Apologies for the late post, yesterday really kicked my butt.
Also, thanks to lolitakun for letting me rec in one of her usual fandoms.

Title: Gadarene
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin, non-consensual Merlin/Others, background various pairings
Categories: Canon-era AU, Drama, Angst, Slavery, Dark Themes, and a bit of Action/Adventure
Length: Epic (76,830 words)
Warnings: Slavery, Rape, Dub-Con, Secondary Character Death, Magically-Induced Mental Illness

Author on LJ: unknown
Author Website: unpossible

Summary:
“You’re the Prince?” Merlin says, eyeing him. He hesitates, then says, defiant, “The Mad Prince of Camelot.”
Arthur doesn’t move. There’s quiet for a long time, then he says it. “I am.”
“You don’t seem mad,” he says.
The smile wells up from somewhere deep, and very sad. “Well, Merlin,” he says, “give me time.”

Review:
In a world just slightly removed from canon, Arthur is the "Mad Prince" of Camelot, suffering occasional and inexplicable bouts of insanity. Because of this, and with Uther dead, Agravaine rules as Camelot's regent, and Arthur chafes at his uncle's unjust and enslaving reign. When he sees the most recent conquests dragged into the castle, he does what little he can, and demands the dark-haired man with the big ears as his own tribute.

Merlin, horribly treated by his captors and prevented from using magic by manacles of cold-iron, doesn't know what to make of this so-called Mad Prince that demanded him and now treats him as his less-than-wanted servant.

Long and intricately plotted, the story follows both Arthur and Merlin's points-of-view in turn as they deal with court intrigue, external threats to the kingdom, the unjust ruler and his lackeys, surprises, secrets, and a slow-building trust and eventual relationship between the two (Merlin and Arthur, not the ruler and lackeys, natch).

There are several mysterious elements, including the nature and cause of Arthur's madness and what has happened to Morgana and Gwen. Nearly every important character of Merlin makes an appearance, including small appearances by Hunith and Balinor (which I particularly enjoyed), and the various knights.

There is a thoroughly satisfying resolution, and I felt like cheering at the end.

Definitely mind the warnings. In particular, there is both off-page and explicit mentions of rape as well as the dubious consent of sex inside a master/slave relationship, though the second issue is handled with thoughtfulness, a slow-build up, and great care by the author.

Lastly, there are several side-story follow up fics that are currently works-in-progress that may be worth checking out (found in the Magical Bloody Sex Assassin series post), that flesh out some of the side characters. However, the main story is epic-length and can stand on it's own.

Gadarene