Triangles. Three. A triad. It all came down to that concept. Three triangles granting power; three Goddesses creating the world; three hearts, destined to never have those they wanted.

"It is time Sheik. May the Goddesses protect you," Zelda intoned in my head, formal at the end of our forced bonding.

"May the Goddesses protect you as well, milady," I replied.

Zelda gently took control of my hands, moving them in complicated patterns. As Zelda completed her ritual, a bright light flashed and I was in a cave, hidden deep within the desert. I patted myself, making sure that I was in my body and Zelda hadn't inadvertently sent my mind to her empty body. A lithe form- a male form- greeted my hands. Grateful, I started preparing a pack from the food that Impa had been using to keep Zelda's body fresh and useful. After Impa left the mortal realm, magic had preserved her empty body and our supplies while we waited for this day.

The day Ganondorf died.

Picking up my pack of supplies and taking one last look around the deserted cave, I left the desert.

It took me a month to go from the farthest reaches of the desert to Kakariko. I could have used my Sheikah magic to warp, but I needed the time alone. Seven years of sharing a body and a mind with another soul takes time to become normal, and what was once normal can become alien. Sharing a conscious with Zelda for seven years had left me a stranger in my own body.

I came perilously close to killing myself on that journey. All that kept me going was thoughts of seeing him, and Zelda. The two most important people in the world to me. Memories of them kept me sane when the emptiness of my head nearly drove me insane.

Coming into Kakariko, I spotted Link immediately. Jogging over to him, I touched his arm hopefully. "Link…" Link whirled around, sword already in hand. I ducked, willing my hand not to grab my dagger.

"Who are you?" he asked.

I was confused. "My name is Sheik, survivor of the Sheikah." I sketched a bow, hoping the familiar greeting would jog his memory.

Link's eyes narrowed. "You…" he hissed. "You scum. You traitor. You…Just go."

"Link?" I reached for his arm again, reconsidering as I saw his sword hand twitch. "I had hoped we could talk." I was baffled. The Hero had always been kind to me. He had never been so brusque, so…mean.

"No. Now go," he repeated. "Go before I become even more annoyed."

Link's brusque manner left no doubt in my mind that I would not want to see him annoyed. "I will Hero. Before I leave, may I ask why you are so insistent I leave?"

His eyes looked through me for a moment before they snapped back into focus and glared at me. "Because you're a liar, a murderer, a cheat, and a traitor. I don't know why Zelda ever put up with you."

"How, pray tell, am I a liar and a cheat?"

"So you don't deny that you're a traitor to King and country? Yet you forced the innocent Princess, light of my life, to murder, lie and steal. And you come waltzing in here to pretend that you're innocent. You aren't. And you aren't her. Get out. I won't tell you again."

Link leveled his sword with my throat, and I prepared to warp away. "I'm sorry Hero. I won't trouble you with my presence again. Goodbye," I said, warping, my 'I love you' lost to the winds.

When the magic gently deposited me back on solid ground, I stumbled right into Zelda's arms. "Sheik? What are you doing here?" she asked, gently catching me.

"Princess." I tried to pull away, despite the heartache demanding I stay with my dearest friend, but she held me tight. "I'm very sorry to bother you." I couldn't tell her that I had just been rejected by the one we both knew I loved. I could not explain how she was where I felt safest. The one I felt safest with.

"Sheik," she admonished, "I thought we were done with that 'Princess' nonsense. Besides, I gave the guards orders to find me when you finally came back. Come."

I cautiously followed her to the formal desk she used for important state matters. She thrust a letter into my hands. "I'm sure you can appreciate that my councilors have been trying to tactfully bring up marriage and the matter of heirs. As the crown princess and heir to my father's throne, naturally I would be the ruler and my husband my consort. I'm not afraid of marriage, or of motherhood. This does scare me."

Skimming the letter, I could see why. Link hadn't just called her his precious light to me, he'd written it as the greeting in a letter- a love letter that poured his love out to Zelda and asked her hand in marriage. I grimaced before throwing the hateful thing down onto the desk. "It should not frighten you Princess. Link is a good man and politically a good match."

Zelda glared at me. "I know. A politically raised child could see that Link is an ideal match. I want to know what you really think. You looked like you bit a lemon when you read the letter."

I decided it would be futile to debate with Zelda about my expression- the woman could read me like a book despite my mask- and to speak honestly with her. "I do not trust the Hero. Something in him changed after the defeat of Ganondorf."

She sighed. "I know. I was there. He was pleased to see me and seemed like the Hero we knew and guided. After you left, I was imprisoned in a crystal. I was so helpless Sheik. It was awful. It was nothing like the experience we shared. This imprisonment was far worse. Link went to fight Ganondorf and save me. I think seeing me so in the crystal…something snapped. Words fail me. He was brutal Sheik. I've never know Link to be unnecessarily cruel fighting anything or anyone, but he changed. And he's still cruel- and completely obsessed with me. Sheik, what should I do? He's gone to the council and they've been pressuring me to accept his suit. They cannot force me to, but they can try." Zelda's eyes filled with tears. "Goddesses help me Sheik- I know They chose him, but if I had to take a lover, I would take you Sheik. I trust you with my heart and my life, and Goddesses forgive me, I cannot trust Link in my bed."

