Chapter Seven: Reunited

"Arrietty?" Sho exclaimed, running towards the window. His hands slammed against the windowpane as he struggled to open it. It's her! It's really her! He could see Arrietty struggling to open the window too, even though she was far to small to make it budge.

Sho grunted and heaved at the window, causing it to shoot up. He stumbled forward slightly; he caught himself on the window's ledge and reached out to Arrietty. He saw a look of glee light up her face as she leapt onto his hand.

He heard her crying, "It's you! It's really you!" little tears slid down her cheeks as her held her to his chest; It was the best hug that they could manage. He felt her tiny fists clenching tightly to his shirt.

"I didn't think I'd see you again." Sho whispered to her as he lifted the small borrower to eye- level.

"I thought the same thing," Arrietty replied, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand. Sho drank her in. She had only gotten more beautiful since the last time he'd seen her. Arrietty's thick, auburn hair framed her oval face. Her large dark eyes shined with joy as she looked at him. She still wore her red borrowing dress and brown boots. "You've grown" she said softly touching his thumb.

"Only a little bit. After the operation I started growing, but I'm still not as strong as the other kids at my school." Sho smiled.

"School?" Asked Arrietty. Sho opened his mouth to answer her but was interrupted by a gruff coughing noise. Spiller looked down towards the window again.

He saw a rough looking borrower looking at him pointedly. He had tan skin and shaggy black hair that fell in his face. He wore a tunic underneath some type of cape; it was some type of fur. Sho noticed the borrower held a bow in his left hand, but his right hovered near his waist as if he were about to grab something.

Sho looked at Arrietty pointedly. "Oh!" She exclaimed with sudden realization, "Sho this is Spiller, he's the one who found my family's new home." She explained. "Spiller, this is Sho, my best friend." Sho smiled at his title, he felt his heart warm slightly.

"How did you get here?" Sho asked as he gently set Arrietty on his bed.

"Spiller and I walked, It took us… How long Spiller?" Spiller looked at Arrietty then paused to think. Sho saw him counting on his fingers the number of days.

"Spiller think… Four days, three nights" He said.

"You walked all that time just to see me?" Sho looked down at Arrietty. He saw her face fall.

"I wish that was all this visit was, but there's something I have to tell you, Spiller can you come over here?" Spiller nodded and walked toward the ledge. Sho offered his hand so that he could carry Spiller to the bed.

Spiller looked at his hand for a moment, then he turned to Sho and shook his head. Sho saw the borrower strap his bow across his torso, then he took off his fur and tied the bottom corners to his ankles and gripped the front corners tightly with his hands. Then, to Sho's surprise, Spiller jumped off the ledge. Sho watched the breeze from the open window carry Spiller all the way to his bed. Spiller landed next to Arrietty and looked at Sho pointedly, a slight grin on his face.

Sho felt his face flare up slightly. I know what he's doing… realized Sho He's jealous because he likes Arrietty! Sho felt his own jealousy rise for a moment, but it quickly subsided.

Sho took a seat next to Arrietty, "So what did you come her for then?" He asked.

Arrietty sighed sadly then looked at Spiller, then back at Sho.

Sho felt his heart stop for a moment. "Are- Are you two getting… Married?" Sho asked.

Arrietty and Spiller looked at each other, they both wore matching blushes. "N-No!" stuttered Arrietty as she flushed red. Sho inwardly sighed with relief.

Sho watched Arrietty regain her composure before she tried again.

"Sho, the last time I saw you you said you thought we were a dying species-" Sho winced at the memory and tried to ignore the angry look Spiller gave him. "Well it turns out, we aren't. There are things called Borrower Cities, where borrowers go to trade and live with more borrowers. They're usually under small towns or in the 'bean's' neighborhoods, where they can get a lot of borrowings, but still not be noticed." Sho nodded, It seemed to make sense that borrowers would do that. "But lately there have been… Uprisings." Sho raised an eyebrow.

"Some Borrowers have lost family and friends to the beans, and sometimes things get a little out of control, but this time it's worse. There is supposed to be a whole group of borrowers coming to attack." Arrietty paused "They're coming here."

