Welcome to Hyrule. A quick rundown on the story, the Hylians, Gerudo's , Zora, and Gorons all live in peace and often trade between each other. Into this peaceful scene come the Ordonians, a horseman's culture that, while not well known in Hylia, have made themselves feared outside of the reach of even the Gerudo's and Sheikah. But what does this warriors culture want with Hylia? Read and find out.

Malon and Zelda, princesses of Hyrule, and currently, on the middle of a lesson on etiquette from their mother, Fauna. Zelda sat with her back lightly against the chair, while Malon leaned slightly forward, arm extending to the teapot that she held.

"Alright, I think this lesson has gone on long enough." both girls looked at their mother eagerly. Fauna sighed as she looked at them. Malon, with her fiery red hair and green eyes, was most certainly her daughter. Zelda though, showed more of her fathers features, her golden and blue eyes being only two of the many traits shared with him.

"Run along you two. Find Impa and remind her of the festival." Malon and Zelda stood and walked to the door, breaking into a run as soon as they were out of the room. Fauna watched as her daughters ran giggling down the corridor. She smiled, knowing the headache they were sure to give their bodyguard and caretaker.

Impa heard the girls before she saw them. Their giggling was loud enough to be heard throughout the hallway. She turned to greet them just as they came around the corner.

"Well girls, are you ready or should we wait for the giggling to die down?" this of course caused the two princesses to break down even more. Impa just shook her head and motioned for them to follow her as she walked out the door. She had no idea what was about to happen.

/

The harvest festival was in full swing by mid-day, and the many stalls held a myriad of trinkets and baubles for all ages. The most exotic trinkets were sold by the Gerudo of the desert, and the Sheikah from the north. One such trader was Nabooru, the leader of the Gerudo. As her subordinates ran the stall, she satisfied her curiosity by watching the various customers and travelers. It wasn't long before an odd pair caught her eye. It was only a pair of horsemen, but they stood out from the crowd in every way. Where the locals dressed in their finest linens and silks, and the traders in lace and soft cotton, these men wore rough wool shirts and breaches. Their boots were made of some animal skin, and the leather belts were highly worn. Even stranger, both men rode through the crowd rather than walking, and both carried a variety of weapons. But it was not the presence of weapons on these two, everyone carried at least one weapon, it was the make of the weapons. Nabooru turned to the girl next to her an touched her shoulder.

"Lyroo, do you see those two riders there?" she asked, pointing in their direction. "What do you make of them?" Lyroo studied the men for a moment, trying to place them.

"I'm afraid I can make no judgement my lady. They are strangers even to the more nomadic of the Gerudo." Nabooru straightened and leaned back against the wall, wondering what the two riders were and where they might be from. Little did she know, the same thought was running through the head of the majority of the traders who saw the pair.

Impa glanced away from the girls for a moment, the Zora shop having kept them occupied for the last five minuets. As she scanned the crowd looking for potential threats she caught sight of two strange figures. Her eyes took in the rough clothing and number of weapons casually, but her gaze came to rest on the horses, and the faces of the riders. The golden blonde hair and iron blue-grey eyes identifying them immediately.

"What! What are Ordonians doing here?" her mind began to work at a furious pace, trying to figure out why two warriors of the horse lords would be attending the festival. She took a moment to regain her breath and calm her thoughts, and set to study the men. On a closer look they were nearly identical, without the weapons and clothing it would have been nearly impossible to distinguish one from the other, though one looked slightly older.

"Brothers perhaps?" she thought. The older one appeared to sport several scars on his face, though it was difficult to tell because of the scarf that covered the lower half of his face. But the younger one had only two visible, one crossing from his forehead to his left cheek, and one crossing his left eye to meet with the other just below the eye. Impa was broken from her study of the two when Malon touched her arm.

"Impa? Are you alright?" she asked, concerned. Impa turned her head to her and smiled.

"I'm fine Mal. Lets go, there's a lot more to do at this festival than just look at trinkets." Zelda clapped her hands in glee and took off running. Impa's eyes widened as she realized just where she was running.

/

Shiek glanced over at his younger brother as they wove their horses through the crowd. Despite the chill in the air he did not feel cold, his wolf skin boots, heavy wool clothing and thick woolen cloak made sure of that. He couldn't help but notice the Gerudo merchant, obviously a leader as she was standing to the side of the stall, studying them as they rode by.

"Link, take a look, we're being watched." Link looked at the Gerudo before looking back to his older brother.

"So?" he said. Shiek shook his head.

"I swear Link, ever since mother died you've not said more than three words in a single sentence."

