What infinite heart's ease
Fandom: Merlin
Author: ArcadianMaggie
Rating: explicit
Words: 65.914
Canon era AU. Betrayed by the people he loves best, Arthur finds comfort in the arms of his manservant, Merlin. In the wake of Uther's death, the unrest to the east intensifies and shocking secrets are revealed. As a young king struggling to find his place and control a kingdom on the verge of war, Arthur must decide whether to continue his father's crusade against magic users or place his faith in the one person he thought he'd never trust again.
I think: It's one of those "If Gwens betrayal hurt so much, then why can't I stop thinking about Merlin?" fics. It's beautifuly written, with Arthur slowly figuring himself & his heart out, lerning the truth about magic, inevitable going to be a better person, a better King and being genuinely happy. And Merlin is so .. Merlin, with his big heart and stubbornly refusing to leave Arthurs side, no matter what. Of course the magic reveal destroyed everything and Arthur is so so hurt and confused and angry and his father is death and everybody thinks it was Merlin. Arthur should just kill him, but he can't, he "helped" him escape and still he can't let him go. And he almost goes mad. All the hurt and his longing and he's so confused. (srly, your heart breaks!) Naturally that's when Morgana trys to fuck tings up even more but in the end all goes well. Sigh.