Title: Before the Sun Rises
Fandom: Merlin
Pairing: Arthur/Merlin
Categories: Canon era AU, age difference, magic reveal, first time, romance
Length: medium (8,611 words)
Warnings: Arthur is around 23 years old, and Merlin is 17.

Author on LJ: marguerite_26
Author Website: marguerite_26

Author's Summary: After saving King Arthur’s life, a seventeen year old Merlin is asked to move to Camelot and become his manservant.

Review:
I love the different slant it gives for Merlin to arrive later and as a seventeen year old. He's not helpless; he's in Camelot because he saved Arthur's life, and he's still a powerful sorcerer, but Arthur is already king, and Merlin's a bit more in awe of him. Then he walks in on Arthur alone in his bed, and awe is accompanied by teenage lust.

Marguerite_26 keeps this taut with sexual tension and warm with affection. There's also the question of what Arthur will do about the laws against magic and the fact that Merlin has it. Arthur's protective, and Gwaine's nicely roguish. It's so well done that, though I especially love Merlin calling the shots, in this instance the change of pace with a younger Merlin was a treat and never made me feel like he couldn't stumble his way into holding his own.

Before the Sun Rises (AO3)
On LJ