The last line stabbed my heart wonderfully

That was fucking awesome! Well done!

Wow! This was an incredible story. Well written and, though dark, entirely possible. How much could Merlin be expected to take? If Gaius had died he could never have returned to "business as usual" with Arthur. And he was right - Arthur never trusted him no matter what he did. Everyone has a breaking point and I could well see this one being his. Thanks

Just perfect !

Darn. That was dark and so, so good. I kind of wonder of what happened next but this ending is perfect in a way.

Too depressing.

This might be my favorite Merlin fic ever.

That was fantastic and there are words I could say to express my love of this piece.

The writing was excellent, and I feel like Merlin was, if not entirely, but in a large part justified in his actions. He had just lost his father figure, due to Arthur's distrust and disbelief in him.

And the last few paragraphs just about killed me. Thank you for sharing!

I don't think Merlin was at "tipping point" during this episode. I think he was reacting as anybody would in this situation.

He'd have to be extraordinarily selfish to do what he does in this story after everything Arthur's been through. Arthur lost a lot more here than Merlin did. He spent a long time thinking he'd lost Gaius to something far worse to death, and then found out he'd lost Gaius to death and someone else he loved to something far worse than death and on top of that he had to feel guilty about misinterpreting which was which. Merlin lost one person to death, but managed to exonerate him and vindicate his own position on the matter of who was the traitor. In addition to that Arthur knew Gaius for longer, even if Merlin knew him better. And for Arthur this is all coming on top of losing his father and having to believe that that too was his fault. And that came on top of losing someone he'd known all of his life and trusted completely, again, to something far worse than death. So for Merlin to abandon Arthur after all HE'S been through is beyond messed-up. Merlin has got absolutely no right to break down over a single loss after all the times Arthur somehow managed to get up and keep going after losses that would have crippled almost anyone else. Arthur's lost his entire family and his very last link to his childhood. Merlin's mother is alive and well in Ealdor.

It's completely unfair for Merlin to expect Arthur to have trusted Gaius in spite of the evidence and yet believe Agravaine to be a traitor without any evidence. Merlin had it relatively easy because he only loved one of them and he loved the right one, Arthur had it infinitely worse because he loved both of them. If anybody's got a right to fall apart right now, it's not Merlin, it's Arthur.

There are two simple truths that so many people seem to miss: 1) Arthur wouldn't listen to Merlin when he tried to convince him that Agravaine was a traitor for the SAME REASON that Merlin wouldn't listen to Arthur when he tried to convince him that Gaius was a traitor. 2) What we're shown on screen and what Arthur has the opportunity to see are very VERY different things.

Type your review here...

Wow. Oh wow. That was - powerful, to say the least. And you're right, that episode was definitely a tipping point for Merlin. As always he was incredibly quick to forgive Arthur (and not take revenge in Agravaine), but I dread to think what he would have done had Gaius not survived his ordeal; this fic being an in my opinion very realistic take on that. Wooh gave me goosebumps, this... And Agravaine was truly aggravating in that episode, how Athur couldn't hear the falseness dripping if his words in that one especially frustrating scene in the council chamber I do not know! "How can you believe this?" was what Merlin said, in such a matter-of-fact tone, oh it was heartbreaking...

Sorry I'm rambling! This story was incredibly well written and I also love your Gwaine in it and his reaction.

This is too good to stand alone...to freaking awesome.

You break my heart every time I read this (and I've read it several times). It's beautifully written. I just can't get over it.

That was powerful. I think I've read it before, yet t remains just as strong and soul-wrenching as it was the first time. Kudos to you. Break my heart.

Wow. Just. Wow.