A Twist In Clockwork Fate

The sun shines bright with Hercules and Luca waking up early to work in the shop. It was Luca’s first day today, and frankly - he wasn’t really as excited as one would expect. He was dying inside. Interacting with customers is fine for him, but he’s in the Medieval Ages. Things are different, and he doesn’t want to screw up.

After getting some food for breakfast, Hercules decided to sew Luca some clothes. He took pity on the lad when he saw him wearing the same clothes he had from yesterday. Luca was grateful that he now has new clothes. Afterwards, the two went on with getting to work. Nothing out of the ordinary really happened. Luca was in charge of the counter, tending to the customers while as Hercules was out back - sewing some suits and dresses that were ordered by others.

While there weren’t really any customers around, Luca slowly took out his walkie-talkie and tried using it but to no avail. He was being careful, so that no one would notice - especially Hercules.

. . .

Some time later, the newspaper came and Luca handed it to Hercules. Making the headlines was a news article about an uprising revolution. Hercules surely was interested in it, while his little apprentice wasn’t.

Luca gulped upon reading the newspaper with Hercules. The man glanced over to Luca and noticed his rather terrified state. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Hercules goes. Luca chuckled awkwardly. “...I-I’m just concerned.. This is a whole war and all, y’know...”

Hercules smiles as he pats Luca’s head. “No need to be scared, Luca! If something every happened, then I’d be there for you.”

Luca smiles back at him. “Thank you, Hercules!”

Hercules turned back to the newspaper. “No problem.” He said. “Besides, this is my chance to socially advance instead of just sewing some pants.”

“Hey, that rhymed!” Luca pointed out, which lead for the two of them to laugh. After reading the papers, Hercules said that he’ll think about it, just to assure Luca and not have him worry too much. And with that, the two went back to work.

The day went as it normally would have. The revolution has become a bigger topic every day, with more and more people volunteering in it. Luca felt awkward about this since people know him for being British, and they’re all rebelling against Britain. But then again, he couldn’t care less because he already knows what happens anyway. It’s sad how he couldn’t tell anything to anyone.

. . .

A magically large time skip to the next day because the author is lazy and lacks creative ideas.

Luca was back at the counter, just vibing. Suddenly, someone strolls into the shop, saying: “Hey Herc! Have ya read the papers??” - the man had a medium body build and had a brown skin tone. He had curly hair that was tied into a ponytail, and adorable freckles sprinkled all over his face. The man looked at Luca with a baffled look. “Who’re you?” He asks.

“Um, my name’s Luca and I’m a new employee here.” Luca answered.
The man grinned. “Well nice to meet you, Luca. My name’s John Laurens. Can you get Hercules for me?”

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Laurens. I’ll just go and call him from the back,” Luca responded as he got up from his little stool and went over to Hercules’ workspace by the back. “Hey Hercules, someone is here to see you. His name is John Laurens.”

Hercules, on the other hand, was just tidying up his threads and needles. “John? Tell him that i’ll be out in just a second.”

“Alright,” Luca replies as he goes and faces John. “He said that he’ll be out in just a bit.”

John nods as a response. And while waiting for Hercules to finish up in there, John decided to have a little chat with Luca to pass the time. So far, John was the only person to ever question Luca’s thin eyes and more Asian appearance, but of course, as everyone did - he also immediately assumed that Luca was from Britain just because of his accent.

But before Luca could speak up and explain about himself, Hercules came and John’s attention was turned to him.

“Herc!” John calls.

“John!” Hercules calls back.

Luca couldn’t help but chuckle at that.

“So, you’ve seen the papers right?” John asks.
“Of course I have.” Hercules replies. “I’m joining.”
“Me too!” John grins. “I was hoping that we could go sign up together and stuff.”

“Well, how about we get going?” Hercules asks.

“Sure, let’s go!”

“Yeah, I’ll meet you outside.”

Hercules turns his head to Luca who was lounging by the counter. “Hey Luca, we’ll be out for a bit. You know what to do. If something happens, then come to the town square and we’ll meet up there.”

Luca nodded. “You can count on me, sir!”

“I know I can. See you later, Luca.” Hercules smiles as he walks out the door and disappears into the the distance with John in tow. Luca laughed sarcastically, “Like I’ll ever find the town square without getting lost and probably mugged.”

