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for he is a star (and your world is dark without him) by hell_to_breakfast
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
23 Jun 2025
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Arthur is safe; he had saved Arthur. His duty is done.
That’s why he doesn’t see the arrow coming.
+
Or, Merlin saves Arthur from his fate at Camlann. Under any other circumstance he might ask for the rest of the week off. Unfortunately for him, it seems like an arrow in the back will have to do.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 24,434
- Chapters:
- 5/9
- Comments:
- 177
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- 1,029
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- 192
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- 18,022
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5 times Arthur confesses his feelings for Merlin, and the 1 time Merlin lets him remember doing it.
OR
5 times Merlin erases Arthur's memory and the 1 time he doesn't.
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- Words:
- 36,866
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 326
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King Arthur sets out to keep his promise to the spirit of the Druid boy by repealing his father's ban on magic. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done, for reasons including but not limited to the following:
(1) He can't change the law until he understands magic better, but no sorcerer is willing to explain magic to him until he changes the law;
(2) The sorcerers all have some strange obsession with Merlin, which is awakening all sorts of feelings in Arthur that he really doesn't fancy examining too closely;
(3) He is starting to feel like the butt of some Druid-population-wide inside joke involving the mysterious phenomenon called Emrys; and
(4) Oh yeah, Morgana is still trying to kill him.
Thus he embarks on a journey of discovery, diplomacy, accountability, and self-improvement, and maybe even falls in love along the way.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 27,963
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 3
- Comments:
- 157
- Kudos:
- 4,894
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- 1,381
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Just Between Us, Did the Love Affair Maim You Too? by TheDreamPriestess for FathomMeOut
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
14 Feb 2025
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Merlin knew what a Sigil represented; a concept he had been introduced to shortly after arriving in Camelot. A marriage proposal of the deepest and most romantic kind, a callback to the traditions of old – for those who appreciated such things.
As such, Arthur’s message was clear.
Keep it safe for my future bride.
And, well, he could do that. No matter what it took.
Series
- Part 1 of Just Between Us (It's All Too Well)
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 15,795
- Chapters:
- 6/6
- Comments:
- 494
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- 3,943
- Bookmarks:
- 661
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- 44,820
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Arthur wasn’t sure what this charm would do, if anything, but he’d held it in his hands, and he’d pressed it to his lips, and he’d willed all of his strength and protection and fervent desire for Merlin to be okay into the metal.
He’d broken his father’s laws for Merlin, Uther’s one cardinal rule, and that had to count for something. Arthur just wasn’t sure what.
…
Arthur notices the cuts and bruises on Merlin’s skin and assumes the worst. Out of options, he turns to magic for help.
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“You know the usual me. The one that always goes with you when there's a magical threat, just to ensure your safety.” He hoped that his attempt at lightening up the mood would break some of the tension. Unfortunately he saw Arthur's shoulders tense up a little.
"Merlin, you are not riding out with us." Arthur still didn't even look up at the younger man, keeping his failing attention on papers, his voice trying to take on a nonchalant tone but his piercing gaze only intensifying in its severity.
OR
A different take on the episode “The Last Dragonlord” where Arthur didn’t relent and actually forbade Merlin from riding out with him to fight the dragon. Of course Merlin ignores him and tries to face it alone, although this time he doesn’t know if he will even get a chance to succeed, all the while Arthur tries to ensure his servant’s… his friend’s safety.
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“Track him, corner him, subdue him… just like we would with any dangerous creature.”
“Not a creature, Arthur. Just Merlin.”
Merlin wasn’t supposed to hear them—but now he’s running, heart pounding, as the knights of Camelot—his friends—close in. They’d sounded so certain, so cold. He didn’t stop to ask how or why, he just ran. Now he doesn’t know where he’s going, only that he has to keep moving.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 6,753
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 49
- Kudos:
- 1,494
- Bookmarks:
- 218
- Hits:
- 11,991
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After centuries of waiting for Arthur’s return, and the ancient king showing no sign of resurrecting anytime soon, Merlin decides to turn himself into a stone statue and wait out the remaining years in a semi-conscious state. He places a charm upon himself, making it so that he will change back once Arthur returns and finds him. A plaque on the statue’s plinth reads as much: “Whoever holds dominion over this soul of stone / Need only touch it to turn it to flesh and bone.” It becomes something of a must-try in the city, and despite thousands of people interacting with the statue every year, no one succeeds in turning him back into a human. That is, until one day…
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 20,028
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 3
- Comments:
- 117
- Kudos:
- 3,796
- Bookmarks:
- 728
- Hits:
- 42,244
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“The Gods have deemed you worthy of returning to the land of the living, Sir Lancelot.” He was sure he could hear bitterness in her words.
