Chapter Three: Beginning of the Journey
Arrietty shifted her backpack into a more comfortable position. She and Spiller were standing outside after having said goodbye to Homily and Pod.
Homily had squeezed Arrietty tightly and reminded her to make sure she had vegetables with her dinner and if she wanted to come home early that was perfectly fine. Pod had given Arrietty a warm hug and whispered, "be safe."
Arrietty had nodded and assured him that she would. Spiller had given Homily and Pod an awkward hug before hurrying back to Arrietty.
They now stood hidden by blades of grass as Spiller led her through the yard. Spiller seemed to have no problem navigating through the darkness, but Arrietty felt herself stumbling every other moment.
At one point Arrietty had lost sight of Spiller through the tall forest of grass. "Spiller?" She called, panic hitching in her voice. She immediately tried to sprint ahead to find him, but she ended up running straight into his back.
"Oof!" Arrietty grunted as she landed on the ground. Spiller immediately turned around and helped her stand up.
"Arrietty ok?" He asked as he helped her dust off her dress.
"Yes, I'm alright." Arrietty replied as she tried to continue walking, but this resulted in her tripping again. Arrietty tried to hide her frustration as she stood up again with a huff.
"Here." Spiller said gruffly, offering her his hand. Arrietty felt her cheeks warm as she slipped her smooth hand into his rough, calloused one.
Spiller led Arrietty through the yard with ease, warning her if there was a rock or a hole. If she slipped he's quickly catch her around the waist and lift her back to her feet.
The pair stopped at the edge of a street. Spiller kept his hand firmly around Arrietty's as he listened for the rushing sound of a bean's car. After a moment or two before giving Arrietty a reassuring nod through the darkness.
Arrietty only saw the darkened shape of his head move before they darted across the long stretch of cement.
The two paused to catch their breath as Spiller looked up into the trees. Arrietty turned to him. "What are you looking for?" She asked.
"Shhh." Spiller replied, touching his finger to her lips. Arrietty felt her cheeks burn red.
Spiller led Arrietty to the base of a tree. "Can climb?" He asked pointing up to the branches above.
Arrietty nodded uncertainly. Spiller gave her hand a comforting squeeze as he gave her a lift onto the side of the tree.
Climbing was a little easier than she'd expected. The bark was easy to grab onto, and it made good stepping-stones and placed to hang onto.
Spiller was following close behind her, ready to catch her if she slipped. Eventually they reached a branch. Arrietty and Spiller sat down and wiped the sweat from their brows.
Arrietty let out a soft giggle. "That was fun" She whispered. Spiller gave her a wide grin.
"Arrietty like living outside?" He asked her seriously.
"Oh I love it!" She replied. Spiller nodded and became quiet.
"What's wrong?" Arrietty asked. Spiller shook his head quickly.
"Nothing wrong." Arrietty reluctantly didn't press him for an answer as she turned away.
"Get rest" Spiller said, standing up.
"But it's almost sunrise, don't we need to keep moving?" Arrietty asked.
"Spiller be back soon." He reassured her, placing a kind hand on Arrietty's shoulder.
Arrietty looked at him uncertainly as she leaned back against the trunk of the tree. "Ok…" she finally said, "Be safe." Spiller nodded before climbing up the tree again.
Arrietty watched him as long as she could, until the darkness enveloped him.
Arrietty sighed and looked up into the sky. The stars winked and glittered in the night. She made up shapes in the stars until she felt her head lolling to her shoulder, and before she knew it, she was in a deep sleep.
Several hours later, Arrietty began to stir. She rubbed her eye with the back of her hand, the she slowly sat up, yawning.
Arrietty opened her eyes. It was bright out, but it still appeared to be early morning. She began to stand up and straighten her dress when she saw it. A huge bird stood over her. It was red breasted and lightly hopped from foot to foot.
It cocked its head to the side and let out an earsplitting chirp. Arrietty leapt to her feet and began to back away, only to walk straight into the trunk. The massive bird moved closer to Arrietty.
Her heart thumped hard against her chest. Sweat began to stream down the side of her face. The bird began to lean closer to Arrietty's face.
"Aghhh!" Arrietty shrieked as she looked up into the bird's black, beady eyes. "Sp- Spiller!" She shrieked as her eyes slammed shut.
"Arrietty?" Spiller asked calmly. He jumped down from the branch above.
"Spiller! Run!" Arrietty shrieked, grabbing him by the arm.
"What wrong, what wrong?" Spiller exclaimed.
"Bird! Run-" Arrietty frantically tried to pull Spiller off the branch.
Spiller's face relaxed with understanding. "Arrietty, is ok." He said, firmly grabbing her by the shoulders.
"What are you talking about?" Arrietty asked.
"Spiller catch bird."
"You caught the bird? How?"