He lets out a sigh as he ponders about how he was brought here in the first place. Every day, so many questions run through his head yet none of them can ever be answered nor talked about. An exasperated grumble escapes his lips as he slams his head on the counter in annoyance. Although as he did so, he heard the bell chime which forced him to lift his head up and face whoever was at the door.

Walking in was a lanky and slender man. He had dark-tone skin like Hercules and had, what seems to be, curly hair that’s tied into a bun.

“Good afternoon, sir.” Luca greets. “What can I do for you today?”

The man didn’t seem sure of what Luca has said, as if he had some trouble with understanding English, especially with Luca’s accent. ”Oui.” The man utters. “I from France. I need help go to make part of revolution.” He explains with a thick French accent.

Luca almost cringed at the horrible English but seeing as it wasn’t the man’s first language, then the horrible grammar was understandable. It took a few seconds for Luca to understand what he said, but when he did, he replied: “Oh, you want to volunteer for the revolution?”

"Oui. I don’t know way. Maybe you can help me, le garcon?” The man responds.

“Sure.” And with that answer, the man was happy. He smiles gratefully. Luca stood up and thought that it wouldn’t really be that bad to close the shop for a bit. Luca grabbed the keys and closed up the shop. Afterwards, he began walking down the street with him. He isn’t really sure where the town square is either but asking around wouldn’t hurt.

“So, sir. I didn’t catch your name.” Luca states.

“...My name is actually too long,” The man chuckles awkwardly. “But you can call moi, Lafayette.” He said.

Good thing Luca knows some basic French or else he’d be having a hard time understanding this strange Frenchman, as how the latter is having a hard time understanding him. “Well it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Lafayette.” Luca smiles. ”Je suis Luca Lounsbery.”

Lafayette gasps, hearing Luca speak his native language. ”Vous pouvez parler francais? ”

“Oui, mais juste un peu.”

Lafayette nodded with a smile as they continued to walk around town. “Maybe you make teach me English?” He asked, cracking a small abashed smile from how bad his English is. Luca giggled at the horrible grammar. “Of course!” He answers. “I’d be happy to help!”

In the end, Luca had to admit that he didn’t really know where to go either. Lafayette didn’t mind this at all, especially since he managed to learn more English from Luca while they were strolling around. So, they just asked for directions.

A few moments later, they were successful in reaching the town square where it was very busy and crowded. A lot really were volunteering for this. “It looks like this is it, Mr. Lafayette.” Luca stated. Lafayette smiles at him. ”Merci , Luca! You are a big help to me, especially with teaching me English.”

“No problem, sir. I’m happy to have helped you!”

Lafayette pat’s Luca’s head before walking off into the distance to sign up. Luca felt wholesome after that little head pat, which he enjoyed. “Hm, I wonder how Hercules and Mr. Laurens is doing in these long lines.” Luca thought to himself. A lot of older and more muscular men pushed him around, often yelling at him to get out of the way. Some even added in insults about his height and appearances.

“...Rude,” Luca huffed.

The lad thought to just scurry away before he gets his bones broken from these aggressive jerks. As he was passing by, he was pulled over by a woman who seemed to be one of those who were getting people listed. Luca gulped upon seeing her.

“You there. We are in need of a messenger. You seem to fit the role for it just fine. Dear, would you like to volunteer?” She said.

“No, sorry ma’am. I-I don’t want to and I’m sure there are others who are more fit rather than me,” Luca stated as he tried to not make eye contact with her. But the woman was not giving up. “Oh, but we need a messenger now. The soldiers are preparing tomorrow and how would they hear word of what General Washington would announce we have no messenger?” She said.

Luca thought about it. And in panic, he thought that without a messenger - there may be some problems during the war that may escalate to the lost of the thirteen colonies. And that would change the course of history. And that would change the course of history. And if there’s no United States, then what would the world turn into?

This may seem rather far-fetched, but it is still a possibility. And Luca doesn’t have any time to even try to gather up his words and scramble to think about this.

And so...

“...Y-Yes?” He stammered.

The woman smiled widely. “Great!” She grabbed a piece of paper which seemed to be a list of some sort from her booth. She took a quill and dabbed the tip in an ink bottle on the table, then ambled back to Luca and began writing some things on there. “Name?”

