Twisted Strings of Fate

Chapter 54

No doubt, if we had lingered at Baba Yaga's hut a little longer, she would not have let us leave. I didn't know if she would kill us or perhaps just take our hearts and turn us into draugar, but we had to flee into the mirror to save our lives.

In our rush to leave, we left behind all our belongings we had brought from the present. Our food, our supplies, everything that we had needed for emergencies and to survive extreme weather conditions, we had to abandon.

There was no going back. To touch a mirror that we passed through would mean going back to the beginning. We had traveled more than a thousand years into the past. And because of the rules of the mirror, we couldn't take something from any other time with us. All we could take with us were the clothes on our back, Fenton's Gizmoduck armor and Huey's notes which I kept in my pocket.

As for everything we left behind, there was some worry that we could taint the time stream with our supplies, but we rationalized that there was no evidence of Baba Yaga in our time. She was a myth. If nobody had found her chicken-leg cottage, then the contents inside would not have been discovered. As for Baba Yaga using our supplies to change the past, a witch with her power probably wouldn't be impressed by anything we had.

Either way, it was too late now. We had to continue on and hope for the best.

With lighter loads and heavier hearts, we kept jumping, following Huey's plan further into the past, passing through small, farming villages around Russia and then into Mongolia before going into China.

Each jump became harder and harder to make due to the scarcity of mirrored surfaces. Mirrors were rare for the poor to own, and usually we made due with bodies of water and polished metal if it were handy. Besides that, our jumps were peaceful and we hardly missed our supplies.

Until we jumped in the middle of a war.


Charity and the guys crashed to the ground, barely aware of the sound of clashing metal and shouts and cries surrounding them. It wasn't until a voice growled, "Demons!" that they reacted quickly.

Drake pulled Charity away right as a sword slashed down where she lay. They looked up into the face of an enraged boar in ancient Chinese-style armor. The boar pulled the sword from the soil and shouted again as he attacked.

"Run!" Drake shouted, carrying Charity and hauling Fenton to his feet as Launchpad and Jim followed him.

"Blathering Blath—" Fenton began shouted. His suit was in its passive-mode in the shape of a briefcase, but before he could finish his password, Jim slapped a hand over his beak.

"We just popped out of a soldier's helmet. Let's not give them any other reason to think we're demons," Jim shouted. He took the lead of the group, grabbing an abandoned spear from the ground, then a shield, and used it to block any attacks that came their way.

Launchpad followed suit, finding a battered sword and shield. The sword made him look very impressive, but he mostly used the shield to defend the group.

"We have to get out of this," Drake said, scanning the battleground.

It seemed endless with thousands upon thousands of bodies fighting. There were men on horses, slaughtering soldiers as they road past. The dead were littered all over, men screaming and moaning as they passed their last moments on earth in agony.

"Just keep going in the same direction," Jim ordered, kicking a soldier out of their path. "We'll eventually reach the edge."

Jim was right but it did take some time and a lot of dodging and blocking attacks. Most of the soldiers were too busy with their own fights to pay the group of time-travelers any attention. When they burst out of the battle ground, they became aware of just how loud things had been. They slowed down to a jog now that their lives weren't in danger; the ringing of swords and sounds of the soldiers dying down.

"Look. Tents," Launchpad announced, pointing in the distance about a half a mile away.

It looked like a city with how many tents were set up.

"It must belong to one of the armies," Fenton reasoned.

"Yeah, but which one?" Charity asked. "The good guys or the bad guys?"

"We don't even know who the good guys or the bad guys are in this time," Drake reasoned.

"It doesn't matter," Jim said. "We just have to find a mirror and get out of this time."

They approached the tents tentatively, not knowing what to expect. Things were quiet except for the sound of the wind rustling fabric and their own footsteps.

"Spread out," Drake said. "Search the tents. There's bound to be something reflective."

But his words were far too optimistic. In a war, soldiers could ill afford to carry a mirror even if they could afford to own one. They looked for swords and metal armor and shields, but those that had been left behind were made of leather, wood, or iron, the metal too dull to reflect.

"Steel weapons and armor would belong to high-ranked officers, like a general," Jim reasoned. "And they're all going to be on the battlefront. We'll have to wait until night fall when the army returns to camp."

"And we'll have to be careful," Drake said. "We look too out of place."

Even in their plain clothes, any soldier would know automatically that they didn't belong. But it wouldn't do to find a disguise. Anything they put on would not jump with them through the mirror.

