This Dark Road Will Lead Us Where We Want to Be

Fanfiction
Title:	This Dark Road Will Lead Us Where We Want to Be
Author(s):	accordingtomel
Date(s):	29 August 2010
Length:	90,521 words
Genre(s):	slash
Fandom(s):	Merlin
Relationship(s):
External Links:	This Dark Road Will Lead Us Where We Want to Be (LiveJournal) This Dark Road Will Lead Us Where We Want to Be (FF.Net) This Dark Road Will Lead Us Where We Want to Be (AO3)
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This Dark Road Will Lead Us Where We Want to Be is a Merlin/Arthur story by accordingtomel. It was written for Paperlegends 2010.

Summary: When a visiting noble attacks Arthur with the intent to kill, Merlin is forced to openly use magic to save his life. With execution less than twenty-four hours away, a desperate Arthur tricks Merlin into binding their souls in order to prevent his death as a sorcerer. But the soul-bond has some unexpected consequences, and when Uther demands that Arthur unbind his soul so he can carry on with the execution, the two set out on a journey to find answers. Along the way they deal with the ramifications of Merlin's deception, discover some truths about their growing feelings for one another, and are forced to make some huge decisions that could have an impact on their lives forever.

Itzcoatl created two pieces of fanart for this story, In His Hand and The Kiss. Both images are illustrations showing key moments in the story.

Recs and Reviews

In His Hands (2010) by Itzcoatl. "Right." Arthur pushed his interest aside, making a mental note to try and learn more later, and took hold of Merlin's wrist with extreme care, turning it back and forth very slowly as he attempted to see if anything looked or felt better after the spell. "How does it feel?"

Merlin still squirmed somewhat with each twist, but he was no longer screaming in pain, so Arthur assumed that must've been a positive sign. "It's not gone entirely, but it's taken away most of the pain. It should heal completely within a couple of days."

This is the kind of adventure fic which really gets your heart pumping. It's romantic, funny, full of action and angsty. I love that the majority of this fic is Merlin and Arthur sorting themselves out (particularly Arthur). The challenges and Leon's part in this story are all just garnishes to a wonderful story."

The story made it on amalthia's multifandom Favorite stories and vids of 2010 rec list: "This story was almost impossible to put down. I loved the soul bonding aspect, the character voices were spot on, and I loved that there were real consequences when Uther found out Merlin had magic."

A long and satisfying read. Don't start unless you're prepared for it to eat your life for a day or two!"

I love the author's writing ability and characterization between Merlin and Arthur. However, I don't like curtain things about the plot. I could just be nit picking because this author is great so I expect more."

I’ve just re-read this story, and I think I like it even more than I did the first time, which was rather a lot! I loved the way Arthur reacted once he discovered Merlin had magic, he had his fears, his hurt and his doubts, but he never stopped protecting or defending Merlin. I wanted to wrap Merlin in a blanket and take him away from everything, I felt so terrible for him. The quest they went on was fantastically written; full of amazing plots and relationship development. The whole story is so satisfying, and Sir Leon is a wonderful supporting character!

Okay, this canon AU merlin/Arthur is LONG and heart-wrenching, with brilliant dialogue and it’s actually a really good reveal fic as well (which, I know is a total cliche, but it’s excellent enough to overlook that!). Soul bonding and love and totally cute helpful!Leon too <3

Basically Merlin saves Arthur using magic in front of the entire court and Arthur does everything he can to make sure he doesnt die. I adore this fic because it shows that even in a situation where Arthur doesnt have time to think and consider what to do with Merlin, his first choice is always to save him. This fic includes Uther being a dick as usual but yknow.