"Zelda…" I ignored what was considered proper and walked to her, hugging her tightly. "Oh Zelda," I sighed, stroking her hair, "Would you really take a…man of my interests… for a husband?"

"Yes."

"Well then," I said, getting down on one knee, "Will you marry me Princess? I'll fetch a ring later if you wish."

"Oh Sheik!" It was Zelda's turn to throw her arms around me in a jubilant, and uncharacteristic, hug. "I don't need a ring. I can use the rings I inherited from my mother that I was all ready to wear." She stared into my eyes. "But, what will the council say?"

I smiled tenderly at her. "They won't dare say anything against me for fear of alienating the townspeople. You slept through the war, but remind me to show you my scars. The townspeople bear me no ill will and never will."

Zelda rested her head on my chest, arms still around me. "Oh Sheik. Thank you. You've saved me."

The door slammed open and I heard the whisper of steel sliding from a scabbard. "Saved you Princess? Who dared to harm you?" Link looked around the room with narrowed eyes, sword at the ready. "Thank the Three, there are no enemies. Why are you in that traitor's arms?"

"Zelda," I murmured, "Allow me." Releasing her, I turned. "Hero," I intoned, bowing my head briefly. "What brings you here?"

Link's sword wavered in the air. No doubt he wished it was against my neck instead. "I came to see the Princess and accept her hand in marriage. Now leave. This is going to be a very private moment. I told you I never wanted to see you again."

Zelda stepped to my side. "Link," she greeted calmly. "It is not traditional for the bride to ask the groom to marry her and it would be most improper for a princess. Whatever could you mean, accepting my hand in marriage?" Was that disgust I saw twisting her lips?

Link sheathed his sword and bent down on one knee. "Zelda. I have come to ask if you will make me the happiest man in Hyrule." He fumbled for a moment in a pouch, retrieving a ring. "Will you marry me?"

Zelda shrank into my arms to avoid Link and I wrapped my arms around her again. Link snarled. "Keep your hands off my fiancée."

"No. Not your fiancée Hero. Mine." Ignoring him, I gently touched Zelda on the arm. "Are you all right my sweet?"

"Thank you my love. I am fine. It was just a shock." Zelda brushed my hand away gently. "I am truly sorry Link, but as you can see, I have another."

Link howled in anguish. "No! You can't! You were the thing that kept me going, the one reason I fought! You can't leave me for….him! That bloody eyed, bloody handed traitor! He was working for Ganondorf!"

Zelda smiled sadly. "I know. He did it on my orders. Now, if you will excuse us, Sheik and I were working on marriage plans."

I barely managed to push Zelda out of the way as Link threw himself at me. In his rage he did not draw his sword- I suppose that was what saved me. I was able to deflect the worst of the blows, as Zelda screamed for the guards. I caught sight of her frightened face and I could see her wringing her hands. Once she began to chant something that may have been the beginning of a spell to break us apart, but she stopped as the guards came in. I could not bring myself to lay a hand on him, as he beat me and defended myself until the guards pulled him away from me. I heard Zelda give the order to bring him to a guest room and guard the door, instead of the dungeons. When they left, Zelda helped me up.

"Sheik, are you alright?" she asked, scanning me.

"Nothing more than bruises. I shall be fine."

Zelda sat down at her desk and patted a chair next to hers. She absently played with Link's letter as I sat down gingerly. "I know what he said hurt Sheik. I know you worked for Ganondorf, and I will never consider you a traitor for it. I know the people you hurt still hurt you."

"More than he could ever know," I said. "What did he mean you were the reason he fought? I thought he fought for Hyrule and his destiny."

Zelda sighed. "Yes and no. He fought for Hyrule and her future, but he also fought for me and our future. Our…intimate future. I was his first and only love- the regal princess, sending him out to do her bidding. I must have been the first non-Kokiri girl he'd met. For a long time, I thought he was my first and only love too. It wasn't until he slept and we waited that I realized he wasn't my love. He was my savior, my knight in shining armor riding up on his white horse to save us all. In the meantime, he wasn't there as I watched my land die and my people suffer. He wasn't there to comfort and guide me, or to save who he could." At my wide eyes, she smiled. "I slept less than you think Sheik. It hurt so much to see you being hurt trying to save everyone. We were all so young." Leaning up, she pressed her lips against mine through the cowl. "We were so young my love."

I'm not sure how OC any of them are. Expect Link. He's pretty OOC. XD

This is the first love triangle I've written ever. =)