"Hello, Anna," a voice said.

Anna turned and squinted into the darkness as two figures approached. "Sir Leon! And Sir Gwaine. Good evening."

"Good evening. Heading home?"

"Yep—need to be back in the surgery first thing tomorrow. I'm sure Geraint thinks he's coming down with something again."

Leon laughed. "Then you'll definitely need your sleep to have the patience to deal with him."

"I'm going to head on down," Gwaine said to Leon, and left with a smile to Anna. She smiled back, a little wistfully.

"He's annoyed that he's missing the feast," Leon said a little apologetically as soon as Gwaine was out of earshot. "We drew lots to see who would be on duty in the lower town tonight, and Elyan, Gwaine and I were all chosen. Percival's the only one who got out of it. I think Gwaine was hoping to have a dance with Lady Marged."

"Ah, yes." Anna remembered Lady Marged—a stunning blonde. Gwaine had been attached to her side the whole way through the last feast. "Well, at least he got to dance with her when Princess Mithian was here. I believe you ended up on duty that night."

"Yes." Leon looked rueful. "I don't seem to have very good luck, do I?"

"Well, perhaps it will be better next time," Anna offered. "Good night!"

"Good night."

Anna had intended to have supper and go straight to bed when she got home—it had been a long day. But she kept catching herself staring into the candle flame, her spoon frozen halfway to her mouth, imagining being a high-born lady at a feast. She could sit at a higher table, near the knights, rather than down at the lowest one. She could chat with anyone she wanted without looking presumptuous, and if one of the knights smiled at her, she could maybe believe they meant more than just to be kind.

Anna shook herself. She was being ridiculous—as usual. She sighed and ate another bite of stew.

"FIRE!"

She ran to her door. There was shouting a couple of streets away, and people were beginning to stream out the houses around her with buckets. Anna caught up the two next to her firepit and ran for the nearest well.

When she got down near the gate, all the houses in the street were already half burned. Leon was nearby, directing where to throw the water to keep the fire from spreading. "Anna!" he shouted. "There are some wounded over there!"

Anna passed off her buckets to someone else and ran to take a look at the injuries. They were mostly minor burns, and a little smoke inhalation.

"She's going to be just fine," she reassured the mother of a crying child.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Leon bellowed. Anna looked up to see soldiers in black streaming in the gate of the lower town. Elyan and Gwaine flew past her, heading in the direction of the castle. "EVERYONE BACK!"

"Come on!" Anna shouted over the voices of screaming children. "Back up to the next street! Let the knights through!"

The alarm bells began to ring. Soldiers in Camelot scarlet were racing toward the invaders while the people of the town huddled out of the way.

"Geraint!" Anna shouted. The old man had found a sword somewhere and was running toward the fight.

"Don't you worry, sweetheart!" he shouted back and was lost in the crowd.

Even over the shouts and screams, Anna could hear Leon's voice. "GET THE PEOPLE TO THE WOODS! RETREAT!"

"Come on, everyone! Follow me!" Anna shouted as loud as she could, grabbing people's arms, hauling them to their feet. There was another gate a few streets away. If the invaders were heading toward the citadel, their most likely goal, then the townspeople could get out and into the forest. She snatched up a burning torch. "THIS WAY! FOLLOW ME!" She waved the torch in the air and ran toward the gate, a crowd of townspeople at her heels.

She had been all over the woods nearest Camelot, searching for herbs. She could find her way in the dark—which was helpful, as dark was exactly the word for it. Even with the few torches people had snatched up as they ran, the woods were dark as pitch. Most of the screaming had stopped; it was replaced with rustling, thumping, swearing, and people trying to calm crying children.

Anna soon lost track of time, but it was an hour or two later when she heard a voice call her name.

She turned. "Sir Leon!"

The whole group stopped. "How many did you get out?" Leon asked, catching up with her.

"I don't know. I think we're a little spread out. I can see some torches over that way, and I don't think that's the enemy."

"Let's get everyone together, and we'll head east. The Southrons don't seem to be following us."

It took some time for the soldiers and Anna to get all the townspeople organized, and even longer to get them all a safe distance from Camelot. It was no joke herding a group of terrified and exhausted men, women and children through a forest. It was after sunrise by the time Leon called a halt and they began to set up a makeshift camp. Fires weren't hard, as they had the torches, but shelter and food were another question.

"We've got to find a village or something," one of the knights said. "We have to find something to feed these people. And some decent blankets—for make-shift tents, if nothing else."

"What village is going to want to feed a bunch of refugees?" Sir Sagramor answered.

"We can find some edible wild plants," Anna suggested.

"We can't stay here," Leon said suddenly. "We're too close to Camelot still. We need to hide somewhere the Southrons won't think to look for us."

"What did you have in mind?" Sagramor asked.

"The Forest of Ascetir. We'll stay here and let the people sleep. Later in the day we move farther east and get to the forest."

One of the youngest knights, Sir Bors, raised a hand. "What's that?"

They were all silent for a moment, listening. Someone was coming through the underbrush. The soldiers drew their swords as a figure stepped out into the light.

"Careful, boys," the man said cheerfully. "This is the only chainmail I've got."

"Percival!" Leon stepped forward and clasped his forearm. Then he frowned. "You were in the citadel."

Percival nodded grimly. "We couldn't hold it."

"And the King?" Leon asked quickly.

"Escaped. With Merlin and Elyan. We got caught by Morgana and I was separated from them."

"Morgana?"

Percival nodded. "She's leading them."

"Gwaine?"

"Stayed behind with Gaius to cover our escape."

Anna bit her lip.

"How many do you have here?"

"A few hundred soldiers, and about half as many townspeople," Leon answered. He turned and saw the expression on Anna's face. "Why don't you get some sleep," he said kindly. "We'll set up patrols."

Anna nodded and moved toward the center of the camp, where the townspeople were trying to get comfortable around some small campfires.

"Anna, over here," a girl called. It was Sifa, one of the maids. Anna walked over.

"You were down by the fires," she said. Sifa nodded. "Did you see Geraint?"

Sifa looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Anna."

"You don't mean—"

"Geraint's dead."

It was the final straw. Anna sank down next to Sifa and burst into tears.

TBC

AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed—I'm glad people are enjoying the story! Please review!