Our cute, little demon

13

"I'm going to talk to whoever is dropping off the food. I'll tell them to come back tomorrow and that we might have another sacrifice to give them and to ensure that she'll have a loving home." Once he knew they heard him, he turned to do just that, leaving his two soulmates and the little girl who had cried herself to sleep lying on the couch with her head in Tae's lap.

"I can't believe they sent her," Addy was pissed. Was it bad enough that they sent adults but a child? And if they actually murdered her family for protesting it... "Tae, we can't stay here. I can't see a new girl show up each year. They don't deserve this."

"They don't, but us running away won't fix anything."

She grumbled but didn't say anything.

"I brought the food. I'll make her something to eat. What are we going to do about her family?"

Both sets of eyes snapped to look at the demon placing the food basket on the table. "I think one of us should go and check; I'm just not sure how without getting caught."

"I can," Tae looked at both of them. "I used to sneak out constantly, and we always had to sneak back in. I won't get caught."

"Tae, are you sure? If they catch you..." she whispered, her entire face morphing into concern.

"It'll give me a chance to see my parents too, let them know that I'm okay and happy."

"Fine," she sighed as she squeezed his forearm a bit. "Just be careful and come back, okay?"

He stood up slowly, shifting the little girl so she was sleeping on a pillow. "I promise to come back to both of you." He leaned down and kissed Addy's forehead, and then he turned to Jimin. The demon was pouting a bit, and Tae wanted to kiss it away. So he did. He didn't stop kissing Jimin until he heard the demon giggle a bit. "I'll be back before nightfall."

Jimin wrapped Tae up in warmer clothes. It was still winter outside, but it should be fading within the next couple of weeks. But in the meantime, he needed his human to be warm. "I'll see you in a bit, okay?"

"I promise, Min," then, with one last kiss, he was gone. 

"I'll make her something to wear; that dress doesn't look very warm or comfortable."

"You really are sweet... for a demon."

He looked at his soulmate, "I've always been sweet; being a demon would never change that." She didn't say anything, just smiled at him softly. So he went to work to make a warmer outfit that Lucy would be comfortable in. He finished up right when Lucy woke up.

"Come on, let's go get you cleaned up and then change. After that, we can eat if you are hungry?"

Lucy didn't say much, but she nodded her head and followed after Addy. Jimin took a deep breath as he threw himself back onto the couch. This was not what he was expecting to do on their two-month 'I've Found You' anniversary. All three of them were quiet, just waiting for Tae to come back and tell them the news. 

Jimin wasn't sure what outcome he wanted if he was being honest. He knew the little girl didn't deserve to return to that village; no one deserves that kind of life. But he didn't want her parents to be dead either. Maybe Tae could bring them here if they were still alive. He was mainly worried about the village finding out that Tae and Addy were still alive.

The village would march to his cave and demand Jimin take their lives in front of everyone, and there is no way in Hell he'd hurt anyone, let alone one of his soulmates. It was getting late. Addy and Lucy might be unable to tell the time, but he could. It was almost dark, and he was doing everything he could to not let the two girls know how worried he was.

Tae looked around and went to his house. Once he saw it, it was clear. His Dad was probably gone, but his Mom should come home. He didn't knock, not wanting to risk being caught or his mother screaming when she opened the door. He could hear the sounds of his mother cooking, the clang of metal against metal. 

He went over and placed his hand over her mouth, "Mom, I need you not to scream. No one can know I'm here, okay?"

She mumbled something against his palm, and he moved his hand once he found out she wouldn't scream. She turned around, tears pouring out of her eyes. "My baby," she whispered right before she started hitting him in the chest and sobbing her heart out.

"I'm sorry; you know why I did it, though? But I'm so sorry."

"Why Tae? I know you love her, but why would you do that to me, to us?"

He shushed his mom as she hugged her tightly. "She's my soulmate; I couldn't let her be sacrificed."

"So you wanted to die yourself?"

"But I didn't, and neither did she; we are still happy. And the demon that lives in the mountain, Mom, he's the literal cutest, and he's so sweet. He made us clothes, he cooked us our meals, and oh my god, he can crochet, Mom. Legit, he crocheted us our blankets; he's so sweet."

"You seem happy, my baby," she whispered with her hand on his cheek. "I just wish you had said goodbye, that's all. I'm not surprised you ran after her; I'm just upset that I didn't even get a chance to hug you goodbye."

"I'll come back, I promise. He won't hurt us; I think he cares about us. But I'm here for a reason. Lucy."

His mom looked angry: " They are mad, absolutely mad, and then, with winter still here. I decided that it needed to be an even younger maiden to appease his wrath. Her father fought so hard; thankfully, he was already gone before he had to see them drag her away."

"What about her mother?"

"She was locked up, house arrest. She went a bit hysterical; her daughter was stolen from her, and then her husband was murdered as well."

Tae knew then that he also needed to get her mother out of there. She could take Lucy and go to the other village to raise her, maybe even get remarried again later when she's ready. It was hard to sneak over to her house without being seen; he even had to wiggle his way in through a back window. But he managed. Shuri was curled into a ball on the bed and crying in her sleep.

"Shuri," he whispered as he lightly shook her shoulder, "I have Lucy; I need you to come with me so you can see her. Grab anything you want to take with you, but we must go as soon as it's safe to. How often do they check on you?"

"Every few hours. They just came not that long ago, so we should be good for a while. Is she safe?" 

"She is. The demon that these idiots sacrifice our girls to just take them to another village. He doesn't hurt them at all."

"She's okay?" Shuri sobbed.

"She misses you, and I know that once she sees you, she'll be great. She doesn't know if either of you made it; all she saw was the blood."

That was all Shuri needed to hear. She got up and started packing everything she and Lucy would need. She packed up a few things of her husband's so Lucy would have something to remember him by. "I'm going to miss this place," she whispered.

"Why? This is the place that stole your husband and daughter from you."

"Not this village, our house. Lucy was born right here in this room. We were happy here, and this was the last place I got to tell my husband I loved him."