As they continued to search the tents for any reflective surface, more than one stomach growled and complained, but only Charity felt the pain of hunger. Since they had lost their bags and gear at Baba Yaga's cottage, they had not eaten. They had made somewhere between twenty-five to thirty jumps since then, and it was well past time that they ate.

"Perhaps we could find the mess tent," Fenton said. "They would have cookware: pots and pans and things. Perhaps one will have a reflective surface, too."

It was a solid plan, and everyone was hungry and ready to jump to another time. Having no idea where they were going, they split up to cover more ground, looking for supply wagons and a fire.

"Keep a watch out. Some men would be left behind to prepare supper," Jim said. "As the old saying goes, an army marches on their stomachs."

With that advice, Launchpad, and Drake went one way while Fenton, Charity and Jim another, looking for signs of smoke to guide them.

Charity's group investigated several campfires that were left burning, most left alone with only coals smoldering in the ashes. However, it wasn't sight that was the sense that led them the right way but smell as they caught a whiff of something delicious. Not long after that, they heard the familiar sound of metal ringing, indicating people fighting with weapons.

"Are the soldiers back?" Charity asked, her eyes wide.

"Can't be," Jim said. "Why would they return to camp just to fight? Perhaps some soldiers were left behind to protect their supplies and there's a scuffle."

The trio crept carefully through camp toward the noise. They soon found a clearing in a circle of tents where two soldiers in leather armor were fighting off five men in scraggly clothing. Even though they were outnumbered, the soldiers had the upper hand with their swords and armor where the others only had crude staffs and farm tools.

"Look," Charity whispered, pointing to one of the soldiers.

His helmet had been knocked off and his face was exposed. His hair was tied up in a bun, but they could see the bits of blue in the white. A white, long mustache grew out from his curved beak very similar to the ancient Chinese paintings Charity had seen.

Just as Charity had pointed out the man that must be her ancestor, one of the attackers managed to get behind him, using his staff to knock him to the ground. Immediately, two more attackers surrounded him, taking advantage of his weakened position.

Without thinking about the repercussions, Fenton pushed the Gizmoduck suit into Charity's hands and raced out to help. He scooped up a frying pan by the fireside, the only thing he could use as a weapon in the situation. However, before he could do anything, the second soldier spotted him and attacked.

"I'm on your side," Fenton shouted, blocking the sword with the frying pan. "He needs help."

"Do not help him," the soldier snarled. He turned in time to slice his sword upward before a staff could brain him.

"But he could die," Fenton protested.

"Then let him," the soldier said. "But do not help him. And do not help me." He then turned around and returned to the battle.

Fenton was about to disobey when he watched Charity's ancestor, from where he lay on the ground, kick out at one of his attackers before performing a complex spin kick that brought him to his feet at the same time slicing through another of the attacker's arm.

Holding the frying pan aloft, Fenton crept up, ready to hit one of the men over the head with the iron cookware when Charity's ancestor ignored his attackers to go after Fenton, getting swiped with a pitchfork in the process. The soldier kicked Fenton in the chest before knocking a scythe from one of the attacker's hands.

"You were told to stay out of this, boy," Charity's ancestor shouted. "Do not help me."

Fenton sat up, rubbing his chest where he knew he should be feeling pain but wasn't. He had been confused about why the soldiers didn't want help in a life-threatening situation, but things clicked into place. The curse.

Could a hero be bonded to two people at a time? What would happen if he did save Charity's ancestor's life?

But it seemed that his assistance wasn't needed. It soon became obvious that the two soldiers had things under control as they fought the five assailants. Two were killed after a while, and the other three fled.

Fenton was disturbed by the deaths he witnessed, but he understood that he couldn't judge the decision to take another's life in this timeframe, especially when at war. But he quickly forgot that as the two soldiers approached him with swords raised.

"Who are you? You aren't a soldier?" Charity's ancestor demanded. "Are you another thief?"

"No, I'm here to help," Fenton said, raising his hands. Was that the appropriate thing to do when you have a sword pointed at you?"

"He could be a spy," the other soldier suggested. "He's pretending to be an ally to get information."

"Don't hurt him," Charity shouted, rushing out from behind the tent she was hiding behind.

"Charity, don't," Fenton shouted but couldn't stop the lovebird from putting herself between him and the soldiers.

"We aren't here to hurt you," Charity said. "Please, don't hurt us. We are family."

