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When one of Camelot's outlying villages reports being attacked in their dreams by a malevolent sorcerer, King Arthur answers the call, taking with him a band of only his strongest and bravest knights.
And Merlin, of course.
But when Merlin volunteers -- against Arthur’s express orders -- to take a curse intended for Arthur, the king is forced to face the fact that his trusted servant may not trust him in return.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 12,949
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Comments:
- 110
- Kudos:
- 1,382
- Bookmarks:
- 259
- Hits:
- 11,266
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
10 Jun 2026
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Merlin has many secrets but Arthur sees more than anyone knows. This is the story of a prince and a dragon. A canon changeling!verse AU, deviating around season 2.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 34,375
- Chapters:
- 5/5
- Collections:
- 7
- Comments:
- 206
- Kudos:
- 7,186
- Bookmarks:
- 1,662
- Hits:
- 82,665
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
10 Jun 2026
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It has been five years and ten days since the death of Uther Pendragon, and five years exactly since Arthur's coronation.
It has been five years and Merlin isn't any less in love with him, Arthur isn't any less of a prat (but only to Merlin, these days), and he still doesn't know about the magic.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 3,871
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 4
- Comments:
- 80
- Kudos:
- 5,966
- Bookmarks:
- 850
- Hits:
- 62,419
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
08 Jun 2026
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“Merlin?” Arthur squinted at the ridiculously attractive, shirtless, twenty-something in front of him and tried to connect him with his toothy, scrawny playmate who would always fight kids twice his size on the playground. “I – I mean Emmett. Emmett Ambrose. You’re Emmett Ambrose?”
“Fuck,” Emmett – no, it wasn’t Emmett, it was Merlin – gaped at Arthur incredulously. "Holy shit."
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 2,565
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 4
- Comments:
- 140
- Kudos:
- 6,080
- Bookmarks:
- 677
- Hits:
- 35,152
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
08 Jun 2026
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“I was just pointing out,” Gwaine says cheerfully, “that Merlin’s talents must clearly come from you. You raised him, and he’s now teaching our esteemed king in rational thought—”
“Gwaine,” Arthur says, raising his eyebrows.
“It’s not so much teaching as steering in the right direction,” Merlin says, and receives a tap to his head for that. He just jostles his shoulder against Arthur’s, and Arthur’s expression softens. “He’s not so bad, really.”
Or: There’s a reason you shouldn’t keep secrets from your mother. During a visit to Ealdor, Gwaine happens to mention Merlin’s father. This shouldn’t have as many consequences as it does, and one by one, several truths come to light.
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
08 Jun 2026
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“It is not like you,” Arthur muses suddenly, and very, very quietly, “to lie to me.”
Merlin’s lungs freeze in his chest. “What?” he chokes out.
Or: yet another 5x05 The Disir AU.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 7,062
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 186
- Kudos:
- 2,511
- Bookmarks:
- 614
- Hits:
- 15,284
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
08 Jun 2026
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Look, alright, Arthur does try to give Merlin the benefit of the doubt, but when he walks into his room to see him immediately stand up straight, hide something behind his back, and that something is jingling, what exactly is he supposed to do?
Well, if Merlin is to be believed, state his business and leave Merlin to his.
But when a pouch of coin leads to a confrontation that reaches far beyond their normal spats, Arthur starts to uncover something very troubling about Merlin's time in Camelot.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 4,244
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 43
- Kudos:
- 2,080
- Bookmarks:
- 289
- Hits:
- 12,141
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
05 Jun 2026
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Arthur is not too proud to admit that, had he not met Merlin, he would have responded quite differently when the servant flinched from him.
Series
- Part 1 of The Troubles in Camelot
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 4,520
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 51
- Kudos:
- 2,079
- Bookmarks:
- 192
- Hits:
- 15,616
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
05 Jun 2026
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Merlin's first Halloween party of university is going swimmingly, right until a knight in shining not-really-armour accuses him of getting his costume wrong.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 1,400
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 28
- Kudos:
- 451
- Bookmarks:
- 38
- Hits:
- 2,708
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
04 Jun 2026
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(Camelot as we know and love, in a world where everyone is born with wings, save the rare 'Wingless'. )
Merlin is a supposed-Wingless, manservant to King Arthur, post-magic ban repeal. Merlin is fine, he promises, but he deeply misjudges how tenuous his grasp on nomalcy is. When visiting nobles take their hate for the Wingless too far, it's finally time for Merlin to let Arthur into yet another secret. And maybe the King can finally help him heal from the past.- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 41,773
- Chapters:
- 15/15
- Collections:
- 1
- Comments:
- 157
- Kudos:
- 2,136
- Bookmarks:
- 488
- Hits:
- 30,106
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
03 Jun 2026
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The sob that escaped him was a tiny thread of sound, little more than an embellishment upon the air. He did not wail. It was too big for that, too much, all the more painful for being unexpected. Not Arthur's betrothal, but his own reaction to it. It was as if all the nebulous uncertainty of the day had crystallised into a blade.
Worse, he had no one to blame but himself. He had never told Arthur how he felt. It had always seemed like a step too far, and now it was too late.
Tomorrow, he would pick up the pieces of himself and find the strength to bear the scars of it. He would be the friend Arthur needed, and he would pretend that was enough.
