#sterek au
Sterek AU - Prince Derek is the eldest son of the Hale family and is to be married off. But on the way to the neighbouring kingdom, his stage coach is robbed by bandits. The bandits take the jewels and leave, but one of them hesitates.
The bandit takes Derek hostage and takes him back to their hide out. When he arrives with his prisoner, his fellow bandits start lecturing him about kidnapping someone–let alone the prince.
But the prince doesn’t seem afraid. He;s not begging to be let go, he;s not demanding to know who they are or where they’ve taken him. Rather, he’s mesmerised by the bandit who kidnapped him, intoxicated by his sound of his voice and the colour eyes behind his mask.
Eventually, the bandit gets a moment alone with him and Derek thanks him. The bandit is taken aback and Derek explains that he was travelling to the neighbouring kingdom to marry the young princess against his will. He explains that their kingdom is stronger than the Hale’s with more resources, and the refusal to marry the young princess would end in a war they know they’ll lose.
“I know,” the bandit replies quietly. “I used to live there. They’re tyrants who steal the income of the farmers on the outskirts of town and turn their back on their people, leaving them to starve. Farmers like my dad…”
“That’s why you steal the jewels,” Derek realises.
“We have a contact a few cities over who buys them off us and we give the money to the starving and sick.”
Derek offers his help. He joins their gang and helps them take down the neighbouring royal family. He gets the royal family to step down–ostracising them and making sure the kingdom is handed over to the Hale family. He helps redistribute the hoarded wealth, makes sure the sick are tended too and the farmers are cared for and paid well.
The bandits disappear; there’s no need for vigilantes when the royal family is just and fair. Derek is a little saddened by this, until one day when he’s visiting a small village of farmers on the outskirts of the kingdom where he sees a young man with the most gorgeous eyes and charming smile.