Author's Note: Man, I'm so sorry, you guys! I've been pretty busy, and… bah, enough with excuses. On to the next chapter!
"Do these stairs ever end?"
The question seemed irrational, but it kept running through Rikku's head. It seemed that these stairs knew no end, but merely continued climbing into the black abyss. The girl's legs were beginning to tire, but the boy showed no sign of exhaustion.
Rikku had tried her best to think of something they could have a decent conversation about, nothing came to mind. Then again, in this sort of situation what would someone talk about? These stairs sure are pretty. What time is it? What a nice black sky we're seeing today… None were really appropriate.
Unable to bare another step, Rikku turned around and plopped herself down on one of the steps. Riku stopped and turned to look at the girl.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"What does it look like I'm doin', buddy?" Rikku replied irritably. "I'm taking a break! My legs are killing me, and it feels like we've been climbing these stairs for hours."
Riku sat down next to her and put on a puzzled smile. "All right, but I wouldn't stay here for too long," he warned. "These stairs look like they could, at any moment… disappear."
With that he stood and continued to climb.
D-disappear? Rikku thought.
Uneasiness swept over her and in a minute she was back on her feet, next to Riku, climbing. After a few minutes, Rikku stopped.
"Hey, that was just a trick!" she shouted at Riku. "To get me to keep moving!"
"You're a smart one, huh?" Riku said in a cocky tone. "C'mon, we're almost there anyways."
The boy reached down and took Rikku's hand, gently pulling her further up the stairs. Rikku pouted a bit as the boy pulled her along, but voiced no objection. Minutes passed and what looked like a large door was a few yards ahead.
Finally, they'd reached a platform. Riku released Rikku's hand and went to examine it. Rikku, however, was captivated by the image on the floor. A beautiful princess had her figure imprinted on it. The stunning image looked like it should be in the stained glass windows of a magnificent church. Her pretty brown hair lay comfortably on her shoulders and she wore an attractive blue gown. The beauty of this gown was rivaled only by a sparkling tiara that lay perched above her forhead.
"Hey, Rikku, c'mere!"
Rikku, taken by surprised, jumped at the sound of her name being called. She joined Riku at the giant door. Rikku ran a hand over one of the pearly handles of the double doors.
"Help me push it open." Riku demanded.
"You could at least as, ya know!" Rikku told him.
The two leaned against the giant doors and pushed as hard they could. They pushed and pushed, but the door remained closed and unmoving, as if mocking them.
"Push harder!" Riku barked at the girl.
"Shut up!" Rikku retorted, now growing annoyed at his demands. "I'm pushin' as hard as I can, all right? How about you try putting a little more back into it, 'kay?"
"Stupid woman…" the boy mumbled under his breath.
Rikku, catching this quiet complaint, kicked Riku hard the shin and continued pushing.
"What was that for, you idiot!" he asked, his face beginning to grow red with his rising anger.
"For being a meanie, that's what!" Rikku replied simply. "Now, shut up and push, I think it's almost open."
Sure enough, after maybe a second more of pushing, the double doors surrendered and began to open. Exhausted, the two backed away from the door as it bathed them in bright white light. Rikku raised an arm to shield her eyes from the blinding light. She squinted, then closed her eyes. The last thing she saw before doing so was Riku shutting his eyes tightly.