This is gonna take awhile, thought Reiyka. She felt uneasy about the cracks on the gourd. She pulled the strap again, this time using her arms. It stood upright, then slowly started to fall towards her. Apparently it was full of sand, for it made a sound like a rainstick. She managed to catch it before it could squish her. Reiyka knelt down and pulled the straps over her.
"Ok, you can do this." Reiyka whispered to herself. She started to raise herself up. Heavy was an understatement. She plopped back down.
"Come on, it's not that heavy." She heard the Kazekage say. Reiyka could hear the ridicule in his voice.
"You actually carry this around?" said Reiyka, her voice strained as she tried standing up again. The strap cut into her torso, and her back hurt from the shape of the gourd. She sat down, panting slightly. I can't stop now, Reiyka thought angrily. "Argh!"
Gaara turned around to see her stand up shakily, then move as quickly as she could to the door. She looked like she was about to fall as she pulled the door, but it closed loudly as she left.
Hmmm, he thought.
Reiyka dashed to the staircase, ignoring the looks she got from people on the building, wanting to get it over quickly. As she glanced up at the stairs, her jaw dropped again. It was almost at the very top. She gripped the strap and slowly put her foot on the stair.
"What an asshole." she muttered, climbing the stairs with difficulty. As she reached the fourth floor, she stopped to rest. Reiyka struggled to breathe. She started to feel cold because of the sweat sticking to her back. Her hands were still sore from earlier.
"Oh, hello." said a voice. What a coincidence, it was the guy who had bandaged her hands. He walked up to her. "What are you doing with Gaara's gourd?"
"He made me take it to his room." panted Reiyka.
"Really? Haha! I'm Kankurou by the way. Don't mind my brother, he's really good at heart."
"Oh believe me, I know." Reiyka replied sarcastically. She started to climb the stairs again. She still felt a bit shy with him. But Kankurou followed her. "You say he's your brother, is he really the leader of this village?"
"Yeah, they gave him the position. You said your name is Reiyka? From the hidden Glass Village?" Reiyka nodded, really struggling now with her burden. "That's really interesting. Well, I have to split, I still have to meet up with somebody." he said, waving.
"Wait!" said Reiyka, but Kankurou vanished with a puff of smoke. Reiyka nearly lost her footing. "Who can help me?!"
She continued for three more flights of stairs, until there was only one more set to go. Reiyka took the key from her pocket and climbed the last steps, which ended/led to a massive dark wooden door. She twisted the key and with some difficulty pushed the door open. At first she was amazed at the room; it was very big, with huge glass windows, white curtains, a small dining room and kitchen, a lounge, a bathroom and a bedroom, but then everything looked, felt and SMELLED like it had been unoccupied for ages!
Reiyka removed the gourd from her and propped it beside the door, not knowing what to do.
Gaara checked the time. The princess had not returned yet, it was already late. He considered staying in the office but he saw her bag on the sofa. He decided to look and give it to her. Within ten minutes, he had reached the door. Finding it unlocked with the key still stuck to the keyhole, he entered.
He had only been inside his living quarters once, and he had only visited it to check if the view was nice. Gaara had noticed that everything seemed to have been cleaned recently, so he guessed that she must have been responsible for it. He checked and indeed found the gourd beside the door.
Gaara opened the door to the bedroom slowly and saw the girl sprawled on the bed. She hadn't bothered to take off her shoes. Her mouth was open as she was sound asleep. He couldn't help it but smile (which felt rather weird but nice at the same time). Gaara put her bag on the floor and left, closing the door quietly.