The soldiers stared at Charity. The other soldier uttered something that the translator that Fenton invented couldn't interpret, then pulled off his helmet. He was a lovebird as well, and by his coloring, most likely related to Charity as well.

"Another time traveler," Charity's ancestor said with a smirk. "You don't have great timing."

Charity and Fenton stared after hearing those words.

"You know we're from the future?" Fenton asked.

"You are not the first," Charity's ancestor said with a shrug.

Charity didn't say anything. She recalled Lady Godiva saying something about knowing how to travel in time. Perhaps more of her family had tried to break the curse. This was not comforting in the least.

"The army will be returning soon," the other—and much younger—soldier said. "We need to hide them."

"Come to our tent," Charity's ancestor said. "We can talk there."

"We have other friends nearby," Charity said.

"More?" Charity's ancestor asked, looking amused. "That is unusual. I must start the rice cooking, but my daughter will accompany you."

"Father!" the other soldier—now unmistakably female—exclaimed.

"What?" the father said with a shrug. "Who are they going to tell?"

The daughter seethed before stomping away. She turned around and yelled at Charity and Fenton, "Well, are you coming?"

Jim, who had only heard part of the conversation, joined them once he knew the soldiers were friendly, and together they went looking for Drake and Launchpad.

"So, you disguised yourself as a man to join the army?" Charity said, feeling a little excited. "Is your name Mulan?"

The daughter rolled her eyes. "No, although I suppose she has inspired many fantasies among girls to try. Mulan has been dead for almost two hundred years."

"Oh," Charity said, trying not to be disappointed. It would have been cool to know she had been related to Mulan.

"My name is Mei but to everyone else in camp, I'm Lee," Mei said as she expertly navigated through the camp.

Charity introduced herself, Fenton and Jim before describing Drake and Launchpad to the woman.

"You're lucky," Mei said. "Most time travelers come solo. I always thought that breaking the curse would be a team effort. I wish I could try myself."

"Why don't you?" Charity said, liking the fiery female. She wished she could have been more like Mei.

"Kind of superfluous with you here," Mei pouted. "It's proof that nobody before you was able to break the spell."

"Oh," Charity said, embarrassed by such an obvious answer. It's not as if she thought a lot about time traveling.

Not long after that, they found Drake and Launchpad, and Mei then led them back to her father's tent. They all introduced themselves, and Mei's father gave his name as Yufei.

The tent was quiet large, much too large for two people. But the reason behind that became obvious when he set up a couple of tables and cheerfully ordered everyone to chop up vegetables. He was so congenial about it that nobody minded being put to work despite being hungry.

"We're lucky to be the camp's cooks," Yufei said with a bright smile. "Although it isn't without its dangers as you witnessed. Every few or so days, thieves sneak in to steal food or weapons to sell to the other side."

"Shouldn't there be others to help you protect the camp?" Drake asked as he chopped up leeks. "The two of you couldn't possibly fight off every threat."

"I insist that it just be the two of us," Yufei said. "Mei and I watch each other's backs, so we don't have to worry about the curse. Besides, our main supplies are in the town a day's walk from here. We only keep enough food for a couple of days in case we have to move quickly. If robbers steal a little here or there, it's no big loss."

Mei harrumphed grumpily from where she worked, obviously not liking the situation.

"So the curse doesn't affect either of you if you save one another?" Fenton asked, curious.

"It would be disgusting otherwise," Mei growled.

Yufei smiled. "It's a convenient hole in the curse. I was against Mei coming to war with me, but with her mother passed, there was no one to watch over her. It's only because I am friends with the general that we were able to disguise her as a boy."

"I would think that a war would be a very bad place for someone with our curse," Charity said, not meaning to criticize. "I would have stayed as far away as poss—"

Yufei suddenly cried out, his body strained in agony, and fell to the ground.

"Father!" Mei shouted, rushing to his side and deftly took off the leather armor he wore.

It soon became obvious that he was bleeding from a large stomach wound, his clothing stained so much, it was a wonder that he was still alive.

Mei pressed her hands to her father's stomach, speaking in a calming tone, "Everything's going to be alright. Keep breathing. Watch my eyes."

Yufei kept his sight locked on his daughter, gripping her clothing. When he breathed, something gurgled in his lungs, and blood oozed out of the corner of his mouth. And just as suddenly as it began, Yufei relaxed and was at peace.

"He's dead," Yufei sighed, his face still showing pain but of another kind.

Mei's beak pressed together. "Do you know who it was?"