“...Luca Lounsbery,” Luca answered.

“Mhm,” The woman hummed. She put down her list and quill back down on the table, and grabbed a folded uniform and a messenger bag.

“Alright, this will be your uniform and your messenger bag.” You will be joining the other new recruits in travelling over to the Army Camp in a week. You must be here at 6 AM sharp. Thank you!” She said hastily, and with that - she already walked off.

Luca wasn’t even able to say anything. When he finally got the chance to, she was already gone. “Okay, so that just happened...” Luca thought to himself.

Luca almost decided to go and maybe look for Hercules, but he doesn’t want to get in anymore.... Well, he doesn’t really want to get involved in anything anymore. Screw it, he’s going home and wait for Hercules to get home too. The sun is already going down anyway. Luca doesn’t want to stay out, especially at night. He isn’t really that brave yet to go out alone in the night. He isn’t from here, and he doesn’t know much about this place yet so he doesn’t want to take his chances.

Luca heaved a tired sigh as he made his way home. When he got home, he put his uniform and messenger bag down in his bedroom and got himself a glass of water from downstairs.

Night falls and Hercules has finally gotten home. Luca was just vibing in his room, playing BitLife on his phone. And suddenly, he heard his name being called from downstairs.

“Luca?” Hercules called out.

Luca jumped out of his bed and shoved his phone in his backpack. He then rushed downstairs. “Yeah?” He goes. Hercules looks by the stairs and saw Luca. “Oh Luca. Sorry. I didn’t see you anywhere. I didn’t know you were upstairs...”

“Naw, it’s okay.” Luca responded. “So what happened in the town square earlier? You got to sign up and stuff?”

“Yes, I did!” Hercules grinned. “It all went well,” He said, scrutinizing Luca. “You on the other hand, you look like you had a pretty rough day yourself.”
Luca rubbed the back of his neck as he sheepishly chuckled. “Yeah, well I actually went to the town square too.”

“Really?” Hercules responds.

“Mhm,” Luca hums. “There was this French guy that came in and asked for help ’cos he wanted to volunteer, but he was a bit lost, so...”

“Could that French guy happen to be named Lafayette?”

“Oh, you know him?”

“Yeah, me and John bumped into him earlier. We just kinda ended up talking to him while waiting in line and became friends with him.” Hercules explained with a bit of a love-struck smile. Luca cocks an eyebrow and smirks. “Sir, I didn’t know that you were into French boys~”

“..What? Hah! No. Of course no,” Hercules defended himself. “Lafayette just seems to be a very likable person, ’s all.”

“Uh-huh.. Yeah, sure..” Luca teased.

Hercules snickered. “Anyway?”
“Anyway... I’m, uh, coming with you guys to the camp next week.” Luca stated, coyly - unsure of what Hercules’ reaction will be.

Hercules’ eyes widened. “What?”

“Yeah, so... After helping out Mr. Lafayette, I was gonna try to find you, but I was getting pushed around by other buff guys, and then I may or may not have gotten pulled over by a woman and was forced into becoming a messenger---” Luca scrambled.

Hercules blinked in confusion. “I’m going to be completely honest with you, I understand nothing of what you said but the end part of when you said that you’re a messenger in the army now.”

Luca inhaled sharply. “Basically, I was forced into becoming a messenger.”

“Forced into? Didn’t you say no or something?”
“....I-I was panicking, okay? I didn’t know how to say no to it...”

“Hm, welp - at least we’ll see each other around.”

“Yeah.. I guess..” Luca uttered.

After a bit of bantering, the two headed to bed. Luca questioned himself it becoming more engaged in the Medieval Ages was really a good idea. He still has no clue what is happening to him, why he was brought here - and now he’s becoming a part of the army. Maybe this was the mysterious rumour Angelo was talking about?

If so, how could all of this be real in the first place? Everything is just so bizarre and surreal.

Before going to sleep, he took a peek at the picture of the star-shaped wisp that has maybe lead him here. He’s surprised that his phone is still working fine, though he just couldn’t really call or text anybody while being in this timeline.

He scrutinized the picture, but no possible answer is coming to his head. He let out a tired sigh as he put his phone on his bed side table. With all these thoughts looming in his head, he ended up getting tired from all the thinking and slowly fell asleep.