Arthur was exhausted. One look at his face and Gawain had been able to see just how utterly drained he was. He wouldn't have been entirely surprised to find out that Arthur hadn't slept at all in the past three days. The older man certainly looked it; sunken eyes bruised black underneath, pale skin with more lines than Gawain remembered and his entire body practically slumped with exhaustion.

Gawain was partially in awe over the fact that Bors had gotten him out of his quarters. Every bit of business Arthur had conducted over the past three days had been from within those rooms so that he would not be far from Lancelot. And while Gawain didn't doubt that Arthur would be concerned had any of them been as seriously injured as Lancelot, the fact that it was Lancelot made it something more.

"So what is going to happen here now that Rome has left?" Galahad asked, voicing the question that had been forefront in all their minds. "Are we going to stay at the Wall or head south?"

The question creased Arthur's dark brows as he smeared a hunk of bread through the remnants of stew in his bowl. "We can try and hold the north, but there are more settlements in the south. Better access to supplies as well. With the Woads as our allies the Wall is no longer necessary for our daily safety. However, we will wait for Lancelot to get well before the five of us decide what is to be done."

Gawain stared at him in confusion. "But you are our commander. The decision is yours."

For the first time since Badon Hill, Arthur's smile seemed genuine. "You are now all free men so decisions are no longer mine alone. Together we will all decide what comes next."

It felt strange to Gawain that he would have such strong sway, not in deciding his fate, but deciding the fate of others. For the past fifteen years he and the rest of the knights had done what was expected of them. Each had known that they could voice their complaints and concerns to Arthur, but ultimately the decision had always belonged to Rome. But now Rome was gone.

"So long as Bors can get his hands on some ale—"

"And intimidate the locals."

"—and intimidate the locals, I don't see him having much trouble with where we set up our base," Gawain said, arching a brow in Galahad's direction for the interruption.

Arthur chuckled quietly. "And what of the two of you?"

Galahad was the first to answer. "If it's warmer and has less snow and rain I will gladly move south."

"The same for me," Gawain spoke up.

After that, Arthur seemed much calmer. He didn't even protest when Vanora brought more food out for him. The speed at which he ate it was clue enough as to when the last time Arthur had eaten was. It was no surprise that Arthur wasn't taking excellent care of himself because it had always been Lancelot to coax him into eating and sleeping. Of course it didn't help matters much that Lancelot was currently sleeping in Arthur's bed.

And though he was at loathe to break the sudden calm that had fallen over Arthur, Gawain found that he could not stand the uncertainty any longer.

"What about the girl? What will happen to her?"

Sure enough, Arthur's expression took on a pained, haunted look. However, there was a resoluteness to it that could not be mistaken. Like all the others, Gawain himself was eager to see the woman dead for what she had done. And, unlike Arthur, Gawain would not have let her leave the battlefield alive. Not after she had tried to kill Lancelot when he had been utterly helpless. Luck alone had saved Lancelot's life when she had been moving the arrow about where it had imbedded itself in his chest.

"She is too dangerous to be let back out among her people," Arthur said at last, his posture hunching as he scrubbed a hand over his face. "I can either lock her away for the rest of her life or kill her. Anything else would put everyone here in the fortress at risk."

"Then why give her to Merlin?" Galahad demanded.

Arthur sighed deeply, resting his elbows on the table and cradling his chin in both his hands. "Because at the time we could not keep her contained here in the fortress. There were fires and other damages to see to. Not to mention the wounded. Merlin has so far kept his word to have her guarded. It will be another day or so until the cells are fully repaired. Once they have been, I will send men to the Woad camp to retrieve her."

Gawain leaned forward, meeting Arthur's gaze. "I'm going. I want to make sure that witch doesn't have a chance to escape."