Rumors of War || The First Avenger

Chapter Nineteen: Lady and Sergeant Liberty

Picture is Emma and Bucky.

Music is "The Last Time I Saw Paris" by Johnny Desmond.

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CHAPTER NINETEEN

The bus station in London is a wild place to be at evening rush hour. Being right at the airport, there are constantly people bustling about to get to one place or another. We were lucky enough to land in the city, not far from the hotel where we're staying. Mary Ellen, Dolly, and I hop into the nearest cab, taking the five minute drive to the hotel. We're staying at a hotel just minutes from the base where we're going to be signing things for the fans of the comics and such.

Billy promised me that there would be no dancing at this event. Just a uplifting chat with the soldiers who might be sent overseas in the next few days. That includes Bucky. If he knows of Lady Liberty, he'll be there.

The three girls share a bedroom in the hotel. Mary Ellen and Dolly share a queen bed, and I have my own. Getting in so late - or early, I'm unsure which it is at this point - we hurry straight to bed, not bothering to unpack. There's a big day ahead of us, and I'd hate to miss any of it

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I feel a hand shake my shoulder, causing me to life my dreary head to see Dolly perched over me. "Rise 'n shine, Sleepin' Beauty! We gotta unpack 'nd get ready. We gotta be at the camp in an hour."

We unpack swiftly, then change into our uniforms. My Lady Liberty uniform is a typical Rockette dress, but instead of white and red stripes with blue and white stars, mine is in union jack designs. It has a union jack pattern on the bodice of the dress, and a simple navy skirt. But mine has red gloves and a blue Sergeant's hat on my head; there's a large "L" in white lettering on the front. I also wear blue combat boots, and my baton is red with a blue handle in the center. With my hair done in pincurls, my lips red, and outfit on, I look like the spitting image of Lady Liberty herself.

I give one last touch of lipstick as I hear one of the girls tap on the door. "Yes?"

"Time to go, Lady Liberty! We have to be at the camp a few blocks over," Mary Ellen says through the door. "You about ready?"

I open the door, grabbing my coat from the hanger. "Ready to go!"

We slip on our coats, the long ones that cover out outrageous attire, and step out into the London spring-time air. Mary Ellen and Dolly walk ahead of me, but I can't help but smile as I remember this city from my early childhood. I remember Mother in her cooking attire, the sweet smell of baked goods in the kitchen. I remember growing up on Sherlock Holmes mysteries and King Arthur and the Round Table. I remember being so happy when we went to that final boat to come to America, but it's only now - years later - that I realize how much I actually missed it.

We get to the camp right on time at ten in the morning, sharp. Billy had told us before we left that there's about a thousand boys here, all preparing to go over the English channel to France, Italy, Spain, and elsewhere. He'd said just to talk to them, socialize, make friends. Give them some well-needed attention without making the U.S. Army look bad. There's supposed to be a little celebration. Food, drinks, and dancing between the soldiers and the nurses. The girls and I are supposed to show up and give them a little extra patriotism for their trips overseas.

I can do that.

What I can't - and won't - do is make an idiot of myself. Unfortunately, this outfit insists on just that. When we arrive, we enter the building with the name "Camp Henry" in giant letters. It's strange to have a camp in the middle of the city, but I think nothing of it at the time. We enter, and no one looks twice.