They continued through the grounds, dodging traps and walking across quicksand on Begonia's shadowy-bridges. Many skeletons lay around, coming to life as they walked by, only to be killed once again by the blade of evil's bane. The group came upon a large door, which needed all four people to help open. Begonia led them there, thinking this was the exit, however her memory proved to not be as reliable as bars once again sprang up from the ground. Begonia let them walk ahead as she suddenly felt a presence in the room. She was being followed, and the moment she turned around she was face-to-face with Zant's helmet. He grabbed her wrists as she tried to hit him.

"Let go of me! You VILE man!" she screamed. Immediately, her companions turned to see Begonia being felt-up by the usurper king.

Lear sprang towards her struggling sister, tapping into her new power as she did so. Zant turned and was smacked backwards onto the ground by a muzzle full of sharp teeth. She attacked him furiously and heard Link's own snarl beside her as Raiquen yelled elsewhere. They were suddenly snapping at air as Zant disappeared in a cloud of evaporating Twilight. He appeared behind them, across the room with fists curled and manner threatening. Both wolves stepped in front of the humans behind them and growled deep as their fur stood on end. Zant yelled above their threats.

"Looks like I made a mistake in cursing you in such a way, Link! Give me that girl there and I'll stay far away from you for good..." His hand pointed at Begonia behind them. Lear growled deeper and Link snarled in his wolf voice.

"Come closer now and you're sure to stay away for good!"

Zant laughed, standing upon a giant skeleton head in the center of the room.

"If you do not give her to me now, I WILL have her later!" He said as a sword appeared in his hand. He thrusted the blade into the giant skull and disappeared. Link and Lear returned to their normal selves and rushed over to Begonia.

"That man only wants me for my shadow ability. He's so disgusting...I could just spit!" Begonia said harshly as she brushed herself off.

"This isn't the first time he's approached my mom like that." Raiquen said, fully grossed out from seeing what had happened. Lear opened her mouth to speak when a loud roar erupted from the center of the room. The giant skeleton had come to life, and it didn't look friendly.

It stretched and cracks erupted throughout the room as it roared again and stared at them with purple eyes. Sand filled the cavity between them and the monster, and Lear turned to Link as he pulled out the item they had obtained hours before. Lear stared at him as he jumped on the spinner and cracked into the beast's spine, breaking it in two. Lear whipped towards Raiquen.

"You watch your mom and if Zant appears again, yell for me!" He nodded as she turned and ran towards the battle. The monster lurched towards Link with an open maw, desperate to crush the hero between it's jaws. Link leaped out of the way with a confident grin, but it quickly disappeared as he tripped over a skeleton that had leaped and attacked. He took it out with his sword and turned to see the jaws right above him.

Lear immediately took action and sent a gust of wind towards the beast. It barely missed Link when it tried taking a bite out of him. It rose into the air and reared up for an attack. All at once, the three element bearers threw an element sphere at it. With an explosion, it fell to the floor. Link and Lear sliced left and right with their blades until the skull cracked and Zant's sword fell from its place. With a puff of smoke, the skeleton was gone and Raiquen jumped on Link's back, telling him how cool he was. Begonia joined them and Lear let out a sigh of relief.

"Well," Link said with smile, "That wasn't all that bad!" Raiquen laughed and shoved him heartily, involving the two boys in an instant wrestling match. Lear and Begonia stared at them.

"How can you be rough-housing at a time like this?! We have to reach the mirror, now!" Begonia said as she grabbed Raiquen by the ear and led him out into the night. Lear looked down at Link and with a shrug, followed suit by grabbing his ear and pulling him to his feet, him making a fuss the entire way. She ran out the door ahead of him as he chased after her up a flight of stairs to the mirror chamber. Begonia stood in the middle, Raiquen by her side, staring at the scene in front of her. Midna appeared as Link approached the shattered mirror.

Begonia fought hard to keep in the tears she longed to shed. There she was, staring at the black wall that had taken her husband from her. Raiquen too, stared at the massive wall. Their attention was drawn to Midna, whom was fretting over the broken mirror.

