Chapter 20:
Follow the Road with Heart

Eli

Mom scried on Ventus using the dried blood she found in Sakirven. She saw them traveling along the forest's edge. They knew only in a general sense that they needed to fly east toward the forest. Mom said they would be traveling north toward Kakariko Village after her talk with Nouka. They didn't have to wait for nightfall like he thought. They left the forest caster with the villagers. They would wait for them to go collect the Agni children, return, and then they would all teleport back to Kakariko.

Eli and his mother took to the sky again on her wingloft construct. When the sunset and the shadows were long and connected to each other, finally Eli was able to pinpoint their location with greater accuracy. They were still right along the treeline but an hour away from them going at the speed they were. Eli checked on them every fifteen minutes or so. They were fifteen minutes away when he found they were gone.

Where are Ventus and Rini? He asked the shadows. Before he had pinpoint accuracy, but now he couldn't get any more specific than the forest in general itself. It still didn't make sense. They were smart enough not to go in there. Not even Ventus would… right? He understood why they would travel along the treeline as it would be easier to hide from enemies without necessarily going into the forest itself. He was certain they had stopped traveling for the day in his previous check in too.

"They're not there," Eli yelled.

"What?" Mom called back at him.

He shook his head, trying to communicate in the air on his mother's mana bird was tiresome. The wind whipping around their heads was too loud. He'd have to wait for her to land and be still enough to hear each other speak.

"They're not here."

Amaya's silver head snapped around to look at her son seated behind her. "What?"

"I know you heard that one."

"Don't be a smartass." Mother slid down off the blue loftwing and helped him do so as well. "We both checked before coming here."

That was bothering him too. "They were gone in between my check-ins. The shelter they were making and Germanin's wagon are still here too. Give me a moment."

Mom nodded as they approached said shelter and wagon in the dark of nightfall. Amaya went over to the wagon, probably to investigate its contents. He had to be careful in the way he asked the shadows things. Nothing would happen if the question was too general for them to answer or it was about something not in shadow at that time. They really couldn't fill in the blanks, strangely enough.

What happened to Germanin? Killed. Where was he?

But there was no answer. It wasn't the question, as he had been asking that without an issue before. It just meant they didn't know where he was anymore because he must now somehow be out of their reach. His body was in any case. He couldn't sense his spirit here either.

What killed Germanin? Death magic. Who cast it?

Sylric. Eli's eyes snapped open at this answer. He heard the answer in Killian's voice, the very first time he ever heard his name or of his existence when he had been Listening in on their midnight conversation. It wasn't like he was hallucinating the voice, it was more like the shadows answered by stirring a memory. He wanted to ask so much more than the shadows could answer for him. He narrowed his focus on what they could know.

Where was Sylric? No answer again, like Germanin. Did Sylric take Germanin and his horse? Yes. He could even follow their tracks in the shadows with his mind until they were just gone too. Did they leave via teleportation magic? Yes.

It seemed like Germanin was attacked and the Agni siblings ran… into the forest. He could understand that they were just running for their lives at the time. He sighed which must have signaled his mother to touch his shoulder.

"What's wrong?" There was a hint of worry peaking in her voice.

"A lot," he muttered in a whisper. He didn't even know where to begin. They weren't talking about Sylric as a family yet. He had only spoken to Killian's spirit directly about him and only briefly. Yet, if he was going to talk to anyone about him, it felt easiest to do with Mom.

"Germanin was killed by Sylric. Ventus and Rini ran into the forest."

Mom's hand tightened on his shoulder.

"It's pitch black in there," he stared into the darkened trees as they became thicker in number the deeper one went, "but I can't even tell if they're more northern or eastern or anything. Just that they're still in the forest."

Kokiri Forest was enchanted or cursed with unknown magic. Many had been lost to it when they wandered too far, except maybe the fairy children of the forest, but he wasn't sure if they were real or just some myth created long ago. You were safe wandering the edge of the forest, but once you lost sight of it, it was said you would become lost forever.

He could only trace the Agni's trail so far before it vanished like Sylric's. His shadows could no longer give him any more details. The magic of the forest seemed to block it somehow. How far could they have gotten in fifteen minutes or less? He didn't want to test it when he didn't have his usual range with the shadows. It was the first time a place cast in darkness remained a mystery to him. The forest felt… very old.

Eli and Amaya stood in silence and the darkness. They both knew there wasn't much more to do. Her magic wasn't likely to pierce the forest's veil either. She would have said so. Returning to Sickle's Hollow felt like giving up, like accepting the Agni siblings were gone. Then he would go back to Kakariko, and Dad would be devastated when Mom told him what happened.

