Thread:Fimber/@comment-3481504-20151102233729/@comment-5674726-20151103232636

I assume that you're referring to when Guinevere was kidnapped in "The Dark Tower". At the time, she was Arthur's beloved wife of nearly four years. When Arthur thought that Morgana was dead, he was devastated because they grew up together and, even before he knew of her paternity, he loved her as his sister. Arthur may have come to regard Merlin as a friend but I don't think that he was ever as close to him as he was to Morgana before she turned on Camelot and he certainly didn't regard him in the same light as he did his wife. It doesn't mean that he didn't care about Merlin at all, just that he wasn't as close to him as he was to others and, therefore, not likely to go to pieces if he was in danger.

As for Arthur not leaving to save Merlin until after Morgana spoke to him in "The Poisoned Chalice", I think that he wanted to save Merlin but not out of friendship. They had only known one another a short time by that episode and they were not close so Arthur's desire to help was motivated by his perceived debt to Merlin for saving his life. Likewise, I think that Arthur's decision to take the poison in "Labyrinth of Gedref" was at least as much out of a sense of guilt for having caused the drought and famine in Camelot as it was out of friendship or a desire to protect Merlin.

I've noticed a tendency in fanfic, for example, to portray Merlin as the most important person in Arthur's life and the person he was closest to but I just don't see that in canon. Merlin's life revolved around Arthur to a large extent but Arthur had family, other friends and the love of his life so I think that Merlin was not central to his life the way he was to Merlin's.