"Come on Piper keep up."

Piper trailed behind her father as he led her through a small village just outside the Ordon Pass in Hyrule. Piper had never been outside of Ordon, but now that she was ten years old, her father, Ponthos decided it was time for her to see more of the world, with his supervision of course. Granted it was dangerous. Ordon had just declared independence from Hyrule, and the civil war deciding this new fact had just come to an end. Ordonians weren't very welcome in Hyrule anymore, but Ponthos had known the owner of the inn thy were going to. Ponthos and Ethereal, the inn owner, went way back to their childhood, and he knew he was always welcome.

There was another problem too. Piper herself. She was feisty and loud. She didn't make friends very easily, but the biggest danger to her safety was something she couldn't even help. Her bright red hair hung loose around her eyes as she jogged to keep up with her father's long strides. She looked around, eyes wide with wonder at the brand-new place her father had taken her. She stared at the new breeds of cows that were being herded along the side of the street to the slaughterhouse. She saw the old library and the giant statue in the middle of the square of a young man with a sword and shield in his hands.

His face was stoic and handsome, but that's not what impressed Piper. What impressed her most was who he was. A great hero famous for defeating evil. Her mother told her stories of when he was alive, and the great feats he accomplished. It was those stories that made her want to be a hero too. And now she was seeing his statue in person!

But her star struck ogling was cut short when a man bumped into her as he walked by.

"Hey watch yourself mister! That's pretty rude you know!" She complained, turning to him.

"Piper don't-" Her father began, but the stranger cut him off.

"You've got a pretty big mouth on you for Gerudo scum, little girl." The man sneered, approaching the two of them. Ponthos stepped between the stranger and his daughter to protect her. "She with you?"

"She's my daughter. She's just a kid so just give her a break and well be on our way. We don't want any trouble."

The man thought for a moment, giving Piper the stink eye.

"Whatever. Just keep your animal on a leash and stay out of the way, understand?"

"You think I'm an animal! Ill show you an animal!" Piper shouted balling her fists but was subsequently slapped in the back of her head by her father who took her by the arm and pulled her away just as the man was about to turn around again. Piper struggled against her father's grip but eventually stopped when she realized she couldn't break free.

"For Farore's sake Piper calm down!" Ponthos whispered angrily. It took several minutes to calm his daughter down enough to talk to her level headedly. "I told you to keep your mouth shut while we were here in town, didn't I? Your mother didn't want me taking you with me today because she was afraid you weren't ready. Do we have to go back home and tell her she was right?"

Piper just crossed her arms in defiance, looking down at the ground, and didn't answer. Her father sighed and stood up.

"Were at the inn. Our friend Ethereal is waiting for us. We have some business to attend to and then well be on our way back home. If you can behave yourself while were in here, ill buy you some frozen treats from the sweet shop back in Ordon Village, deal?"

Her eyes lit up when she heard this, and her defiant look turned to a smile. She nodded and took her fathers hand and they walked into the inn.

"Ponthos! Its about time you made it!" shouted a man from behind the counter of the bar. "Glad to see you made it in one piece! And oh my, this must be the famous Piper I've heard so much about huh? You look tough as nails! I feel bad for anyone who messes with you."

She smiled wide and bobbed her head up and down, happy with the attention she was getting.

"Piper this is Ethereal, our friend. Say hello."

"Hi mister!" Piper beamed, eagerly awaiting more compliments.

"Me and Mr. Ethereal have some business to take care of remember? I'm going to head to the back really quickly and be right back. Be a good girl and wait right here on this stool okay? Remember the deal we made outside? Don't move from here. Understand?"

Piper nodded and hopped up onto the stool and sat facing the bar. In front of her was a wooden cup with some purple liquid inside. She took a sip and spat it out in disgust. It tasted like grapes, and she hated grapes! She slid the cup away and her father and Mr. Ethereal headed into the back room behind the counter while she swung her feet back and forth, humming to herself and imagining which treat she would pick out on the way home.

Then she heard the door open and the bell ring. She turned to see who came in and her heart skipped a beat when she saw that it was the same man from earlier. She quickly turned around, not because she was scared, but because seeing his face made her furious. She wanted to go yell at him some more, but she remembered the deal she made with her father. She had to prove that she was ready to be out in the world too.

Several minutes passed and things went without incident. The man sat down with several friends and had some drinks, saying crude things and smacking the waitress on the rear as she left. Pipers cheeks flushed with anger, but she restrained herself. But the final straw came when she heard some snickering from the table. She looked over to see the group of men looking at her, grinning and laughing to themselves. She turned back to ignore them when she felt a wet object strike the side of her face. She pulled back in surprise and swatted the wet object away in a panic. She looked to see a wadded-up spit ball fired from the stranger's slimy mouth.