"So?" Shiek threw up his hands in exasperation.

"Fine, don't say anything." Link said nothing this time, but rather shifted his gaze to a point in the crowd. Shiek craned his neck, attempting to see what had caught his brothers attention. Link suddenly turned his horse to the side, stopping a teenage girl with blonde hair in her tracks. Shiek glanced back the way the girl had come and spotted the silver haired woman coming towards them.

"Link, don't do anything rash."

"Hn." Links response did nothing to calm his brothers concerns as the woman ran up.

"Zelda! Be more careful. You never know who might be around." the blonde looked properly scolded, but Shiek couldn't be sure.

"Thank you, Ordonian, for stopping the princess before she got hurt." Link didn't respond, and turned his horse away. Sheik stared after him, then turned to the woman.

"I apologize for my brothers rudeness. He does not often see the necessity of polite manners." with that he turned his own horse and followed Link toward the edge of town.

/

Impa watched as the Ordonians rode away. Both had carried a large number of weapons, but had not moved toward any of them. She thought for a moment about what it could mean for Hylia if Ordonians were watching them, but dismissed the thought temporarily as she turned to Zelda.

"Don't go running off like that! You could have been hurt, and then where would we be?" Zelda looked down at her feet.

"I'm sorry Impa. I was just so excited that I didn't think." Impa sighed and turned to Malon, who was watching the horsemen ride off.

"Impa who were they?" she asked. Impa glanced in the direction the men had gone.

"They were Ordonians." she stated. Malon cocked her head curiously but said nothing. Impa knew there would be questions later, but decided that the king needed to know about the recent revelations.

"Girls, lets go back to the castle. I have some urgent business with your father." the two princesses made no argument as Impa herded them back to the castle.

/

Link and Shiek rode over the vast plains of Hyrule field at a pace that would have tired even the sturdy horses of the Gerudo's in a short period. A pace necessary to catch the prey they hunted. Link caught a glimpse of the stag they were pursuing and pulled his horse over to follow the creature, Shiek close behind. Within seconds they had pulled up beside the deer, and Link had pulled out a small bow. Knocking an arrow, he took aim, and sent the arrow into the deers heart. As the two brothers pulled their horses back around to the spot where the stag lay, casual, one-sided banter picked up.

"Geez Link, you're supposed to at least give me some warning before you take off into dense brush like that. I mean, sure it got the deer out, but what if there had been something larger and meaner?" Link glanced at Shiek as he dismounted next to the carcass and proceeded to skin and gut the deer. Shiek watched as he dressed the animal with a precision that spoke of years of experience. As he watched a strange flash in the corner of his eye caught his attention. He didn't turn his head, but all his attention was now focused on that spot. A swift glance at Link revealed no way to tell wether he had seen the anomaly or not. But when he looked back at the location of the flash, then back to the deer, Link was gone.

"Always wandering off. That guy's going to be the death of me yet." He was about to go after Link, but a rustle in the bushes caught his attention. As he turned Link stepped out of the brush, a small child in tow. Shiek raised his eyebrow, but said nothing. Link shrugged and deposited the little girl next to him before returning to the deer.

"What're you doing out here all alone?" he asked. The girl looked up at him, and put on an innocent face.

"Nothing, I was just walking around." Shiek watched the kid for a moment, clearly not convinced.

"You're lost aren't you?" her eyes widened and her mouth tucked into a cute pout.

"No I'm not!" she said vehemently. But as Shiek stared at her, she seemed to shrink back a little. "Well, not much." A snort from behind him made Shiek turn.

"Do you have to make it that obvious that you don't believe her, Link?" the man in question didn't respond, but lifted the carcass onto his horse. Shiek rolled his eyes at the lack of response, then turned back to the girl.

"So what's you're name?"

"Saria." Shiek tilted his head slightly, a habit he had picked up from Ordon's dogs.

"That's a pretty name. Where do you live?" Saria pointed in the direction of the town. Shiek glanced at her before turning to his brother.

"Hey Link, looks like were going back to.." he trailed off as he realized Link was nowhere to be seen.

"Coming?" Links voice caused Shiek to jump as he spun around to stare at him.

Link shook his head and turned his horse back towards the town, adjusting his bow on his back. Shiek just sighed and picked Saria up before depositing her on his own horse. She let out a squeal of delight at being so high off the ground. The horse turned its head to glare at her and she quieted down. Shiek jumped up behind her and turned the horse to follow Link, who was already moving through the trees towards Castle Town.

So no answer as to why they're here yet, but certainly an interesting set of events. Let me know what you think in a review.