Merlin rec: Despoiled

For More Joy Day, I... bring you something that brought me joy during my lunchbreak. Despoiled by astolat. The characterisation worked *perfectly* for me and this is...

Well, you know that feeling with a new fandom, where you read the first fic that clicks with you on every, single level? The One True Fic that will always define the first moment of pure fannish, pairing-related glee? This is that story for me.

Oh, sure, there are other Merlin stories out there, in all ranges of atmosphere and writing styles, but this is the one that made me cross my fingers as I read (hoping that Merlin and Arthur would get together/stay together) and made me smile at the end.

(Added bonus: awesome Uther. Seriously, I enjoy Uther so much onscreen and in this story, I could hear him saying his lines.)