They were as good as dead in that forest. No one ever came out. Eli was disappointed that they lost them. He had been looking forward to giving his father a reason to smile. Not to mention, Rini and Germanin were now lost assets. While he did not like Ventus, he didn't wish him dead or lost forever. Not that any gods heard his wishes before.

Ventus

Ventus wasn't sure how long they were running for. His arms were getting heavy from carrying Rini, but he didn't stop pushing himself forward even as his muscles were beginning to scream from exhaustion.

Rini protested to be let out a couple of times, but he ignored her, tuning her voice out. Unless she was letting him know of immediate danger, all he focused on was the music which weaved through the trees.

Ventus wasn't an idiot. At some point he realized they had gone too deep in. Where souls became lost. Where nobody returned from. Perhaps if he were older, this would be enough to cause him to pause and despair, but something within him kept him pushing forward step after step no matter how heavy the burden he was carrying was slowly becoming. To keep following the music. The wind was pulling them along and the air somehow seemed lighter. Finally his footsteps stopped and he stared dumbly at the first change he had seen in this labyrinth of trees.

"Is that a bridge?" Rini murmured, and Ventus nodded, gripping her tighter. He was sure even she could hear his heart skip a beat.

"The music is coming just beyond there, through that log," he said as once again he strode forward. "There will be help there, just hang on."

"You think they are fairy children? Just like the legends said? I can feel there is something there," Rini asked. Ventus hummed thoughtfully at that.

"Maybe. Ethan said his cousin saw a boy with a fairy in Castle Town, before, you know …" his voice trailed off. At the time the two had gone out looking for the fairy boy, but had come up with nothing. They had run into a couple of people who swore up and down they saw him, which was the only reason Ventus hadn't written it up as a hoax at the time.

"Don't the legends say the fairy children can't leave the forest—" Rini began only for her voice to trail off as they emerged through the log.

They were overlooking a small clearing with tree houses, almost reminiscent of Nouka's, surrounding a small pond and brook. The music was clear now, and if Rini couldn't hear it before, there was no reason she wouldn't be able to now. While Ventus didn't pride himself on his sight like he did his hearing, he could definitely see children around his own age garbed in green with fairies around. The fairies glowed near them like extra large fireflies of various colors.

That's when his strength gave out and his knees hit the ground, Rini making an undignified squawk as she landed with him. The music stopped abruptly. He heard her soft timid steps crunching hesitantly, but soon the sound increased into a hurried pace, and a girl was approaching them. She was a child like the others, but her hair was a lively green like the new growth on trees in the spring.

"Are you… okay?" she asked, stopping a few feet from them.

"We were attacked—"

"My sister, Rini, she needs help something weird happened—"

"Dipshit you're the one bleeding!"

"It's fine! You're the one who collapsed! But there is this guy who attacked us looking for the princess—"

"It is not fine!"

As the two siblings instantly began to bicker, Ceres landed nearby to the girl and gave a tired squawk. A smile peeked on the fairy girl's face.

"Um," she began trying to interject. "You're probably safe now? You made it here, so the forest must like you."

That made both of the siblings pause ever so slightly in their bickering.

"I heard music," Ventus said, tilting his head. "So I followed it. You're fairy children, right?"

"She has a fairy right there. What do you think?" Rini snorted, rolling off the ground and shakily picking herself up.

Ventus scrambled to his feet to help her even as he defended himself. "It's a good question!"

There was a group of other fairy children gathered a few feet behind the first girl. They all wore green and had different colors of hair. The girl's smile grew. "I guess you could say that, but we prefer to be called the Kokiri."

"You heard my song?" the Kokiri with green hair mused with interest. "The forest definitely likes you."

Ventus stole a glance at Ceres, who now was settling into her feathers nearby. She wasn't agitated, and she had a sixth sense about these things. Not that he thought he was in any danger, but after the last few days it was better safe than sorry.

"Is that not normal? Does the forest grant certain people entrance or a safe passage? I heard everyone who came through got lost. Clearly except for the Kokiri," said Rini, taking a step forward and holding her hand out. "I'm Rini by the way. This is my older brother Ventus. We're uh, Hylians."

The girl looked at the extended hand with wide and bewildered blue eyes. The large glowing firefly, a bright greenish teal, near her drifted down and said in a high-pitched voice, "I think you're supposed to take your hand and grab theirs, then shake it up and down."

"O-oh," stammered the girl with vivid green hair, slowly reaching out for Rini's outstretched hand. She grabbed her hand and then jerked their hands up and then down, her lips pressed together with firm concentration.

