I loved the insight into Arthur's struggle to fulfill his promises as acting King, and how once he starts taking charge he begins to loath the thought that it'll be taken from him.

As for the reveal about Merlin's magic, you chose an interesting way to do it, making not just Merlin's magic and relationship to Arthur be about destiny but all of his knights and the round table as well. I enjoyed how easy it was for Arthur to believe that everything including how people chose to sit themselves was meant to be.

The issue of trust was handled well and felt real, that Arthur's discovery of his feelings towards Merlin would not absolve that issue but he would decide to ignore it completely and just go on faith because of how important Merlin is to him. I like that with Gwen he's still hurt but he worked through it in a mature way, because that fits well with the image that he'll be a just and level-headed ruler.

Seeing Merlin through Arthur's eyes is always nice, and what I liked about this story was that no matter what Arthur thought, we still saw Merlin clearly and I could believe in these two characters from what I've seen on the show, my own impressions and what you're trying to tell.

The language and style was perfect to set the mood as well. I enjoyed reading this very much, so thank you. :)