"Does it matter?" Yufei said. It sounded far too bitter and defeated for the cheerful man. "As long as it isn't the general, the battle can still be ours."

"What happened?" Launchpad asked. "Are you okay?"

"He's fine," Mei said, helping her father up and began undressing him.

"At least physically," Yufei said, allowing his daughter to help him as if he were a rag doll. He looked exhausted to the point of collapsing. "It takes a lot out of me when one of my bonded dies."

Charity's eyes widened. "You…you felt someone die."

"It's more like feeling the pain for someone right up to the point of death," Mei said. "And when the bond gets cut at death, it's…a little disconcerting. As if part of your heart was ripped out of your chest."

"You mean you felt this, too?" Charity asked. She felt afraid by Mei's words and what she had seen that she wished she could be alone to cry.

"Too many times," Yufei said somberly. His strength must have returned because he no longer needed Mei's help. When he took off his shirt that was underneath his armor, it was completely covered with blood but there was no wound on his stomach.

Charity stared.

Seeing her reaction, Yufei smiled sadly. "When they die, the wounds return to them. The curse does have its bitter-sweet moments."

"How many…" Charity tried to form her question, but was unable to. Her mouth felt dry.

"As many as the general wants," Mei snarled, standing up and returning to her earlier job of chopping up cabbages, this time with more force.

"It is an honor to use the curse to serve China," Yufei said, standing up to put the rest of his armor on. "There is no one in the world who can do what we do."

Fenton had already figured out what is going on. "He's found a way to bond soldiers to you. That way they can fight unhindered, without worrying about wounds that would slow them down. It would give them an edge." He was both impressed and disgusted at the strategy.

"That's terrible," Charity said softly, her eyes glistening until she had to look away.

"He's a monster," Mei said, emphasizing her words by chopping a cabbage in half. "He has no idea how much he's made us suffer."

"And he never will," Yufei said, returning to his own work. "As far as the general knows, we only feel pain."

"Not that he'd care that he's making us fall in love over and over again," Mei said. "Not that he would care about your feelings, that you are a man being forced to—"

"Stop!" Yufei said sharply. "I will not hear you disrespect such a great man any more. Now go get the rice." He pointed to the door of the tent.

Mei slammed her knife onto the table, embedding it into the wood and marched out, glowering.

Yufei sighed then returned to working. "She does not understand. She has not been truly in love," he said, as if needing to explain to Charity and the others. "The memory of her mother fills me enough that what I feel for those other men is insignificant. I will make it through this war, but I worry about Mei. She has a temper and acts so strong, but I worry that the weight of this curse will break her."

"Then why did you let her come with you?" Drake asked. "There must have been someone who would take her in while you were gone."

"Because leaving her behind would have been far worse," Yufei said. "The general, my friend, or at least who I thought was my friend, he had designs for my Mei. I would do anything for him and for China, but I would not let my daughter make that same sacrifice."

Charity recognized the devotion immediately. "He saved your life, didn't he?" she said.

It was hard to read his expression. If it was someone with less experience, someone younger, they would have given themselves up. But Yufei gave nothing away with his body language.

Yufei touched Charity's cheek. "You look so much like her, but your face has not hardened. I wish you could stay. Mei would benefit from someone like you, someone who is soft but still understands how this curse can be a blessing."

Charity wanted to ask him about his sexuality, but was timid. It would be rude. Not to mention, wasn't homosexuality kind of an anathema in some cultures? Had he been attracted to men and married a woman because that was expected of him? Or had this curse forced him to feel things against his nature?

"I worry about her. She's fallen in love many times. Most of them end up dead," Yufei said. "Your friend summed up the strategy succinctly, but there's a dark side to not having pain. The soldiers, they keep taking risks, thinking they're invincible. They don't realize that they are dying until it is too late. Nobody lasts long."

"Poor Mei," Charity thought. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose Launchpad, Drake, Fenton or Jim, and then be bonded to more men, one after the other, and lose them one by one. It would leave her heart in tatters.

"The general must not know that you are here. If he finds out about you, Charity, he would never let you leave," Yufei said, finishing up the vegetables he had been chopping up. "I'm sorry that I have asked you to linger for this long, but it is nice to be around someone with the same curse. In a way, you are my daughter, too. But I will not keep you."

"We would like to leave as soon as possible," Drake said. "We don't know how much longer we have to travel, but we are in a bit of a bind. You see, we lost our supplies and we're—"
Charity's stomach rumbled loudly, getting to the point faster than Drake.

"Ah, then let me fatten you up," Yufei said.

