The Little Demon

Chapter 8

"You know..." Carlotta began, as she served another large portion of mashed potatoes onto Malice's plate. "I heard the carnival is in town for a couple of days."

"Is it?" Harry said absently, eyeing Malice as they both ate.

He dropped his fork clumsily when she looked at him. "I mean, it is!"

Anti and Kill rolled their eyes while shaking their heads.

"It's not a bad idea...That sounds fun...I mean if she's interested." He smiled. "What do you think? Would you like to go to the carnival with me tomorrow?"

Malice nodded vigorously with a grin.

☆☆☆☆☆

"Here you are, Dear." Carlotta said, handing her a pale blue long sleeved nightgown. "You must be exhausted."

Malice smiled at her, before mouthing a thank you.

"My pleasure," The maid smiled back as she headed out the door. "You get some shut eye. Good night."

After shooing Kill and Anti out of the room, Malice unzipped the dress and pulled it off of her before slipping on the nightgown.

Once she had hung up the red dress in the closet, Malice could hear Harry and Digby outside the bedroom window.

Timidly, she approached the glass before peering out to see Digby running about and barking happily as his owner laughed that made her heart melt.

"Come here, boy!" He grinned, scratching his head as the mutt jumped onto his back legs and placed his paws on his master's knees.

Harry looked up suddenly, his smile widening as he saw her.

Blushing, Malice smiled back before stepping away from the window with butterflies fluttering in her stomach and her cheeks glowing.

After 2 minutes, Kill came back into the room looking irked.

"I've sent Anti downstairs to keep an eye on things." He said squinting at her as Malice pulled back the covers. "I hope you appreciate what I go through for you, young lady. Now we got to make a plan to get that man to kiss you."

Malice looked up at him briefly before snuggling down into the comforter and resting her head against the pillow.

"Tomorrow, when he takes you to that carnival, you got to look your best. You got bat your eyelashes, pucker your lips, and..."

He stopped mid-sentence when he saw that she had already drifted off to sleep.

"Oh Malice, it's never boring with you around." Kill sighed with a smile, shaking his head slightly as he flicked off the lights. "Sweet dreams."

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Back in the demon world, King Die paced around his throne room with his fingers clutching his hair. He barely noticed Pamick approach him with a somber look on her face.

"Any sign of them?" He asked desperately.

"No, your Majesty." She sighed. "We've searched everywhere. We've found no trace of Kill, Anti...Or Malice."

"Well, keep looking!" Die ordered. "Leave no stone un-turned! Let no one in this kingdom sleep until they're all safe at home!"

"Yes, Sire." Pamick replied bowing her head before leaving.

The king slumped onto his throne, hiding his face in his hands. "What have I done?"

ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ

A nervous knot tightened in Malice's insides as she watched Harry pay a man who had taken them to the carnival in a taxi that was perhaps a mile or two away from the field where she had rescued him.

Without Harry or the man knowing, Kill had sat in the front seat while Anti clung to the roof.

From afar, she could hear the sound of laughter and machines whirring.

Harry placed an arm around her shoulder, smiling warmly at her. "Ready to go?"

Malice nodded, returning the smile shyly with both her hands stuffed into the pockets of the black hoodie he had lent to her.

"Have you ever been to a carnival before?" He asked, walking them both towards the entrance.

She shook her head, blushing furiously.

"You'll love it!" He enthused. "I haven't been in so long. I don't know about you, but I think it's perfect for a first date-errr...I mean...Um...It'll be fun."

"Oh real smooth..." Kill scoffed, earning a side-glare from Malice.

They both got the back of their hands stamped after Harry had paid the entry fee which Malice couldn't help but be curious about.

"It's so they know that you paid to get in." He explained when he saw her staring at it. "You can only go on the rides if you have it. Speaking of which, what do you want to do first?"

Malice looked around slowly, taking everything in until her eyes landed on a carousel equipped with white horses wearing saddles of every color she could think of.

She pointed at it with a hopeful smile.

"Good choice!" Harry laughed, taking her hand.

After showing the mechanic their stamps, she followed him around the machine until one horse with a fiery red mane caught her attention.

She hurried up to it, barely able to contain her excitement. On its purple saddle, etched in gold, was the name Ariel.

"Isn't she a beaut?" Harry smiled, making Malice nod in agreement as she climbed on to her back while he picked a horse next to her with a brown mane named Benson.

Once the ride was occupied by enough people, the carousel slowly began to move. A wave of trepidation filled Malice's stomach as the horses began to move up and down, gradually going faster and faster.

Her whole form shook with silent laughter, her face bright with glee. She turned her head towards Harry who was grinning at her with as much joy.

All too soon, the carousel slowed to a stop though the buzzing that hummed in Malice's chest remained.

Harry got off his horse first before her, holding out his hand with a slight bow. "M'Lady."

Biting her lip, she accepted his hand as he helped her down, her cheeks burning.

"Did you like that?" He asked as they walked down the ramp of the exit.

Malice nodded eagerly, unable to take the grin off her face.

"Great!" Harry laughed. "What would you like to do next?"