Triangle

Chapter 3

Author's Note: What will happen to Sophia now? Will Altair continue to be a jerk, or will he learn to let Sophia into his heart? Or will he push her into the arms of Malik? Or will they both fall for her at the same time? Only time will tell…..

Disclaimers: I do NOT Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft does. Now without further ado on with the story… Enjoy…..

Desert Storm had returned to her room after a long day of training with Altair, her thoughts on Malik. A small smile graced her lips as she laid on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as the sun set behind the mountains. As her thoughts remained on Malik and his sweet kiss, she couldn't help but smile more as she brought her fingers to her lips, remembering how Malik's felt on hers. She could tell Malik was sweet and caring, but could be just as deadly as the others when the time came.

Her thoughts continued to drift more towards Malik and the kiss they shared, until she heard someone banging at her door.

"Novice, open up right now!" Altair yelled, anger clear in his voice, ready to break the door down and demand answers.

She groaned as she sat up, running a hand down her face as she got up, walking over to the door. When she opened it, she saw Altair glaring heatedly at her. She took a step back, not used to seeing Altair this angry before.

"What do you want now, Altair?" she sneered at him, not liking the fact that he came to her room and almost barged in.

"What's going on between you and Malik?" he demanded, not liking the fact that Malik and Desert Storm were getting so close, after her training had only just begun.

She narrowed her eyes at him, not backing down from his intimidating glare. Her arms crossed over her chest as she stood her ground against him. She knew he could fight very well-he had already proven that in the training grounds with just a sword and not any other weapons.

"Why do you care? It's not like we're friends; you're my teacher, nothing more than that. So if you're done being a jerk, I would like to take a nice warm bath and then get some rest for tomorrow's training."

With that, she slammed the door in Altair's face. She sighed, walking over to the window sill and sat down on the edge, gazing out at the landscape. She heard Altair walk away and slam his door, and she shook her head in exasperation.

Not knowing why he was acting this way, she leaned her head back and rested it against the wall. She rested her arms in her lap as she looked out onto the horizon. Her shoulders sagged a little, as she decided against the bath for the time being, opting for rest instead. There would be time in the morning since she woke before the sun was even up.

She rose from the bed, taking off her robes but keeping her trousers and shirt on. She slowly stretched her arms above her head and let out a small moan. She laid back down and looked up at the ceiling, not sure what to do now. She closed her eyes, hoping to get some sleep, but her mind kept racing as she thought of Malik and Altair-she just didn't know what to think of them.

Her thoughts continued to race as she laid there, making her toss and turn, unable to shut her mind off. She swiftly rose from the bed and walked over to her door, yanking it open. She looked up and down the hall, making sure no one was milling around, and stepped out of her room. Gently, she closed the door behind her and walked past Altair's room, not wanting to wake him, in case he was still asleep. She shook her head, still not sure what to think of the Assassin.

Her boots resonated on the stone as she made her way to the fountains, in the courtyard. A small smile graced her lips as she sat down and gazed into the water. So many emotions ran through her mind, and she was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she didn't notice someone was coming up behind her.

A hand landed softly on her shoulder and she jumped, her heart racing within her chest as she whipped her head around. She let out a deep breath when she realized it was Malik, and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Malik, you scared me half to death."

He chuckled softly. "Forgive me Desert Storm, I did not mean to scare you so. But why are you not resting? If I am right, you have training in the morning?" he asked, noticing she was sitting alone.

"I do, but I can't seem to stop thinking." She glanced away, a light blush creeping across her cheeks when she caught herself looking at Malik's lips.

"What are you thinking about? If you don't mind me asking," he asked curiously.

She turned to face him. "Oh nothing really, just not sure what to think of everything going on," she lied, hoping Malik wouldn't press her for the real reason.

Malik nodded in understanding. "I'm sure with everything that has happened, it is a lot to take in. After all you're from some place different, and not used to how things are done here," Malik answered as he sat down beside her, placing his hand on her shoulder once more, a soft smile on his lips.

She returned the gesture before turning back to face the water. The pair had no idea they were being watched by someone; Altair stood in the shadows, his eyes narrowed in anger at the two who remained unaware of his scrutiny.

"We should return to our rooms so that we can be rested for tomorrow. I have no doubt Altair will be more harsh on you," Malik stated, briskly rising and peering down into her eyes.

She nodded curtly and stood as well, unable to stop the smile that formed on her lips as she stared into Malik's eyes. They left the courtyard and sauntered back into the fortress, heading down the hall to their rooms. Her eyes glanced up at Malik and she hesitantly asked, "Does Altair hate women, or something?"

Malik looked ahead, unsure of how to answer her. "I can not say little one. Altair is...a stubborn one. He can be difficult to figure out."