"H-he did this!" she snarled.

"Now what do we do?" Link asked. He was answered by the voices of the sages. They told them of the evil deed Zant had done, destroying the mirror. Their words soon began to speak of what happened, 100 years ago. This caught Begonia's attention, and she listened intently to what they had to say. They spoke of Ganondorf. They had said that they banished him because he was ruthlessly evil, and lusted for power.

"That's not true!" Begonia screamed, catching everyone's attention.

Lear glanced back up at the sages as she walked towards her sister.

"Begonia, it is...to an extent. You only saw the good side of Ganondorf, how he treated you was very different from who he really was-" Begonia turned on her.

"No, YOU never saw the good side! He was a good man, I know he was!" Link opened his mouth to say something but Lear spoke again in a calm voice.

"I saw enough of his bad side to outlaw the good side that I never saw. He killed for pleasure, he lusts after evil, and he's tried one to many times to kill Link and me. I'm sorry that your husband is gone, but I'm greatly happy that Ganondorf will never return." Silence echoed across the desert after her words and the sages looked at one another. Raiquen drew closer to Link looking at his face for a sign of understanding.

Tears ran fully down Begonia's face. She felt so alone. Why couldn't they understand? Her husband only wanted to give his people the freedom they lost when they were banished to the desert.

"G-give...him back to me..." her voice quivered. She turned towards the black wall that consumed her husband.

"Give him back!" she wailed, pounding her fists against it. Her sister couldn't bare to watch her and turned away. Soon, Raiquen was at his mother's side, trying to stop her. She fell to her knees and let her son comfort her.

"It's all my fault..." she whispered, "I-if only I..." she trailed off. Raiquen stood up and pointed an accusing finger at his aunt.

"So, you're just going to let my mom...your sister, cry? I don't understand..." he trailed off as Midna spoke.

"That's enough...!"

Almost, as if out of nowhere, Zant had made his appearance once again. He grabbed Begonia's arm and violently pulled her to her feet.

"I told you I would return." he hissed. Link and the others drew forth their blades, ready to fight. Ganondorf and Zant fought for control once again, and Begonia turned to face him. She had tears running down her face still, and the moment Ganondorf saw this, he took control of Zant's body. He wiped away a tear, only causing Begonia to turn away in disgust.

"Why...are you crying?" he asked. If only he could hold her, with his own arms. He desperately wanted to kiss her tears away.

"Zant! Why have you broken the mirror? You stupid bastard!" Midna screamed.

Zant glanced her way and chuckled low. "Midna, Midna...I'm surprised you're still alive after what I did to you the last time we met. No doubt that whelp of a boy helped you escape from that one..." Midna hardly seemed put-out. She spoke in a voice barely above a whisper.

"But you couldn't destroy the mirror, could you? Only the true ruler of the Twilight can do such a thing. That's too bad that you could but shatter such a mirror, as you have no more power than a lowly servant..." Here Zant raised his lips in a grimace underneath his helmet and Begonia was able to use his hesitation to squirm away and run towards the group.

"You'll pay for that, Twilight Princess." He spat the last words and disappeared in a dark cloud.

"I'm really getting sick of people trying to kidnap me." Begonia said, finished with her crying. "I apologize for the way I acted...It's just that I kept it in...for 100 years. But there's no changing what happened. You're right...he's gone! I just have to move forward." Begonia said with a sigh. No one dared ask Midna about what Zant had said, for she was still fuming. She turned to the rest of the group.

"Let's get moving before that bastard gets in our way again!" She said as she disappeared into the shadows. Link led the way down the tower and into the desert where they would separate once again. Not very many words were spoken as they traveled, but once they reached the desert edge, it almost seemed like they exploded with words.

"Link, can I PLEASE go with you?"

"No" the adults simultaneously responded.

"You just want to be alone with Lear!" Raiquen smirked, punching Link in the arm. They, once again, immediately began to wrestle.

Lear looked towards her sister. Was she still made at her? Begonia banished away these fears by gripping her in a rib-crushing hug.

"I'm sorry. You be careful out there, all right?" Lear nodded and hugged her back.