She looked at him in disbelief as his laugh boomed throughout the tavern. He got up to leave after finishing his drink, not bothering to pay of course. But Piper had had it. She wasn't going to stand for that! She hopped down from her stool and followed the man outside and across the street, passing by several pedestrians who gave her dirty looks or mumbled something about her red hair. She finally followed him into an alley between two tall buildings and punched him as hard as she could in the back. She punched so hard that she pushed herself backwards and fell to the ground.

The man turned to her, more annoyed then anything, the grinned when he saw her.

"Well well, the little beast is back huh? Look around you little one. Your daddy isn't here to protect you now. Its just you and me." He smiled devilishly, taking a step towards her. Piper returned to her feet and rushed at him, eager to land some more blows, but the man simply stuck out his arm and held her back. Her short arms couldn't reach their mark no matter how much she struggled. Then the man picked her up by the collar and slammed her against the wall.

"You know, some people think its pretty low to beat a helpless little kid. But for Gerudo scum like you girl, I don't think anyone will make too much of a fuss." He balled his fist and slammed it into Pipers cheek. He did it twice more before she was able to kick high enough to strike him in the face and loosen his grip enough for her to wiggle free. She tried to flee from the alley, but he quickly caught up to her, kicking her feet and sending her tumbling to the ground once more.

The man loomed over her with balled fists, ready to continue his work, when suddenly he let out a loud yelp, reaching behind his back. He stumbled to the wall to support himself, and as he turned to see his attacker, Piper could see a knife lodged in his lower back, blood dripping from the wound. Behind him stood a boy no older then Piper. He had a close shaved head and wore a red tunic. She had never seen him before, but he had several bruises along his face and arms. He held another knife in his hand and sliced the strange mans hand as he tried to grab him. The man stumbled out the alley, threatening to return with his friends.

The boy approached her cautiously but extended his hand to help her up. She accepted and got a closer look at him. His eyes were bloodshot like he had been crying.

"Thanks. Why are you eyes red. You been crying?" She asked.

"What? No! Crying is for babies!" The boy replied blushing immensely, embarrassed.

"You stabbed that guy. Why?"

"I dunno. You looked like you were in trouble and I keep these knives with me all the time to protect myself. I'm hiding from my dad right now, so don't tell anyone I'm here okay?"

Piper nodded in reply, not knowing what else to say.

"Hey, you're a Gerudo aren't you?" The boy asked.

"My mother is Gerudo. But I'm from Ordon. Me and my father-"

"You're from Ordon!?" The boy interrupted. Piper nodded, pleased this strange boy was being so nice to her. "My brother lives in Ordon too! Can you take me with you when you go back there please?"

Piper looked at him confused. "Why would we take you back with us I don't even know you?"

"My names Toren and I just saved your life. So, will you take me back now?"

"Hm, I guess technically I know you now. Sure, Toren lets go back and ask my father. I'm sure he'll say yes."

Toren smiled wide and grabbed her by the hand, leading her out of the alley when they heard Ponthos' voice from behind them.

"Piper where have you been! What happened! Explain yourself to me this instant!" He yelled, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"This is Toren and he saved my life. Can he come back to Ordon with us?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"Piper I… what? What are you talking about that doesn't make any sense?"

She put her arm over Toren's shoulder, who did the same to her.

"Wanna be friends?" She asked him.

"Yeah!"

"See, were friends now. And I'm not going anywhere unless he comes with us." She said boldly.

Ponthos looked back and forth between the children, confused. Maybe it was just how old he was, but he never remembered being so weird at their age.

"Piper I can't just kidnap this boy. That's against the law and we could get in serious trouble."

"Oh, you aren't kidnapping me mister!" Toren spoke up. "My brother lives in Ordon just outside Ordon Village, on a small farm with his wife. That's where I'm headed and since you guys are headed there anyway, I figured you could help me get there."

Ponthos just looked even more lost. But he took a look at Toren's face and saw the scars and bruises.

"Your father?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

"And mother." Toren said sadly, looking down at the ground.

Ponthos sighed, then stood up.

"I'm not going to take you home with us Toren. But out cart is over there by the back of the Inn. There are a lot of bags in the back. You definitely shouldn't hurry over there while my back is turned, and you most definitely should not hide in the back behind the large blue bag."

Ponthos turned around and started intently at something off in the distance. Behind him he heard excited whispers of the two children trying to be quiet as they rushed over to the cart, and the thumps of their failed attempts to climb in. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself and at the insanity of the situation. Why did children have to be so odd?

He returned to his cart and hooked it up to their family horse. He climbed on and looked behind him to see Toren's feet sticking out the side, as well as Pipers, who apparently felt the need to hide poorly as well. He rolled his eyes but smiled.

"At least she made a friend." He chuckled to himself. He would have a tough time explaining to the wife why he was brining home an extra child with him. But if it made Piper happy and helped out this poor boy, then he would deal with the aftermath as necessary. All things considered, the trip had been successful, and Piper didn't have to deal with as much discrimination as he had thought. A good first trip to ease her into things.

It wouldn't be until later that Ponthos would learn what had happened in the alley. But by then it was too late, and a new chapter of their lives had already begun.

End of Prologue