“Why?”
“Emrys needs you. He is their vessel, and he is drowning under his burden. He will fail without counsel. The Gods have decreed it shall be you who saves him.”---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lancelot is sent back to Camelot to share Merlin's burden. Arthur thinks they're together romantically and gets jealous. A magic reveal turns their worlds upside down, and Lancelot is left to pick up the pieces. With Gwaine's help of course.
Canon divergence after the Lamia (4x08) but before Lancelot du Lac (4x09)
OR: the Lancelot return and Mercelot friendship we all deserved.
UPDATE: This used to be called Lancelot's Return, but I've renamed it. If you were looking for that fic, here it is.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 11,123
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 4
- Comments:
- 58
- Kudos:
- 3,946
- Bookmarks:
- 796
- Hits:
- 40,201
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“I can never trust magic, not when it has taken so much from me.”
So Merlin hides his away, buries it so deeply within himself he can forget it was ever there. And there it stays, even as his hands start to slow, to ache, to burn with the pain of loss, mourning for something inherent.
And then a dragon comes looking for it.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,246
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Collections:
- 7
- Comments:
- 103
- Kudos:
- 4,729
- Bookmarks:
- 660
- Hits:
- 47,085
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The Time Merlin and Lancelot Almost Destroyed Camelot (as told by the Knights of the Rountable) by CaffeinatedFlumadiddle
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
25 Nov 2019
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"It's true then?" Elyan frowned as he peered out the door into the hallway Lancelot had just exited through. Gwen bit her lip before nodding. "Damn. What would Lancelot and Merlin even argue about?"
"Please," Gwaine rolled his eyes before flicking his hair out of his face "This has got to be some new battle strategy. Maybe Morgana is trying to throw us off with this so we won't notice when she tries to invade again." He shrugged. The others seemed to consider this.
"That somehow makes more sense." Percival muttered. Gwen wrinkled her nose before putting down the basket with a sigh.
"I'm telling you," She said "George heard them both yelling. It sounded very intense."
"Maybe they were having sex. Sometimes people yell during sex." Gwaine suggested. Everyone turned to him.
"Is that more likely than having an argument?" Leon asked dryly. Gwaine pointed his glove at him.
"Between Lancelot and Merlin? Yes. Absolutely, you ignorant fool."
Or
Lancelot and Merlin get into an argument. All of Camelot loses its goddamn mind trying to figure out what's going on.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 16,279
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Comments:
- 313
- Kudos:
- 8,667
- Bookmarks:
- 1,761
- Hits:
- 68,785
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“They say Emrys tamed the great dragon of Camelot and sired the white dragon of Albion-”
“Sired?” Gwaine interrupted “This Emrys fellow is going around siring dragons? How exactly is that happening? Sex with other dragons?” He asked and despite the situation, Merlin flushed. The man in question blinked, looking equally baffled by the question. From the corner of his eye, Merlin could see Arthur pinching the bridge of his nose.
“Uh…I actually don’t know.”
“But you’re Emrys,” Merlin reminded the imposter with a sigh “You don’t remember siring any dragons?”
“I said it was an off day!” The man complained, trying to cross his arms despite being upside down. Merlin took a long breath. Lancelot had already walked away, but that did nothing to hide his howling laughter.