"Say your name too," whispered her fairy loudly.

"I'm Saria," she added, letting go of Rini's hand.

Rini looked bewildered at the exchange, though Ventus was grinning, his shoulders relaxing. Resting his elbow on his sister's head, only for it to be shoved off, Ventus chuckled slightly.

"It's a form of greeting amongst Hylians," he explained. "How do you greet each other normally?"

Saria tucked her arms behind her back. "Heh, sorry, we don't really get a lot of outsiders. We all know each other."

That made sense to Ventus and he wrapped an arm around Rini, who was once again leaning against him. She still hadn't recovered from whatever happened earlier. He wasn't sure if the Kokiri could help against Slyric and save Germanin, especially since they were kids like them. But at the very least he could help his sister. That was the most important thing.

"Is it okay if we rest here for a bit?" he asked tentatively. "We're kind of tired."

"Yeah, you can stay in my house," said Saria with a warm smile.

"But what about—" her fairy began again. The Kokiri girl waved a hand gently at her fairy, like shooing a fly.

There was a wave of whispered mutterings in the Kokiri crowd behind her as well. It sounded something like, "he's not gonna like that."

"They're gonna yell a lot again, aren't they?"

"I'm going to bed."

"Follow me," Saria gestured as she invited them, turning to walk further into the small clearing. Ventus held his hand out for Ceres to land on. The bleeding had stopped at some point, but the blood was still caked on his forearm and hand. The owl ruffled her feathers and then took flight, following them from the air.

Ventus dropped his arm and then wrapped his arm around Rini and helped her hobble along.

"Who's 'he'?" he asked as they followed her, and Rini elbowed him in the gut.

"No one," Saria said with another gentle wave. "You're hurt?"

"It's nothing too serious. The bleeding stopped." It hurt like hell and even Ventus knew it was going to leave a scar, but he didn't want Rini to worry. He also didn't want to come across as weak. He had enough of feeling that way for one day. Rini on the other hand was having none of that.

"Yes. Ceres was trying to break a spell on him keeping him from moving. It wasn't working very well." Ventus shot her a glare, to which Rini just rolled her eyes. "Stop acting tough."

They were approaching one of the nearby tree homes. Tiny motes of light or dust drifted all round them, swishing in the air in their wake as they followed Saria. Frogs croaked, crickets chirped, and owls hooted in the distance. Now that they were closer, their homes were the stumps of what would have been giant trees. It looked like they had been cut by a giant ax some time ago. They were far from dead though as bright green and equally giant shoots were sprouting from them. Even in the night, he could see a wooden ramp built spiraling up the sides of the stump to the top where it connected to a railless bridge that connected to a rectangular stone pillar covered in moss. There was an arching, though small, doorway centered between the roots of the stump at the ground level.

Saria pushed the heavy leather drape covering the open doorway to let them inside her home. It was circular and hollowed out inside. The wooden walls were smooth and light in color. She guided them to the left where a small mattress in a wooden frame was placed against the wall. The rest of the circular wall was lined with wooden cabinets, boxes, and various sizes of clay pot containers. Herbs hung to dry on the walls and were grounded in a stone mortar and pestle on top of one of the cabinets along with what looked like small animal bones and baskets full of more plants and flowers. Furs lay on the floor in strategic spots as rugs. There other items Ventus recognized, tools used for weaving cloth and yarn and working leather were also lining the walls.

Ventus helped Rini on to one of the furs on the floor, who promptly laid down. Looking around, he turned to Saria.

"That's a loom, isn't it?" he asked excitedly, Ceres perching on the edge of the bed. Rini just groaned and closed her eyes. "You know how to sew?"

"What is wrong with you?" Saria frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "Help her to the bed, you scrub."

Rini smirked. "Yeah, you scrub."

"I didn't want to assume," Ventus mumbled but picked up his sister and dumped her on the bed.

"That aside, you were the ones who said you were injured," Saria continued, unfastening the dark green cloak around her shoulders and hanging it on the peg by the doorway. He noted the fine stitch work that looked like four leaves made with fine sage green thread, twirling around the center of her back together when they had been following her here.

"Why on this green earth would you talk about sewing first?" Her tone was blunt but nearly motherly.

"This dumbass is obsessed, don't mind him," Rini said as she laid back on the bed. She gestured to her clothes. "He made these. Plus, we're used to sleeping on the floor and in trees."

"Plus ,my injuries aren't that bad," Ventus grumbled.

"You also have a shitty scaling system," Rini scoffed. "Just because it's not the worst injury you ever got doesn't mean you shouldn't worry about it."