He grabbed several bowls and instructed the group to gather all the vegetables in them. He took his own outside where Mei had a large pot over the fire, dumping bucket after bucket of dried rice into boiling water. Over another fire, he had the largest wok the group had ever seen. They all poured the vegetables in the wok, then Yufei poured in vials of oil.

When the food was all prepared, he gave the time-travelers as much as they could eat although it had very little flavor. But they were grateful for what they got, not knowing when they would get their next meal.

"The sun is going down," Yufei said, looking up at the darkening sky. "Our army will be returning to camp and they will be hungry. You must be gone by then."

"Thank you for all that you've done for us," Charity said, taking his hand. He reminded her very much of Glen, her step-father, who had been a bigger influence in her life than her own father.

"You just break this curse. I'm only sad that I never tried myself to save my Mei," Yufei said. He left Mei to keep cooking since what they had already prepared was a far cry what would be enough for thousands of men.

He took them to what must have been the nicest tent in the entire camp since its color wasn't a dull gray but a bright red with gold trimming and flags flapping at the pinnacle. A rug decorated the front flap and continued inside. Since they had searched several tents, they knew that this tent must have belonged to someone rich since it had a lot more than the average soldier, including a full bed and other furniture.

"The general's?" Jim guessed.

"He's the only one who would have a mirror," Yufei said. "That reminds me, but how did you get here. Not many mirrors around here." He started rummaging through the belongings, being careful to search but not disturb.

"We popped out on the battlefield," Drake said. "We're sure it's from a steel helmet or some other piece of armor."

"His sword," Yufei said. "Metal armor is too heavy for combat, but he's very proud of that sword. It's one of a kind and polished to a shine every day. I wonder what he'll make of you appearing in front of him." He chuckled. "It's best we not find out." He pulled out an ornate mirror that was framed in jade. "It takes a very vain man to bring something like this to war."

Charity approached. She already disliked the general but she had to admit that the mirror was one of the most beautiful things she had ever seen. She made sure that everyone was holding hands and was about to touch the reflective surface when something poked at her memories. It was the same feeling akin to when she left Lady Godiva's time. But at that moment, she knew what had been bothering her.

"You know about the mirrors," Charity said, her eyebrows turning down. "How did you know that we needed a mirror?"

"All the time-travelers used mirrors," Yufei said. "Is that important?"

Charity's frown deepened. "But…the mirror we used…Scrooge had it. Where did Scrooge get it?"

She now wished she had learned more about the mirror. When Scrooge had forbidden them from using the mirror, she had let it be. After they came back from the land of the dead and they decided to use the mirror to travel through time, they had gotten all their information from the kids, but it was limited.

"Huey said something about a temple, but that's about all the information I remember," Fenton said. "But if it was in a temple, how did your ancestors use it?"

"Lady Godiva knew we were time-travelers," Charity said, mulling things through. "She must have met at least one other than us."

"I suppose that could have been late enough," Fenton said. "Perhaps they hid the mirror away to stop anyone else from trying. It is dangerous."

It felt like too much of a coincidence, and Charity felt a chill go down her spine. Something didn't feel right.

"Charity, is something wrong?" Launchpad asked, sensing his friend's mood.

Charity was about to voice another question when the sound of a horn pierced the air.

"That's the army. They're returning," Yufei said, holding out the mirror. "You have to go. Now!"

Charity made sure once more that everyone was holding hands before touching the ornate mirror.

(Author's notes: This chapter did not go according to my original plan. At first, I was going with a Mulan type story where Charity's ancestor would fall in love with a soldier while at war, grip about how he didn't want to fall in love with a man, but then find out it was Mulan all along, but the story was too complex and long for only two chapters, which was the maximum amount I was assigning to each stop in time. Instead I went with something shorter and by far darker, showing yet again how the curse could be used for twisted purposes.

I also didn't want Charity related to someone famous historically again, especially after Lady Godiva and Baba Yaga. I had to mention her because of Mei.

I also wanted to have another man that had been cursed since the only other that has been introduced is Charity's grandfather. While a majority of Charity's ancestors are female, about one in six or seven will be male. I wanted to show the differences the curse would have for a man, especially since heroes more often are men themselves.

I am really excited that I have gotten this far. It seems that I have been waiting to get to the time travel saga for so long, and we're almost to the end. There's a few more stops before we come to the finale. I hope everyone is still with me and is enjoying the story. I'd love to hear from you if you can. Thank you everyone!)