Or
The knights keep hearing various (dramatic) rumors about the great and mighty Emrys. Everyone is such a gossip. Merlin is trying not to have a heart attack. Lancelot is loving life.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 6,568
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 498
- Kudos:
- 34,532
- Bookmarks:
- 5,964
- Hits:
- 231,963
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At sixteen, Prince Merlin saw his kingdom destroyed and was forced into an engagement with King Cenred just because of his magic. Now, two years later and on the eve of his wedding, Merlin's crew takes him out on a final voyage before he's forced to give up his beloved ship and way of life forever in exchange for a life of darkness with Cenred. But it isn't long before the trip takes a turn for the worst and Merlin finds himself kidnapped yet again, this time by the unfairly hot and unbearably arrogant Prince Arthur Pendragon of Camelot, the very same kingdom with a reputation for making sorcerers’ heads roll. This should be fun...
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 179,462
- Chapters:
- 35/35
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 916
- Kudos:
- 2,261
- Bookmarks:
- 620
- Hits:
- 78,870
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Merlin takes the brunt of a curse meant for Arthur, and disappears. Arthur is convinced he's lost his best friend for good, only for Merlin to walk into his chambers the next morning. Merlin swears up and down that he isn't a ghost, and he isn't dead, but that doesn't explain why Arthur's hand goes right through him.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 37,263
- Chapters:
- 11/11
- Comments:
- 376
- Kudos:
- 2,349
- Bookmarks:
- 404
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- 28,022
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What if Morgana was good (Where I just write things with Merlin and Morgana being happy sorcerer friends) by What_They_Call_Me
Fandom Merlin (TV)
13 May 2020
- Words:
- 17,864
- Works:
- 3
- Bookmarks:
- 79
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"What are you going to do about it, Uther?” he asked, eyes wide and wild. “Kill me?"
He let out a harsh laugh, looking around the room, before his eyes fell back on Uther and his voice grew dull and joyless, almost daring the King. "You can certainly try."
"Merlin!"
"What? It's not like it'll work," Merlin muttered at the horrified look Arthur was giving him. His horror seemed to shift to concern at his words. Merlin would have laughed in any other situation.
Or
Uther has discovered Merlin's magic after being tipped off anonymously.
Merlin has just discovered his immortality and is feeling a little
veryreckless and has even less self-preservation than usual.Arthur is going to have a heart attack.
Series
- Part 20 of Titles From My Mutuals
- Part 112 of Merthur Short Fics & One-Shots
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Every ten years or so a tournament is held between all the five kingdoms. In which one (strongest of the kingdom) sorcerer is chosen as a representative of their king/queen/crown bearer.
The monarchs, however, do not choose the sorcerer for themselves, which Arthur is thankful for, since magic is still banned in Camelot. Instead, they are chosen by the mirror of truth. It shows the face of the strongest sorcerer in said lands, so Arthur can reach out to them.When the mirror finally chooses the participants, Camelot's champion is......... well i mean, who is the strongest magic user in Camelot? Exactly!
It's Morgana.
After all, Merlin was born in Cendred's kingdom.
(original post: https://changelink.tumblr.com/post/654168268169428992/embed)
EDIT: Now available in Russian: https://ficbook.net/readfic/10887772Series
- Part 54 of Merlin's magic
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 20,387
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 5
- Comments:
- 161
- Kudos:
- 3,599
- Bookmarks:
- 604
- Hits:
- 32,484
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A collection of Merthur kiss one-shots, all in one convenient place. Each work will be a separate chapter, with its own title and summary. See notes for each chapter for possible warnings about content.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 394,593
- Chapters:
- 84/84
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 1,789
- Kudos:
- 3,519
- Bookmarks:
- 464
- Hits:
- 118,222
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"How was your journey here?" Balinor asked.
“It would have been pleasant if a certain servant had stopped prattling on during the entirety of it.“ Arthur gave the black haired boy a pointed look, but the servant just shrugged and turned to Balinor.
„Don‘t mind him. He woke up at the wrong side of the bed today, which wasn‘t my fault, may I add. I‘m Merlin.“
And then he stuck out his hand, oblivious to the way Arthur‘s mouth dropped openOr, during the Great Purge, Balinor can convince Uther not to kill all dragons. Instead, Uther magically imprisons him and the remaining dragons at the Dragon's Keep. Now, almost twenty years later, prince Arthur regualary comes to check on him. Things change, when he brings a certain manservant with him.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 11,706
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 9
- Comments:
- 122
- Kudos:
- 6,978
- Bookmarks:
- 1,418
- Hits:
- 40,462
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