Sho's mouth formed an 'O'. "You mean they want to attack the house! But that's crazy"

Arrietty nodded, "I think they're just sad. Borrowers aren't violent people, we just want to survive." Spiller nodded in agreement. "I came to warn you." Continued Arrietty, "I'll help you stop them, I think if we can just talk to them then we can calm them down. "

Sho nodded, "I can go down and talk to the borrowers too, maybe-"

Arrietty shook her head. "That would only frighten them. I think it would be better if you stayed upstairs and we went to go talk to them, and will you keep Niya up here too? If she chases them off they still won't understand that not all 'beans' are dangerous."

Sho looked at Arrietty uncertainly, but she continued to look at him pleadingly. Sho sighed. "Alright."

"No worry." Spiller said abruptly, Sho looked down at him. Spiller was looking at Sho with a determined look, "Spiller keep Arrietty safe." Sho nodded and leaned down towards Spiller.

"I'm going to hold you to that."

Spiller nodded.

"So, Arrietty." Sho turned back towards the small borrower. "Tell me everything, how is your family? Where are they now?"

"My family is fine, we live in a cottage with two old ladies named Meredith and Gertrude." Sho nodded.

"Have you met any other borrowers?"

"Yes, so far I've only met one family, There's Rupard, Maltessa and their son Ryus."

Sho noticed Spiller standing off awkwardly to the side, he kept his eyes fixed on Arrietty the whole time. Sho looked towards Arrietty, "Do you think you two might want to take a bath?" Sho asked.

Arrietty looked at him curiously, "Where would we take one?"

"I can plug the drain in the bathroom sink and fill it with bubbles, you can take a bath that way." Arrietty nodded and looked at Spiller.

"You can go first Spiller." Arrietty said. Spiller looked at her nervously then shook his head from side to side quickly. "Don't worry Spiller, I'll go right after you." Spiller looked like he was going to refuse again, but he eventually grunted an,

"Ok"

Arrietty smiled at Spiller, Sho saw a blush creep onto the warrior's face. He sighed and picked up Spiller.

Spiller looked at him with a look of shock then anger as he carried him to the bathroom. Spiller struggled in his grasp as Sho plugged the sink and filled it with warm water. He set Spiller down on the counter and looked around for any tupe of flotation device.

Spiller jumped away from Sho like his hand was on fire. Spiller's hand immediately went to the quiver of bows strapped to his waist, but then stopped. He clearly didn't want Arrietty to get upset with him.

Sho looked in the drawer under the sink and found the best option: a sponge. Sho dropped it in the water and turned to Spiller, who looked at him with open distaste.

"You can get undressed here, then walk to the sink and jump onto the sponge, I already put some soap in the water, you can swim around in there if you want, I'll bring Arrietty in for her turn in a few minutes. " Sho turned and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Spiller cautiously looked over the sink's edge. The water looked harmless enough. The sponge also looked stable, and the water level was high enough that he could jump from the sponge to the edge of the sink.

Spiller took off his fur and put it by the tap, he then removed his belt and shoes and forearm protectors. Lastly he peeled off his tunic and jumped into the water.

~:~:~:~

Ryus was sitting in the grass. The chirps of crickets filled the night air as he examined the house in the distance. It was about a day's journey away. Einar had said they'd leave in the morning so they could get a good night's rest.

Ryus turned around to see Einar pep talking a small group of borrowers huddled around a campfire. Over the past few days Einar had managed to keep himself looking clean and collected, despite being in the wild for a few days.

Ryus noticed Mayella sitting in the small group of women that had come along, all had lost children to the beans. She was wrapping scrapes and cuts for them. Ryus smiled. Everynow and then she'd shoot an annoyed look at Einar, but she'd never say anything.

For a split second everything was quiet, no wind, no crickets, no owls, no voices. Just silence.

It's the quiet before the storm.

~:~:~:~

Sho gently set Arrietty on the counter; "I can fill up the sink again for you Do you want some vanilla soap? It's a little more feminine than the soap in here. I can borrow I from Sadako's room.

"Sure, Arrietty replied that'd be nice. Sho smiled and closed the bathroom door. Arrietty heard the creaking of steps of stairs, and then all was quiet. Arrietty made her way towards the sink. She stopped a few inches away and looked around. The air by the sink was a thick mist and was warm. Arrietty kneeled down and started to unlace her boots when she heard a sloshing sound and feet patting on the counter. She looked up to see Spiller looking at her, his face was bright red and his mouth was slightly agape.