Saria stepped swiftly over to her, pulling a knitted blanket over his sister and making sure the pillow was under her head. He noted she wore a long-sleeved turtleneck, also knitted with a small gauge so the stitches and the dark, forest green fibers were tiny. Over this was a bright green vest, matching well with her hair. A brown, leather belt was secured around her waist. She wore dark, forest green shorts as well as calf-high boots. Another dark green headband pulled back some of her hair that framed her face.

The Kokiri was turning away from them again, going to her cabinets, taking one of her small clay containers and a washcloth. She sat down on a wooden stool and gestured for Ventus to sit on the second wooden stool near hers.

Ventus was getting the instinct he shouldn't argue with her, like he shouldn't argue with Mom when she got into one of those moods. Approaching, he sat down on the other stool awkwardly as Saria uncorked her container and poured a clear liquid on the washcloth.

"It's really fine," he tried anyway. "It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Give me your wounded hand," she instructed, reaching hers out to receive it and the washcloth in her other hand. Ven gave it to her, shoulders slumping slightly. Rini was wearing a shit-eating grin as she was watching this. He had a feeling his sister and Saria would get along great. Both were bossy enough for it.

The washcloth was cool to the touch on his skin. It smelled almost minty but not quite. His nostrils felt clearer as he inhaled the scent that she scrubbed the blood off with. Soon the bloody scab of his injury was clear against his flesh. She then grabbed some rolls of cloth from one of the drawers in her cabinets. She bandaged his hand and the wound for him, putting a small puff of cotton against it to absorb any leaks of blood through the new scab.

Saria nodded and smiled to herself in satisfaction. She stood up and went back over to Rini in the bed. She wiped away the blood dried on her neck but otherwise found nothing wrong with her.

"I'm just tired and feeling weak, that's all," Rini assured her, sitting up. "Thank you for taking care of us and letting us stay here for the time being."

"Before you said the forest must like us. What does that mean? Does it decide who can pass through?" Ventus asked, Ceres fluttering down to nestle next to Rini who stroked the feathers softly.

"I guess so." Saria sat back down on her stool again, facing them. "The forest is just like that. You can't really predict its moods."

"Then it's really lucky we didn't get lost," Rini breathed a sigh of relief. Neither of them talked about it while running. It was easier not to think about. Couldn't think about it with everything else. All that was on Ventus' mind was surviving.

Ventus opened and closed his hand, pressing his lips together.

"I don't think we'll be able to help Germanin. I don't even know how long we've been running," he said with a sigh, dropping his hand. "I hope he'll be alright."

Even as he said that, his heart was heavy. It was an unfair battle. There was someone else there, someone nobody else could see. Germanin wouldn't be the first knight he had seen fall. He probably won't be the last. Gone were the days he thought the knights of Hyrule were invincible.

Rini dropped her eyes slightly, frown pushing on her lips.

"We can leave as soon as we're healed if we're causing problems," she said after a moment.

The Kokiri girl stared at them with a solemn face that changed to confusion. "Huh? You're not a problem at all. This happens sometimes when there's war and fighting outside the forest."

"We're not the first?" Rini asked, somewhat surprised.

She shook her head.

A voice barked, "Saria!" from outside the shelter's flap, making them all look up. Another Kokiri was slapping the leather drape aside as he made his way in. There was a rustling sound as he moved because he appeared to be wearing a poncho made out of various leaves layered over each other. Dirt and mud was smeared across his face like he just grabbed a handful and slapped it on. A ragged, green hat sat on top a wild mop of orange hair. His bottom lip was out in a scowl. His blue eyes took in each face in the room but narrowed upon Saria's.

"You can't just let people stay here!" he snarled without hesitation.

"You must be 'him,'" Ventus said, putting a hand on his cheek as he leaned forward. "Isn't it up to Saria to decide who stays in her house?"

"I wasn't talking to you, scrub!" the Kokiri boy snapped back.

"He has a point though," said Saria.

"Your house is also in our village, so it affects more people than you!"

"Letting two kids stay here isn't a big deal, Mido." She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Tell that to the Great Deku Tree," Mido growled back.

"That wasn't his fault!" Saria stood up from her stool, hands fisting at her sides.

Ventus and Rini glanced at each other. It was like sitting there when their friends argued with their parents over some family matter. Ventus saw it more often than not with Ethan and his dads, and it was always awkward to sit there and listen to. Especially since he didn't know what was going on.

Rini cleared her throat.

"We can leave if it's a problem," she said. "If we can spend the night."

"No, you're not at all—" Saria began.

"Great, at dawn then," Mido interrupted..