"Spiller take rope," He explained, gesturing with his hands, "and looped it around bird's head. He pointed to a rope that was laced around the beak and head. It had enough room of string left for Spiller to be able to guide the bird in whatever direction he wanted.
"That's so… Amazing Spiller!" Arrietty exclaimed, lightly touching his arm. Spiller blushed and rubbed the back of his head with his hand.
"This is how we get to The Underground." He said.
"Really?!" Arrietty tried to contain a squeal. "I really get to fly?" Spiller gave her a shy nod.
Arrietty jumped from one foot to the other. "Oh thank you, Spiller!" She gave him a quick hug. "When do we set off?"
"After breakfast." Spiller said. Arrietty nodded eagerly, until she saw what Spiller pulled out from under his fur cloak. It was a dark green, spindly, cricket's leg.
"Oh no…" Arrietty laughed. Spiller nodded.
"You promised." Spiller said as he pulled out his carving knife and began to hack of two pieces. He handed the first to Arrietty, who looked down at it with disgust. Her stomach began to churn.
Spiller took his own slice and took a large bite. It crunched loudly beneath his teeth with each bite.
Arrietty looked down at the pale green meat covered by a hard dark green shell. She took a deep breath before sinking her teeth deep into the crunching cricket.
She winced as juices exploded with each bite. Spiller looked at her intently as she chewed. After a moment of chewing Arrietty realized something, cricket doesn't taste that bad, in fact, it's kind of good.
Arrietty gave Spiller a reassuring nod, "It's pretty good, its flavor is something I can't quite place, but it's very…"
"Fresh?" Spiller added, cutting himself another slice.
"Yea." Arrietty agreed, taking another bite. Spiller gave her a knowing grin and finished the rest of his cricket, then stored the rest away for a later meal.
Arrietty stood up and pulled the backpack onto her shoulders, along with her white borrowing bag. Spiller took his own pack and led her to the bird that looked at them curiously.
"Spiller get on first, then help Arrietty up." He said as he mounted the winged creature with ease.
Now that Arrietty was about to get on the bird, she began to feel her nerves kicking in. "Are you sure it's safe?" She asked uncertainly as her stomach churned.
Spiller's dark eyes grew soft as he reached down towards her. "Spiller promise, Arrietty be safe." Just looking in Spiller's eyes gave Arrietty a renewed sense of reassurance. She took a deep breath and reached up to him.
Their hands slipped together like puzzle pieces as he pulled her on behind him.
Arrietty let her arms slide around his waist. At the moment, she couldn't she his cheeks flare up.
When Spiller had a firm grip on the bird's reigns, he led the great creature to the edge of the branch.
For a moment Arrietty looked down, that was a mistake. They were high above the ground, if one of them fell it would mean certain death. Before Arrietty could stop herself she buried her head in Spiller's back.
His pelt was soft, Arrietty tried to pretend that she was at home, in bed, just starting to wake up, and not hundreds of inches above the ground. Arrietty wound her fists tightly around Spiller's fur.
"Ready?" Spiller asked, glancing back at her.
"Mmrm" Arrietty mumbled from Spiller's back.
Spiller let out a quiet chuckle before giving the bird a light push off the edge. For a moment his stomach flew straight to his throat. He could heart Arrietty shrieking, and clinging tightly to him as they plummeted.
Then, the bird opened its wings and the wind filled them. They were soaring high above the branches; it would be impossible for a bean to see them from here.
Spiller easily guided the bird in the direction of The Underground.
After a few minutes Spiller gave Arrietty a gentle nudge with his elbow. "What?" Arrietty asked, her head still buried in his back.
"Look." Spiller said, gesturing to the sky. Arrietty meekly peeked out, and instantly her face lit up. The wind tousled her hair as the rode the wind currents across the sky.
"Oh Spiller this is amazing!" She exclaimed as she looked down to the houses below. "Do you think this is what we look like to beans?" She asked, tucking a stand of hair behind her ear.
Spiller grunted, trying to hide his smile. He turned to pretend he was guiding the bird some more. It was worth the extra work of catching the bird to see Arrietty this happy.
Spiller snuck one last glance. Her gaze was fixated on the ground below, a bright smile on her face.
He felt the corners of his mouth turn up. Definitely worth it
Thank you for reading! Please review, it helps motivate me to keep writing! I'll be leaving for the lake with my friends in a few days so you might not get an update for like, a week and a half. Ha ha, sorry about that. Anyways, Time for review responses!
PessimistGirl: It's great that you got an account! I got your PM by the way, I love the story you recommended for me! I love A:tLA And thank you, I worked hard on the Homily/Pod bit :)
JeremyX: I'm glad you like this story, especially since you aren't a Spiller/Arrietty fan. It means a lot to me, thank you!
