Newt Imagines (The Maze Runner)

Who Could Stay

Based on this request: "Robin Hood AU, Newt x female reader. Ava Paige is King John. Janson is the sheriff of Nottingham. Reader is Robin Hood. Thomas, Minho, Gally, and Chuck are the Merry Men. Newt is Marian. He's a nobleman who the reader falls in love with."

The morning of the contest looms. Across the fair city, scores of archers are readying their bows, fletching their arrows, parading towards the grounds in waves of checkered cloaks and satin garments. The prize, a bag of coins, doesn't mean much to them by way of money. They're more interested in the fame it would bring to their title than anything else.

You, on the other hand, are distracted by something far more interesting than even the brightest compliment to your rank. Esteem is one thing, but gold? That's of far more use to you. You are an outlaw, after all, and that means steady hours aren't exactly your sort of thing.

Then again, you're not just any outlaw. You're the one that lingers in the rumors dotting town streets, the name whispered again and again over darkened thresholds and gossip mongers' dens. You're Robin Hood, and around here, that means something quite important.

No, you have no need for a title. You shucked that from your shoulders yourself when you chose to live in Sherwood Forest and spend the rest of your days on the run from the law. It's not like you would ever want to retreat back to society, anyway; to take part in any action that might help the ruling class is strictly against your best wishes.

It hadn't been like that all the time. There had once been a kind and fair leader over your people, King Alby, although the man hasn't been seen in a very long time. You think some folk still harbor a belief that he might come back and save all of you, but you've long since accepted that such hope is worthless.

What matters now is trying to survive under the current regime. You're sure that Queen Ava Paige ascended to the throne with at least the barest aspirations of doing good to her people, but those beliefs have long since been bled dry. Now, she terrorizes the towsfolk in search of more resources, more results, and never do the benefits ever reach the people they were supposed to help in the first place.

Additionally, her right hand man is something of a menace all by himself. Sheriff Janson of Nottingham is a foul, rattish man, given to seeking out people in need and leaving them even worse off than before. He'd kidnap or kill anyone he needed to if he thought it would get him a step ahead.

That's why you left all of that behind. You live on the fringes of society, delving deep within Sherwood Forest every night to find a home far better than anything civilization could offer. When Ava and Janson's men dare to venture within the bounds of your forest, you take their riches and redistribute them to those who could actually use the gilded trappings.

It's more far this way by a long shot. Over time, you started to gain more supporters, and your band of outlaws grew. Now, you call yourselves the Merry Men, and your numbers only rise by the month.

Your friends survive not just by your own resources, however, but by constantly dancing in and out of skirmishes with Janson's soldiers. That's why entering today's archery contest would be a terrible idea, yet you're still doing it anyway. There's no doubt in your mind that Sheriff Janson will be there looking for the one they call Robin Hood, but that's precisely why you have to go in the first place.

There's something to be said for the fun of outsmarting the Sheriff. It's quite easy to do, actually, and the rewards feel all the more pleasant for it. Although Robin Hood is technically an outlaw, there are no rules on the entries to this particular contest, so of course you could enter. The only problem comes with escaping after the contest ends and you're right in the Sheriff's clutches.