back. Cecily shook her head. "I promise to come back."

"Promise?" Fara asked.

"By the Goddesses." She kisses both of them. "Pray to the Goddesses, the Great Tree. Someone is always listening." Both of them nod. Cecily shuts the door. She wished she could lock the room, but the Garo must never know there was someone in there. She went to get her bow. Unfortunately, it was gone.

"Dammit." She swore underneath her breath. The garo must have known she was around. There had to be hidden weapons somewhere. She had her shoes at least. She put them on. Luckily they were made of the finest leather and wouldn't make much noise. She just hoped Roesia was safe.

Link was trembling at the story. He seen and fought almost anything, but hearing someone else living it, he was scared for her. He knew what happened to everyone, but had to know how they escaped. Navi was crying. She was deeply worried about Fara and Modo. Link was worried about them as well. Just his luck he was interrupted by a monster. It would take him hours, if not days to find all of its dungeon secrets. After defeating the beast, he went to find a place to sleep. He went to find a private spot, hopefully nothing bothered him. He opened the book.

Roesia was hiding in the barn. She found Joelle's body downstairs, her throat was slit from ear to ear. She thought she saw Modo running from the scene, she prayed he never saw her murder. Why would anyone do this? These women are harmless. Thankfully she carried her potions around, even if she didn't carry them, she knew powerful magic thanks to her grandma. Unfortunately she had no clue how to harness it. She never had to use them before. She had a small knife at least.

She wasn't alone, Beth was hiding with her. She knew two of her sisters were dead. She found Amy's body. Roesia was horrified hearing about her senseless death.

"She was just a little girl. Why?"

"These assassins, they don't care about right or wrong. Just orders. A execution is just another job." She made a holy sign on her chest. "May both my sisters dance forever with the Goddesses."

"Amen." Roesia hoped the kokiri were safe. Especially Cecily. Neither knew where Meg was, she wasn't in her room according to Beth. "Do you know who they were?"

"I thought they were extinct. They were wiped out centuries ago. You heard about the Garo?"

"History said they all died out. Their Kingdom and Ikana destroyed each other during their Wars."

"My grandparents told me stories. Ikana was once a great kingdom. I'll spare you the bloody details, but my ancestors ran with nothing but the clothes on their backs and took only a few coins with them."

"A few coins? Your home is grand." Roesia was confused.

"Our family is skilled in magic. Very skilled. Our home was recreated with the power of magic. My great great grandfather was only a very young child when he arrived in these lands, he arrived with his parents, a few relatives and many of their servants. Which is why we exist." She whispered. "Anyways they obtained permission to build their home in these woods by the Guardian and they recreated our ancestral home. They were running from both Ikana and the Garo."

"But why?" Roesia was fascinated. They needed to run, but they had to hide first.

"My family is great with magic. Both Kingdoms wanted us to work for both. We refused. The King of Ikana ordered our arrest, and the Garo wanted us dead. Most of our family was slaughtered except for a few of my ancestors. The Poes took every servant with them, they didn't want them hurt. They are my ancestors as well if you think about it. Anyways, they arrived here, dozens of servants and my ancestors. They were afraid to be found and with the Guardians permission, they created the Lost Woods."

"So that is the legend of the Lost Woods."

"Yes. Luckily the Guardian's children, the kokiri know how to navigate these woods. They are one with these trees. Anyways, they forbade everyone from leaving. Especially the servants. Most listened, those that didn't got lost in the woods and died. Many becoming stalfos, and the few of their children turned into Imps."

"So that's how it started." Roesia was fascinated.

"Our magical bloodline thinned out over the years. Only Meg is skilled in magic. But I know why the assassins came. They want our families' treasure. The Emerald of the Woods."

"But why would the Garo want with it? To revive their kingdom?"

"I truly doubt that. They care about nothing but their orders. Someone ordered them to get our treasure." Beth grabs Roesia's hands. "Don't let them get it. Ever. Find Meg, your friend, the kokiri. Take it and run. Run to the Guardian and give it to him or her. The one they are working for must never get their hands on it. It is one of the keys."

"What key?"

"The Key to the Sacred Realm."

Beth sacrificed herself to buy time for Meg to escape. Poor woman was tortured by the garo for hours. She refused to talk. Roesia tried hard for her to change her mind, she said her mortal life had to end sometime. The last thing she said before she left, she said "She was looking forward to meeting her sisters again and dancing in the sky." I hope that is true. Meg. She knew. She was waiting for Cecily and Roesia. Remember her hat? The one she refused to take off? The emerald was inside it. She was the one that was chosen to guard it. She killed herself before the garo came, she didn't want them reading her mind. But not before handing her family's treasure over.