"I'm sorry too. Truly I am...We'll check back with you in a couple of days." The two turned towards the boys, watching as Link held Raiquen's face down in the sand.

"You give up yet, hm?" Lear rolled her eyes.

"Link. LINK." He looked up as Raiquen shoved him hard to the ground.

"C'mon, let's get going, shall we?" He helped himself to his feet, dusting off his tunic with a sheepish smile.

"Sure thing, Lear. Let's go! Raiquen, you watch after your mom and any one else who may need your help, alright? You're a hero now and that's what heroes do."

Raiquen grinned with pride, happy that he had been called a hero. "Don't worry, you can count on me! Take care of my aunt!" he said with a wink. Link shook his head and mounted Epona, Lear sat behind him. When he spurred Epona into a gallop, they watched them gallop into the sunset. Begonia smiled and began setting up camp without a word. Soon, her son joined her and they sat around Raiquen's 2-second camp fire.

"Mom, what are we going to do tomorrow?" he asked.

"Well, we need to travel again...to visit people and make sure things are running smoothly..." she said, gazing thoughtfully at the stars that began to dot the sky. Raiquen began to think about his father. What was he like? Was he really evil like the sages had said?

Raiquen played with a loose piece of leather on his boot, side-glancing at his mom as he did so.

"Mom?" He asked. She was busy setting the tent right.

"Hm?"

The boy let out a breath of air and hesitated, but he thought of how adult he had felt when Link had called him a hero. He gathered his courage and spoke.

"What was he like? Dad, I mean..."

Begonia dropped the picket and the tent collapsed flatly. She busied herself with the fabric, and Raiquen tried to catch her eye. He edged closer and held the hope in his heart that she would finally tell him all about his father...Finally she turned his way, but continued to avoid his eye.

Begonia opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of how to start. Letting out a sigh, she decided to finally begin.

"Your father...was a strong, brave man...you look a lot like him..." Raiquen listened intently, his mouth slightly agape.

"Really?" Begonia nodded.

"Yes. You have your father's eyes..." she brushed his bangs to the side and smiled, "he loved his people, even though he didn't show it. And I won't deny the words your aunt said...he did kill people...but they were people that opposed him...threatened his people." Raiquen looked entranced, trying to imagine what his father looked like.

"Did he love you?" Begonia smiled and looked at the stars. An unnoticed tear slipped down her cheek.

"Yes...he did. Why, I remember the day we found out I was pregnant with you. He was so nervous! And the look in his eyes when he felt you kick for the first time...I will never forget it." she said with a slight laugh. When she looked at her son, she found him smiling. She extended her arms out to him, and he fell into his mother's arms. He cried. The last time he had cried...was so long ago.

"I...w-wish I knew him." he said quietly.

"I know...I know." She said soothingly while running her hands through his hair. "Perhaps someday..."

Raiquen nodded softly and let his thoughts wander. He hardly dared to believe the bad that had been said of his father. The only thing he knew was his mother's words. But he couldn't help wondering why Lear had reacted in such a way to his mother. Had she really hated him that much? He felt a twinge of anger at this but dismissed it immediately. Fia clicked her beak gently nearby and he was reminded of his aunt's love for him. He finally fell on the thought that he would have to question her the next time he saw her.

"Now, help me pitch up this tent, yeah?" Begonia said as she let go of her son. Raiquen nodded and helped his mother pitch up the tent. Within a matter of a minute or so, their tent was up and they rested inside of it. They watched the shadows dance on the fabric of the tent, their movements lulling them to sleep.

"I love you, Mom." Raiquen said with a yawn.

"And I you...good-night, Raiquen." Begonia said quietly.

They slept peacefully at the edge of the desert, resting well for the day that lay ahead of them.

Thanks for reading!! I'll try to make sure I post more often, even though I have school. XD

I have some pieces of artwork posted on my deviantart page...if you want to see them, then go to my profile page and click the link. XD

Disclaimer: I don't own the nintendo characters.

However, I do own Begonia and Raiquen. My writing partner owns Lear.