She nodded, contemplating his answer, as they passed countless doors. When they reached hers, she looked up and met his gaze.

"Thank you Malik, for walking me to my room," Desert Storm said, smiling softly up at him.

Malik rested his hand on her lower back and returned her smile, placing a small kiss on the top of her head. "It was my pleasure, little one," he whispered tenderly.

He held her gaze, staring into her gray eyes as he leaned forward, until their lips lightly touched. Desert Storm brought her hands up and rested them on his chest, the feel of his rigid chest muscles underneath her palms sending tingles down her spine.

"Don't you have some place to be, Malik?"

They jumped apart quickly, looking around for the source of the voice. Malik's hidden blade shot out, ready to strike the unseen enemy. They sighed with relief when they saw it was Altair, coming out of the shadows, his arms crossed over his chest. Malik retract his blade, brazenly glaring at Altair.

"Yes, I was just heading to my room. Goodnight Desert Storm." Malik smiled softly at her before turning his attention to Altair, giving him a very small nod as he walked off, not waiting to hear his response.

He paused in front of a door just past Desert Storm's room, and turned to look back at them once last time, a small smile on his lips. After a moment, he disappeared inside his room and shut the door softly behind him.

Desert Storm whipped around to stare at Altair, refusing to say anything to the jerk. She opened her door, glancing at him one last time, before starting to close her door in his face.

"If you know what's good for you Novice, you'll stay away from him," Altair hissed into the night, before her door was fully closed.

She shook her head, walking over to her bed and collapsing onto it. She looked up at the ceiling contemplatively, as she tried to fall asleep. Eventually, her eyes drifted shut and her last thought, was that she hoped Altair wouldn't be too harsh on her during training in the coming days.

Desert Storm woke before the sun hit the mountains. She sat up and stretched her arms over her head. She gathered her clothes and walked to her door, pulling it open and looked down, making sure she had everything for her bath. She walked past the many doors that lined the hallway, heading for the bathhouse that were on the grounds.

Because it was so early in the morning, the sun wasn't nearly as hot as she knew it would be later on when they began to train. She passed the oval training grounds, her boots crunching on the gravel and sand. Finally, she came to the wooden hut that served as the fortress' bathing house. When she pulled the rickety door open, a wave of steam came out and blew into her face, the warmth soothing her muscles immediately.

An attendant walked up to her, and offered to hold onto her clothing while she bathed. Desert Storm thanked the woman and after she handed her the pile she'd carried in with her, she padded over to the round wooden tub that was set in the floor, carefully stepping down into the steaming water.

She sank into the water, fully submerging herself. When she rose out of the water again, her hair slicked back, she let out a small sigh as the water washed off the dirt and grime of yesterday's training. She gathered the oils that sat next to the bath and lathered them in her hair, the scent of jasmine and lilies floating throughout the room.

After soaking for what felt like ages, she rinsed off and rose from the bath. The attendant appeared and handed her a white, fluffy towel that she wrapped around her body. Desert Storm wrung the water out of her hair and dried off before turning to the attendant, who had her clothes held out in her hand.

She quickly dressed in her novice robes, ready to head to the training grounds, when her thoughts drifted to Malik and how his hand felt on her lower back. Her cheeks flushed as she thought of how it had felt to be in his arms and to be near him.

She quickly shook her head, ridding herself of those thoughts-they wouldn't do any good during her training with Altair. But she still couldn't figure out what Altair had meant when he'd said 'stay away from him'. Was he trying to warn her? Or was he just being an ass?

The wooden beams that made up the fence surrounding the training oval creaked when she leaned on them. Altair would be up soon and ready to train, so she decided to wait for him outside. The sun was beginning to finally peek above the mountains and she stood there, watching it rise.

"Ready, Novice?" Altair asked from behind her. When she turned to face him, his eyes narrowed under his hood in slight anger from last night.

"Ready as I'll ever be, Altair." Desert Storm sighed heavily, not fully ready for the hell storm known as Altair, and his almost deadly training methods.

He nodded and walked off, not caring if she followed or not. He would make her training a lot harder today than it was followed him, her head held high as they hopped over the fence, walking into the center of the training grounds.

She focused solely on Altair as he stood a few feet away, his stance showing an air of intimidation. She knew he was planning a thousand different ways to kill her in just a heartbeat.

She prepared herself for what might come her way,knowing Altair could strike at any moment. She stared at him intently, refusing to take her eyes from him for even a moment.

In a flash, Altair disappeared from her sight and she whipped around as he brought his wooden sword down on her. She parried quickly with her own weapon and leapt backwards, her defensive reflexes at attention.

Author's note: well there you have it, another good story thanks to a special friend of mine LILYisatig3r who helped me write most of Chapter 2 and 3 and I can't thank her enough for all her help. Be sure to check out her stories and enjoy them as I have.