The wounded were already gathering in the Great Hall when Anna arrived. She took a quick survey of the injuries and ran up to Gaius's surgery to gather supplies.

Merlin was already there, leaning over Gaius, who appeared to be asleep.

"Is he alright?" Anna asked, putting her hand on Merlin's shoulder.

He jumped—he hadn't even heard he come in. "I think he'll be alright," he answered, but he sounded worried. "Morgana didn't feed him—or Gwaine and Elyan—hardly anything for a week. He's dehydrated. But he'll be alright," he repeated nervously.

Anna was gathering up supplies and sticking them in baskets. He blinked at her as if he hadn't noticed before what she was doing. "Oh—do you need help?"

"I've got it," she answered, patting him on the arm. "You stay here and take care of Gaius. Where are Gwaine and Elyan?"

"Percival and Leon are taking care of them," Merlin said.

Anna nodded. "I'll see you later," she said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "I'm glad you're safe."

The Great Hall had grown even more chaotic when she returned to it. Sagramor and Bors had just come in and were staring around in bewilderment.

"Sir Sagramor, Sir Bors, I need you to set up a triage," Anna said in a commanding tone, laying out her supplies on one of the tables. "Organize the wounded according to the severity of their injuries. And we're going to need cots."

Gwen arrived to help, and soon they had a system in place and had filled one end of the room with cots. The wounded eventually stopped coming in, Gwen and Anna caught up with the demand for help, and finally Anna straightened up, looked around, and discovered that there were no more immediate demands on her. The wounded were either stabilized or being nursed by others. She rubbed her back, suddenly realizing it was sore, and looked up at the windows. It was dark out.

"What time is it?" she groaned.

"Late." Percival walked over. "You should go get some rest."

She looked around, as if making sure she could really go. "What about Gwaine and Elyan? I understand they were fed almost nothing the whole time they were held captive?"

"Yes. And Morgana made Gwaine fight her men for the few pieces of bread they did get."

Anna grimaced and sucked the air in between her teeth. "How is he?"

"Tired. Leon took him up to his room. Elyan too—I think they're alright." He put a hand on her arm. "You need sleep. Go to bed now; they'll send for you if they need you."

000

Anna checked on her patients in the Great Hall first thing the next morning. She dealt with a few problems that had cropped up overnight, checked on the recovery of some others, then headed down to the kitchens.

"Oh, Sir Elyan! You're up!"

He smiled up at her from a seat at the table in the corner where they had eaten her first day in Camelot. "Awake but not very energetic," he admitted. "Cook's making me some breakfast."

"Don't overeat," she warned him. "Only about half of what you'd usually eat." He nodded. "Sir Gwaine not with you? I'm surprised to see him not begging food in the kitchen."

Elyan laughed. "Haven't seen him since yesterday."

"Did he have something to eat then?"

"Oh, yeah. A lot. The thought of food almost turned my stomach, but he's a good trencherman. And he'd worked up an appetite—all that fighting, you know."

Anna frowned. "Yes. I heard."

"Here you are, Duckling," Cook said, setting a bowl of stew in front of Elyan. "Ah, Miss Anna. Can I get you something?"

"Could I have a bowl of that stew?" she asked. "And a pitcher of water."

"Certainly." Cook walked away

Duckling? Anna mouthed at Elyan.

He grinned sheepishly. "It seems the affecting story of us going without food for a week has awakened all of Cook's maternal instincts. No matter how much she complains when Gwaine and Percival sneak food from her kitchens, she can't stand the thought of any of us going hungry."

"Well, then she'll be glad to know that this stew is going up to Sir Gwaine," Anna said as Cook came back with a tray.

"You tell that young rascal to come down here himself and he'll get a good, hot meal," Cook said warmly, handing it to her.

Anna smiled. "I'm sure he'll be under your feet again in no time."

000

There was no answer when Anna tapped quietly on Gwaine's door. Cautiously she pushed it open and peeked inside. He was lying on his side in bed with his back to her.

She quietly set the tray down on the table and walked around the bed. "Sir Gwaine?" she said quietly. He didn't move. "Gwaine?" She touched his shoulder. No change. Anna held her hand under his nose and pressed two fingers to his throat: his breathing and heartbeat were normal.

Percival had said Gwaine had had to fight, and he had been fed a starvation diet for almost a week. He was probably exhausted. She pulled a small silver vial from her pocket, unclasped the top, and held it under Gwaine's nose.

He inhaled sharply and opened his eyes, blinking up at her as she closed the bottle and put it back in her pocket. "Mmm," he groaned, rolling onto his back. "I thought you were supposed to wake the handsome prince with a kiss."

"Well, I considered it," Anna answered with a smile, "but…" She looked him over dispassionately. "…You look like hell."

Gwaine chuckled, then winced. "Ooh. I feel like hell," he slurred.

"You need to eat something." She picked up some throw pillows from the floor and piled them against the headboard. "I've brought some breakfast from the kitchen." She walked around the bed for the stew, and when she turned back, discovered him struggling to push himself up. He lay back at last, his arms shaking, and closed his eyes with a ragged breath.

"Here." Anna wrapped her arms around him and pulled him up, leaning him against the pillows. "Don't overexert yourself—you've had a rough week."

He smiled weakly, his eyes half-shut. "Don't I know it."

She poured him out a cup of water. "Here. You need lots of water to replace the fluids you've lost."

He took the cup with a shaking hand, raised it to his lips—and it slipped out of his fingers. Water went everywhere.

"Sorry," he mumbled as Anna grabbed a towel from the washstand and sopped it up.

"It's alright. Here." She poured out another cup and held it to his lips. He drank, his eyes almost shut. "No falling asleep on me, now," she added, spooning up some stew and feeding it to him. "You need to get something in your stomach."

"Ate plenty last night," he murmured.

"Yes. Elyan told me. Was it a big meal?"

He nodded between bites. "Didn't feel so well after."

"That's not surprising. You shouldn't eat too much too fast after you've been without much food for several days. It can make you sick."

"Think I might be," he slurred.

Anna frowned. "I think so, too."

TBC