Tonight, he mourned.
------
When Arthur announces his courtship to Lady Aveline of Spirehold, Merlin resigns himself to never speaking of his love. Yet the universe has other ideas. Stuck in the same, repeating day, can Merlin find his courage and break free, or will he lose his last chance to speak of what lingers in his heart?
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 24,006
- Chapters:
- 3/3
- Comments:
- 264
- Kudos:
- 1,139
- Bookmarks:
- 234
- Hits:
- 11,193
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
03 Jun 2026
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A hand grasped his arm, sending a brief thrill down Merlin's nerves as he was forced around to face the person behind him. Armour gleamed in the firelight: supple chainmail glinted, and the solid iron of a pauldron curved lovingly over one broad shoulder. The length of a sword blade separated them. The point hovered, steady and sure, over Merlin's heart, braced to run him through, but he did not care about any of that. He was too busy drinking in the sight of the man before him.
He could never forget him, no matter how many centuries had passed.
'Arthur?'
When Merlin ultimately fails in his destiny, the fading remnants of magic that linger in the modern world fling him not just back in time, but sideways as well. He ends up in a Camelot where all his friends are alive, well and aware of his magic.
He ends up in a Camelot where his alternate self died almost a year ago.
Can he, Arthur and their friends still forge the golden age he was once promised, or will grief and suspicion tear them apart?
Series
- Part 1 of Hiraeth Universe
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 507,440
- Chapters:
- 100/100
- Collections:
- 16
- Comments:
- 10,993
- Kudos:
- 11,039
- Bookmarks:
- 3,034
- Hits:
- 643,410
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
01 Jun 2026
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A snapshot of the confrontation between Arthur and Uther after Morgause summoned Ygrain’s ghost. And what it might look like if Merlin said something different.
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
26 May 2026
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Merlin gets hit with an aging spell.
It doesn’t turn him 80. It turns him four.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 25,530
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Comments:
- 131
- Kudos:
- 2,351
- Bookmarks:
- 448
- Hits:
- 19,637
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
25 May 2026
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“Merlin,” Arthur grumbled to his servant, who was sitting by the fire Merlin looks over his shoulder at Arthur curled up in his bedroll. “Get over here, it’s cold.”
“You want me to come and cuddle you for warmth?” Merlin asked, tauntingly, but makes to stand up anyway.
“It’s not cuddling,” Arthur insisted, though he opens his arms for Merlin to crawl into them. “It’s called survival. I’m stealing your warmth. It’s your duty to make sure I’m kept comfortable, is it not?”
~~~
Arthur doesn't realise Merlin is his Favourite. Merlin has no idea what a King's Favourite even is. Everyone else in Camelot knows Merlin is Arthur's Favourite.
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
25 May 2026
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Blow Out The Candles (It's All Their Fault) by Realm_Of_Red_Shadows for dumbteddybear
Fandoms: Merlin (TV)
30 Nov 2023
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Summary
Merlin's dealt with a lot of bullshit over the years, but learning that the KING OF A KINGDOM THAT HAS OUTLAWED MAGIC CAN USE MAGIC is the last fucking straw.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 3,349
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 23
- Kudos:
- 696
- Bookmarks:
- 83
- Hits:
- 4,181
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
25 May 2026
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When Merlin falls into bed with Arthur, he doesn't expect for to wake up alone. He doesn't expect Arthur to give him the cold shoulder either, but there is something else he expects even less which forces him out of the kingdom for over a year. He returns to find a traitor in the court, an army on the way, and a love he'd thought all but lost waiting for him with open arms.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 33,753
- Chapters:
- 5/5
- Comments:
- 547
- Kudos:
- 10,403
- Bookmarks:
- 2,011
- Hits:
- 124,632
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
25 May 2026
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Summary
None of them were lunging to their feet with accusations on their lips. They knew what was happening, and five of the most loyal knights in all of Camelot were trying to keep it secret.
---
Guinevere only meant to offer Merlin some respite, to ease the worst of his exhaustion and watch over him while he slept. Instead, she ends up making a stunning discovery.
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 3,116
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 4
- Comments:
- 179
- Kudos:
- 2,748
- Bookmarks:
- 438
- Hits:
- 14,080
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
24 May 2026
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Eventually, someone in Uther's Camelot was going to decide the so-called "dog" was too clever for its own good. They'd take a long look and realise that "pet" fit the creature far less comfortably than "familiar", and Merlin's secret would be out.
Merlin finds a puppy in the woods. Against his better judgement, Arthur lets him keep it. In the end, that simple decision saves them all.
Based on the word "Surrender" For Natty
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
24 May 2026
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Summary
Sonder: the feeling one has on realizing that every other individual one sees has a life as full and real as one’s own.
When Arthur looked into the future, he had always believed Merlin would be there, irreverent and irritating, helping him dress or fetching his meals or tagging along on quests whether he was invited or not. Now, he saw a different path, one where Merlin gave up the job he had never wished for in the first place – one that gained him very little pay, recognition or thanks – and pursued his own ambitions.
A new life far from Camelot.
Far from Arthur's side.
(Based on the word Sonder, for Kathryn)
Bookmarked by Introverted_Tree
24 May 2026