WattyOrigins contest entry book.

Leave no evidence (mad libs challenge #1)

Minami sighed at the enchanting white dress in front of her; the show would start in ten minutes and she couldn't get into a dress that big herself. Takao had said that he would help, but he and Natsuki had disappeared a few minutes before, carrying a box of something that he said needed to be dealt with. That left Minami to try and get dressed by herself.

Eight years had passed since she and Takao had gotten married and adopted Natsuki. Minami had been hesitant to adopt her, but when she heard Natsuki's story; she knew she had to claim responsibility for the poor girl. After they'd made their escape, the three of them settled down and Takao insisted they start a theatre.

When the music started playing, she grimaced; not only would she start her performance in her regular clothes, but she'd have to ad-lib her part until Takao decided to show back up. She gulped in as much air as she could to calm herself, and then she stepped out onto the stage. She was worried about the show of course, but she was far more worried that Takao wouldn't return alive.

...

"So uh....what's in the box?" Natsuki questioned, trying to peek inside.

Takao laughed; Natsuki hadn't really changed much in the last eight years, she'd just gotten taller. She was still as curious and bold as she was when he first met her.

"Nothing important, just a few mildewy papers that I found in the back of the theatre." He looked around nervously as they walked down the empty street. He'd tell her the truth as soon as he was sure they weren't being followed.

He wished Natsuki hadn't come with him; if something did happen she would be in danger. Of course, if he didn't want to arouse suspicions, he'd have to let her come along. If someone saw him without her they'd be a little suspicious.

"Why come all the way out here if you could have just thrown them away at the theatre?" She questioned, still trying to peek inside.

Takao held the box shut as they walked; he'd show her as soon as they were completely alone.

"Because I don't want the theatre to smell like mildew; our ratings would go way down."

Natsuki quieted down. She wasn't stupid; she knew there was much more going on than she was privy to. She trusted him and Minami; they'd been her parents for most of her life, after all. This worried Takao more than anything; how would she react when she found out the truth?

Finally they reached their destination, an old clearing that had been used for a campsite at some point but had since been abandoned completely.

After looking around once more to be sure they were alone, Takao led them to the middle of the clearing and plopped down to the ground. He opened the box and Natsuki knelt down next to him to see what was inside.

Slowly Takao pulled put the old sheets of paper. The first was a surprisingly accurate sketch of Takao. Bold lettering on the sign claimed that he was wanted, dead or alive, and anyone who caught him would be awarded 200,000 gold and silver coins.

Natsuki gaped at it in shock. Silence was somewhat rare coming from Natsuki; it was always a bad sign. Finally she found her voice.

"D...does Minami know?"

Takao nodded and pulled out the next sheet of paper; a matching wanted poster, except this one had a sketch of Minami on it.

Natsuki stopped breathing in horror for a moment. "What did you do?" She questioned, after she started breathing again.

"Thievery, I—"

Natsuki cut him off "Thievery? You mean like stealing bread and giving it to the poor kind of thing?"

"Something like that." Takao nodded. Being raised a thief hadn't given him much of a choice; his fate was determined since his birth.

"Two hundred thousand coins for some missing bread? That's a bit melodramatic."

"Not just that." 

Natsuki took a sharp breath. "Don't tell me." she said. She closed her eyes and clenched her fists. "Okay, tell me." She grimaced.

"Murder." he whispered. He felt so evil just muttering the word, let alone knowing he had been accused of it.

Her eyes snapped open and she ran to a nearby bush. After throwing up, she turned and stared at Takao with tear filled eyes.

"It was an accident!" Takao assured her. "I mean, I jumped. Minami ducked...how were we supposed to know the Queen and her daughter were going to stab each other by accident?"

"You murdered the queen?!" Natsuki repeated incredulously.

"Shhh" Takao shushed, putting his pointer finger to his lips. "It's why you were kidnapped." he explained. "They thought they could use you as leverage to capture me and Minami." He paused and then after looking around he continued in a whisper.

"I assure you that we never meant to kill anybody. The queen attacked first! She was trying to use us for some evil conspiracy...it's a really long story. I'll tell you when we're not in such a hurry."

As he explained this he retrieved a match from his pocket and lit the stack of paper on fire.

"How do I know you aren't lying?" Natsuki asked; she was a lot of things, but naive was not one of them.

He put out the fire and came closer to her. "Natsuki, I want you to take a long look at me."

She averted her gaze for a moment, only to stare into his eyes the next.

"Do I look like I could murder someone?"

She shook her head, closed her eyes, and sighed with relief. The relief was short lived however, for her eyes snapped back open and widened in fear once more.

"B...but they haven't stopped searching for us have they? Wh...When you adopted me I became a part of that didn't I? If I was expendable to them in the first place, I would still be now, right?" she said all this at a million miles an hour; Takao wished she'd slow down before she went into a panic.

He nodded as she spoke. "That's why Minami was hesitant to adopt you."

She took a deep breath to calm herself before looking around the clearing. "We've been out here too long, haven't we?"

Takao nodded.

"We should get back to the play now...it must have started a while ago...We should get back."

Takao nodded again. He made sure the fire was out, and that the papers were all reduced to ashes, before they set out again. Now that the truth was out, he felt as though a huge burden had been lifted from him. They all knew what they had gotten themselves into, now if only they could just live normal lives. Takao had no clue what their future would be, but for once he wasn't afraid.

"What do you wanna' bet Minami ad-libbed her part without that dress?"

Natsuki laughed. "Ad-libbed? She probably improvised a whole new show."

'A whole new show?' Takao repeated to himself. Maybe, they would create a whole new life. And maybe someday the past would stop haunting him. Until then he'd just have to cope.