Anna bounced up and down before sprinting into the castle. She remembered where they'd been before and went that way; it was a simple matter to find the room with "Anna" written on the chalkboard on the door. She pushed it open to find a very utilitarian room with just a bed and a chest and the knapsack she'd brought with her.
Her hands trembling, she undid the drawstring on the satchel, pulling out the oak-and-leather case that contained both of her clarinets. She plucked the crystal one out of the case, along with one of the dried strips of grass she used as reeds, and quickly moistened the grass in her mouth. Wrinkling her nose at the taste, but giddy with excitement at having her instruments back in her hands, she expertly lined the grass up with the mouthpiece and pinned it in place with a thin metal band.
She brought the horn to her lips, lightly blowing on it, and a clear, piercing note sounded. Tears sprang to her eyes. God, she loved the sound of this horn, for all it was two octaves higher than a regular clarinet and thus was impractical for anything except her own music.
Clipping the instrument to it's lanyard, she walked slowly down the stairs to rejoin the group. At the last second she remembered something and ran back up the stairs, putting her standard wooden clarinet together. She tucked a reed for that into her hand and hurried down the stairs to rejoin the rest of the kids.
"Heya, Ven. I brought you something!" she said as she approached. "Let's see how you do on a clarinoodle?"
[@ShadowVentus]