"A-Arrietty?" he asked, embarrassed. Arrietty's eyes trailed past his bare chest, and below his waist for a split second.

"Eeep!" She shrieked before whirling around so that she was facing away from him. "I'm so sorry!" She cried trying to hide the blush on her cheeks.

She heard the scuttling of feet and the shifting of clothing on skin.

"Arrietty can look now."

Arrietty cautiously turned around. Even though Spiller was fully clothed, save his fur which was draped over his arms. Spiller's face still had the same shade as a tomato. His damp hair clung to his face and drops of water clung to his bare arms. "Did see?" Spiller asked.

"See what?" Arrietty asked. Spiller grunted and shifted from side to side. "Oh, you mean that!" She said, her cheeks burning. "No, I didn't see anything." She lied.

Spiller seemed to look relieved and walked toward the other end of the counter.

Sho then entered the room, with a bottle of soap in hand. Spiller and Arrietty avoided eye contact and faced away from each other while Sho refilled the sink. Sho thought it was best not to comment on it though. He added a few squirts of vanilla soap and swirled the water around. He then turned to Arrietty.

"Have a nice bath, I'll come back in a few minutes, and I'll knock before I come in." Sho assured. He offered his open palm to Spiller, who grudgingly allowed Sho to carry him. Once the door was shut Arrietty sighed and removed her shoes, followed by her dress. She slid from the sink's edge down to the sponge. She landed with a 'pumph' as the water splashed around her face.

Arrietty picked up a poof of foam and rubbed it across her body, when she was done she slipped off the sponge and into the warm water.

She rinsed the suds off her body then dunked to wet her hair. She rinsed her hair and dunked again. She still had a few minutes left. She swam from one side of the sink to the other a few times, but was quickly bored of that. I wonder if I can touch the bottom…. She thought curiously. She looked down at the base of the sink. It doesn't look that far… She thought.

Taking a large gulp of air Arrietty dived down and started kicking her legs. She couldn't see how far from the bottom she was, but she knew she was close when she felt her ears pop.

Her chest was starting to burn when her hands collided with the smooth floor of the sink. Arrietty flipped around and kicked off the floor propelling her towards the surface.

Her lungs were screaming now. Arrietty pumped her legs harder. She flung her hand up and her fingers broke the surface. Arrietty gulped for air, relishing it as it filled her lungs. She laughed cheerfully and climbed onto the sponge. She pulled herself up and rung the water out of her hair. She slid on her dress and shoes and waited for Sho to come and get her.

He knocked just like he'd promised. While he drained the sink he asked her how her bath was.

"It was really nice, thanks for the soap, it smells lovely." Arrietty said as he carried her to his room. He set her on the bed next to Spiller who smiled when he saw her.

"Nice bath?" He asked with a wide smile. Arrietty returned the grin

"It was wonderful." She said.

"Smell nice." Spiller said looking at her.

Arrietty leaned in and sniffed his hair. It smelled sort of spicy, not at all like soil and earth, the smell Arrietty preferred.

"You smell nice" Arrietty said pulling away.

"No, Arrietty smell nice."

"Oh," Arrietty giggled, embarrassed. "Thank you."

Sho had opened up the dollhouse for them, "There's a bedroom behind the study, I hadn't noticed it before, but it's there, and there's two beds. " Arrietty and Spiller ventured into the bedroom. "It's late so I'll see you two in the morning." Sho said.

"Goodnight." Said Arrietty with a wave.

"Night." replied Sho with a smile.

Arrietty turned to examine the room. It was just as glamorous as the living room and kitchen had been. Two identical beds were on opposite sides of the room. A wardrobe, vanity, and a lamp were also nicely placed in the room. Arrietty flopped on one of the beds. Exhaustion had finally hit her.

"It's nice to be on a bed again, huh Spiller?" She said as she pulled up the covers.

He grunted.

"Are you tired."

Spiller grunted again. Arrietty giggled

"Goodnight Spiller"

"Goodnight Arrietty"

Yay! I hope you liked this chapter! I worked super hard on it! Please, review! I update faster if I get reviews, I'll take criticism! I want your feedback! I appreciate it! :) Thanks for reading! Now, time for Reviewer Responses!

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