Saria stalked over to the Kokiri boy, grabbed him by the collar of his leafy poncho, and yanked him through the doorway back outside. They did start arguing in hushed whispers, but that was no issue for Ven.

"Mido, if people are going into the forest again, it means something is going on outside."

"Something already happened here. We don't need any more trouble."

"The Great Deku Tree never turned anyone away," Saria grumbled.

"And now he's dead," came the hard, thick growl from the Kokiri boy.

"You don't even know what happened. You just want to blame Link."

"Well, he didn't stay to explain himself, did he?"

"Like you gave him a chance," she retorted. "They need help, and the outside is more dangerous than ever. If the others feel the same way you do, then they can come to me about it too. You can't make me do anything."

There was a dull thud, a foot stomping down in anger. "I guess you'll only be happy when all of us are dead!"

More stomping footsteps declared the Kokiri boy's departure. Saria came back inside, her face calm and unreadable. Rini glanced at Ventus, and he knew she was expecting him to say something. It wasn't his fault he could hear people easily if he wanted to or not.

"So uh, there was a Kokiri rumored to be in Castle Town a bit ago," he offered as Rini face palmed.

"Hm?" Saria tilted her head curiously but then smiled. "Don't worry about Mido. He's just overprotective of the village. It really isn't a problem for you to stay here."

"What happened to the Great Deku Tree?" Ventus asked as Rini's other hand came to her face and she groaned.

"Ventus."

"What? Maybe it's connected to what's going on," he protested.

"It's called tact. Learn it for once in your life," she hissed.

Saria brushed a strand of green hair back behind her pointed ear, blue eyes drifting downward. "Don't worry about it. It was… complicated."

Ventus stood up and walked over to her and put a hand on her shoulder gently. "Hey, if there is anything we can do to help, we will," he said, speaking for both of them, not giving Rini a chance to protest. It wasn't Kakariko, but there was no way he could pass up an opportunity to actually help, to not be useless.

"I know we probably don't look like much, coming in all beat up and the like, but we're both pretty strong. Rini has fire and mind magic, and makes things with her head, and apparently I have wind magic and my latent Sheikah powers are awakening."

"Moron, you have death magic," Rini snorted. "Just accept it."

Ventus plowed on. "Plus, I'm pretty good with the sword. So we can maybe help investigate or something!"

Saria smiled gratefully. "Thanks, but it's fine. The Great Deku Tree will sprout again. It just takes some time …"

Ventus was about to answer only to pause when he heard running feet. Turning his head, for the second time that day the flap to Saria's door was thrown open in a gust of wind. Bursting in was another blonde, this time a girl, with bright blue eyes staring right at him. Her hair was pulled back into twin ponytails and like the other Kokiri was wearing green. However, she had a richer, darker green design on the right hand side of her shirt which looked like clouds blowing across a sky of grass.

"You have wind magic?" she burst out and Ventus could only nod dumbly, and the girl turned to Saria excitedly. "They're staying."

"Of course," said Saria with a smile.

Turning back to Ventus, she pointed at him. "You're coming with me tomorrow. No complaints." She left the door only to pause, putting her head back in. "I'm Fado by the way. Nice to meet you, Ventus and Rini."

And once again she was out as quickly as she was in, like a fickle breeze. The siblings could only stare in dumb silence and then Ventus turned to look at Saria, pointing at the door questioningly.

Saria giggled. "She wants to play wind magic with you."

"She's a wind adept too?" Ventus asked surprised and Rini grinned.

"It's going to be one sided. He doesn't know how to use wind magic," she smirked.

Ventus glared at her. "And like you can talk?"

"At least I can make mana constructs," she retorted before leaning back.

"Adept?" Saria blinked.

"Oh, it's what Hylians call people who can only use a certain type of magic," Rini explained. "For example I'm a fire adept with a mind secondary. That means I have a stronger connection with fire, but I'm also able to do mind magic. I'm not sure which Ventus has a stronger connection to, but I think it's wind since he's always been pretty in tune with it."

"It's just wind. I have Sheikah powers to sense dead people," he protested, correcting her.

"If that's the case why don't I have them then?" she countered.

"You're younger than me. You're not as well developed," Ventus told her bluntly.

The Kokiri girl chuckled at this bickering. "Well, don't worry. Fado can show you how to play."

Ventus grinned and, for the first time in a long time, his thoughts didn't drift to Kakariko. To search for the remaining family they could have. There was safety here. He could feel it in the air he breathed. It was lighter than that of the outside. Not as heavy. Not as painful. They could stay here and help.

Everything would be fine.