Bread and Circuses

Sanctuary

Chapter 6

Rachel sat in our room, mireads of scales and arpegios pouring out of the bell of her horn, as they had been for the past hour and a half, and yet she never seemed to stop and take a breath. 

My attempts to take a nap had ovbiously failed.  I decided it was time to give up and go do something else. 

Wordlessly, I got up off my bed and left the room to go explore.

I wandered aimlessly through the corridors, which all looked the same and failed to capture my interest, until I came to a set of huge glass doors. 

 Above the doors in gold letters was the word 'Sanctuary' in huge bold print.  Curious, I opened the huge double doors and went inside.

The huge room that I had just entered seemed to be some kind of arboretum.  There was every kind of plant imaginable; trees, flowers, bushes, herbs, fruits, vegetables, and many others that I had no name for. 

 It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen, and I immediately resolved to spend every afternoon of summer training here, in this beautiful place.

  As I walked farther in, I noticed a large paved area in the middle of the room, which was lined with benches and rocking chairs, and in the very center, a huge silver fountain that gleamed in the sunlight coming through the roof above that was made entierly out of glass.  It was magical. 

 That is, until I saw that Connor Howe was sitting on one of the benches, cleaning his horn.  I considered revealing myself to him, but I was afraid it would seem like I was following him. 

 So I stayed, rooted to the spot, as he lifted his horn to his mouth and began to play.

The resulting sound was unlike anything I had ever experienced.  If the sanctuary was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, then this was the most beautiful thing I had ever heard. 

 The notes were as smoothe as silk, and clearly this quality of sound was as easy as breathing for him.  When he played, it was like opening a window deep into his soul.

Apparently, I was so transfixed by what I saw through his soul window that I didn't notice the music stopping. 

 So, I was completely shocked when he snuck up behind me and whispered "Boo!" in my ear. 

 I jumped about ten feet in the air, and fell right on top of him, twisting my ankle in the process. 

Unbelievable.

"What do you mean by sneaking up on me like that?!," I say, trying not to let the pain my ankle is giving me show too much.

"What do you mean by spying on me during my rehersal?," he asks in response.  "And why, might I enquire, are you on top of me?"

He has a point there, I thought, so I rolled off him, unfortunately landing on my twisted ankle as I went, which forced a yelp out of me.  "I asked you first," I said with some difficulty.

A look of realization crossed his face.  "Are you injured?"

"Yes, I twisted my ankle on the way down," I admitted.

"Do you know if there are any doctors around?"

"None that I know of.  Summer training isn't the most likely place to find a medical professional," I said quietly.

"Well, we have to get you some help, medical professionals or no.  Do you know anyone who knows first aid?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Me, of course."

"Oh, and how is it that you have medical training, might I enquire?"

"It was part of an insturmental maintenance seminar my father gave during one of our lessons.  Tubas are really heavy.  So heavy, in fact, that you can easily get injured carrying one, and if there's not a doctor around, like now, for instance, it's improtant that you know how to heal yourself."

"Well, can you heal yourself when you're in this condition?"

"Probably.  I will need some things, though."

"Such as?"

"A bandage of some sort, prefferably medical grade, and some pain medications if they can be found.  Also, some ice."

"I don't think you'll find any of that here.  We'll have to find it somewhere else."

"Well, there may not be any doctors around, but Colony law dictates that every residence of a certain size should have a first aid kit on every floor.  There will probably be some kind of a wrap in there.  The pain medications might also be in there, but it depends on the quality of the kit, which I'm guessing isn't very high here, so there might not be any.  As for the ice, there's definetly some in the dining hall."

"Perfect.  Let's go to the dining hall, and grab a kit on the way.  You can patch yourself up there."

"How do you suggest I get to the dining hall on an injured leg?"

Without further comment, he bent down and swept me off the ground.  He then proceeded to head towards the arboretum doors.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Helping you to the dining hall, of course."  He had a smug look on his face.

"What about your horn?  The humidity isn't good for it," I said, desperately clinging to any shred of hope that would get him to put me down. 

 As much as I hated to admit it, his close proximity to me was making me rather uncomfortable.

"It's not even slightly humid in here.  The temperature's perfect for insturment storage, that's why the arboretum's here for use as a practice space.  It'll be fine.  Besides, the preservation of your well being is much more important than any insturment.  Now, let's get you to the dining hall."

It wounded my pride slightly to admit it, but Connor's self-sacrificing attitude was really sweet, and maybe even slightly charming. 

 He wasn't bad looking, either, I though to myself for a minute. 

 But only a minute, becauseI quickly snapped back to reality, and in reality, I was only in this situation because of him, and he hadn't even apoligized. 

Not to mention the fact that he and I were both first chairs, giving us a working relationship.  There was no way that, after all that, I was going to fall for Connor Howe. 

 No way.

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Author's Note

Well, personally I thought the sprained ankle was a nice touch.

What about you guys?  What do you think?  Hmmm?  Comment!  I want to know what you think!

This chapter is dedicated to LyriceMusicNote, and her story Bryan.  It's really good.  Check it out. 

Seriously, the vote button is to your left, right over there <------, and you should really click on it, because it will make me so happy to see my story/brainchild get some love.  Pretty, pretty please vote, coment, and fan!  Please!   

Thanks for reading!