Cecily hid behind furniture and in the shadows. She already killed one enemy, she had no choice. He was about to go inside the room where the kikori were hiding. He heard sneezing. She hid his body underneath her bed. She threw her nightclothes downstairs in the kitchen pantry, when a garo checked, she knocked him out and tied up his legs and arms. Then she locked it behind her. She ran into Roesia by accident.

Roesia nearly screamed when she bumped into Cecily. Thankfully neither didn't make a sound. It was dark, but both recognized each other.

"Rosie?" Only Roesia's closest friends called her that, including Barten.

"Cici? Thank the goddess." They hug. "Where's Meg? Fara and Modo?"

"I don't know about Meg, but the others are safe. Where's Beth?"

Roesia teared up.

"We were trapped in the barn. Beth, she jumped and was immediately captured. Before she jumped, she told me to run. Find Meg, you and the children and escape. Their treasure, the emerald, it must never fall into their hands. She said don't try to save me, protecting Meg was more important." She teared up. "I heard her screams. Goddess, she sacrificed herself for us."

Even though they had to escape, Cecily holds Roesia as she cried. She was clearly shaken. Roesia forces herself to stop.

"I'll cry later. We have to get Meg.'' They both grab some weapons from the kitchen. Roesia takes a iron skillet, Cecily takes a rolling pin. They didn't want to take knives, they didn't want to frighten the kokiri. They walk carefully down the halls looking for Meg. They knocked out more enemies, being careful to hide their bodies. They searched every room downstairs and even outside. Nothing. They went upstairs to search, then they saw Meg appear from the floor. They were about to call to her, till she appeared right in front of them, making them jump. She immediately puts a finger over her lips.

"I can't talk long. It's taking all my magic to be in four places at once. My self downstairs, is my body. My mind is talking to you. My other self is outside luring the enemy in the forest, and my soul is hiding in the balcony outside. The Emerald. Take it and run. I'm sure Beth told you?" Roesia nods. She promised to tell Cecily the whole truth afterwards. "Give it to the Deku Tree. He is a mere child, but is more powerful than he looks. When you get it, run. Run hard and fast. They must never get their hands on it."

"What about you? I promised Beth to protect you." Roesia was worried sick. Meg was shaking her head.

"My family is finished. I just wished Amy escaped." Meg tears up. All that magic, and she couldn't save her. "Amy couldn't be saved, but you can still protect the kokiri. Take the emerald and run. Now!" She disappears.

"I know where it is. Roesia, take the children and wait for me. I know a escape route." Cecily found it by accident. It was above the kitchen. A hidden passage was above the stove. That is where her bedroom was. A vine led to the pond outside. Hopefully the children can swim. She had to take off her clothes and leave their weapons behind. Both women split up.

They managed to escape by a hair. The Deku Tree heard its children crying and sent fairies to retrieve them. Once Cecily grabbed the emerald, she met up with Roesia and the kids. They were greeted by two fairies. They were going to guide them through the woods. They jumped into the pond, but not before carrying one child on their backs.

"This is it. Whatever happens. Don't open your eyes. Hold on, don't let go. Listen to our heartbeats. Okay?" Both kokiri nod at the women, both kneeling down to their eye level. "The water will be cold. Don't worry about it. We will take you home to your warm beds soon. Ready? One, two..."

Cecily and Roesia ran with the two children on their backs. They saw a orange glow in front of them, and knew the manor was on fire. They tried not to trip over the dead deku scrubs. So many senseless deaths. They heard the screams of the animals inside the manor grounds, the garo, they wanted to leave no traces behind. They were followed, thankfully the two wolves stopped the enemy. Both women heard the cries of their slaughter, but the wolves bought them some time. They ran in the woods.

Link and Navi were fascinated, but deeply saddened. Poor kids. Poor girls. Navi said she heard stories. The kokiri of today weren't the same ones from the past. When Link asked Navi said she didn't know. All kokiri were told they'll die if they left the forest. As for the emerald it was now in the Sacred Temple.

The Great Deku Tree was deeply saddened to hear about the Poe's. But thanked both Cecily and Roesia for bringing the children home. As for the emerald, it was given to the Tree. The kokiri thought it was their guardian that created it, everyone there called it the Kokiri Emerald that day on. Only Modo and Fara knew the truth. Diary, I want to talk about the Sapphire next. The Zoras, they weren't always royalty.

Now Link was really intrigued. But he was getting tired. Navi was already sleeping. He got comfortable and closed his eyes. Tomorrow was another day. He had a long way to go in this place. He fell asleep, neither realizing they were being watched over by a ghost.