A new life

TWO

Eri tiptoed down the hallway towards your room. She raised her fist to the door and paused. After a moment of pause, she knocked on the door.

You walked out and opened the door. "Eri? What's up?"

"Um," she muttered, looking down at her feet. "I-I had a nightmare."

"Aw," you muttered. "Do you wanna come in here? You can lay in my bed until you fall asleep.

She nodded her head. You smiled and opened your door wider for her to walk inside. She crawled into your bed, and you sat next to her.

"How about a story?" You said.

She nodded and lay on her side.

"Let's see," you muttered. "Once upon a time, there was..." You paused as you leaned against your headboard. "There was a beautiful princess with long purple hair and big black eyes. Her dad, who was the king, was secretly," you trailed off. "A thief!"

"Why was the king a thief?" Eri said.

"The king believed that it was okay to take from those who were bad people," you explained. "So, a few nights a week, the king would steal from horrible people to teach them a lesson."

"Was the princess a thief too?"

You nodded. "The king had very strict rules. He never let the princess have any friends and taught her to always remain hidden and unnoticed. A good thief would never even be suspected of being a thief, no matter what. But, the king had strong morals. The king taught the princess how to be a good person. You always treat people kindly, you never hurt children because children are our world's future, and you never reveal your secrets to anyone." You sighed and looked out of your window.

You heard Dabi's footsteps in the hallway, but you paid no mind to it.

"But then, something incredible happened. The princess fell in love with a prince from a faraway kingdom. When she was with him, she forgot about all of the rules her father taught her. She was able to be herself around him; she accidentally got way too close to him."

"What happened after that?" Eri said with wide eyes.

"The princess ran away," you said. "She ran away from her dad and the prince. She didn't want her dad to be disappointed in her, nor did she want to hurt the one she loved. She felt unworthy of the prince's love because she was a thief, so she escaped, never to be seen again."

"That story didn't have a happy ending," Eri said.

You laughed. "So? Was it a good story?"

"Bedtime stories should have happy endings," Eri said.

"The princess should've stayed with the prince," Dabi said. "Since he loved her, and she was able to be herself, she should've been happy with the prince."

"Okay, that's the new ending!" You laughed. "The prince and the princess lived happily ever after."

"Did the princess still steal?" Eri asked.

"Sometimes," you said. "But she only stole from very bad people."

"So, she's a hero!" Eri exclaimed. "Like Robinhood and Deku."

"Yeah," you said. "Just like them."