Chapter Two

"I really don't want to do this," I grumbled as I glared at what was my 'uniform' in the mirror. Honestly, I'd rather be wearing the heavy chain-mail the knights wore then this. It was a tight-fitting pale blue dress with a white apron that had a large red plus sign on the chest.

It was a nice dress, don't get me wrong, but not something I would wear. The past few weeks, I managed to get away with wearing what I wore in Camelot, but today, for the Expo, I had to wear this uniform. The only problem with it was that it was a tight-fitting one, almost like a second skin. I was built differently than the women around here; being half-dragon meant that I was more lean and muscular, the other women were not. The younger nurses were thinner, and a most of the older nurses were too. That's because of the First World War and the Great Depression. Lack of food, stress, and worry can have its consequences, and not very good ones.

We may be cut off from the rest of the world, be we still got wind of what went on with them. We learned that the time of kings and queens had ended, and that the time of the people had risen. How will they handle it when King Arthur returned? Will they accept the Once and Future King? The rightful ruler of Albion? Then again, Arthur always thought about what was best for his people, which is the reason why he is so loved.

"You ready, Rex?"

I snapped out of my musings to see Mordred standing at the doorway, dressed in a Military uniform, a displeased look on his face. He, like me, wasn't too pleased with having to part-take in the war. Neither of us wanted this, but if it meant keeping my brother safe, then it's what we will do. When he is accepted as a candidate for the serum. Not if, when. I had no doubt that he was the perfect candidate. And neither did Mordred.

"Ready as I'll ever be," I grumbled, and Mordred laughed slightly.

"Know how you feel, Rex. I like our armor better, not matter how heavy it was. How in the world is this flimsy stuff supposed to keep us safe?" He questioned. I nodded in agreement.

"Well, no use complaining. We've got to do what we've got to do," I sighed as the two of us walked out of our flat.

"Evening, doctor," I greeted as I walked up to Dr. Erskine.

"Ah, good evening Ms. Cooper," the German-born doctor greeted.

"Doctor, I told you to call me Rex," I said, shaking my head. "Ms. Cooper makes me feel like an old married woman. Now, I may be over six centuries old, but definitely not married."

"I apologize, my dear," Dr. Erskine chuckled, his German accent undoubtedly coming through, "but as long as we are out in public, I do believe it is more polite to address as Ms. Cooper."

"True," I sighed. "Anyways, our possible candidate is here today. I'll let you know when he comes in."

"Thank you, dear. I couldn't have a better assistant. Your mentor taught you well."

I smiled at the doctor, then turned to get to work. It wasn't long before I heard my name being called from the front. I wandered over and grinned when I saw the small blond man.

"Hello again," I said, and a small smile spread across Steve's face. "I'm glad you came." I made a 'walk with me' gesture. I walked a little more slowly than I was used to since we couldn't stride though this crowded area.

"You still eager to defeat the bullies, then?" I asked as we made our way into an enclosed area, set up as an examining room.

"Yeah, but I don't see how you're going to persuade them to let me join," Steve said, sitting down on the bed used for examinations.

"Losing hope already?"

"Well, it's not like I can just get rid of all my problems overnight," was the reply, causing me to smile mysteriously.

"I think there might be a solution," I said, turning to leave.

"Wait!"

I paused, allowing Steve to say what was on his mind. I could hear him gulp, and could feel the nervousness that radiated from him.

"I know this might sound stupid… but I was wondering… if you…. if you were…" Steve stumbled over his words, not getting the question out. Knowing what he wanted to know, I decided to help him out.

"You want to know if I was your long lost sister. The one who grew up in the time of the Pendragons." I stated more then asked, turning to look at him. "Had I… had we known about your existence, our brother and I, we would have come to look for you earlier. But our father only mentioned you about a month ago. Mordred and I came looking as soon as we could."

"Mordred's our brother?" Steve asked, looking a little pale at the thought.

"Heaven's no," I laughed, recalling the tall tales Geoffrey created about us. We did not want anyone knowing the true tales. Not until our King returned. "Unlike what the tales say, Mordred is not Morgana and Arthur's son. He was born and raised in a druid camp. And he is a very good friend of ours, despite the fact he was destined to kill Arthur Pendragon. But that's a tale for another time, brother dear."

"Oh," Steve looked relieved. But I could tell there were still questions nagging him.

"I know you still have questions, but let's save those for later. This won't be our final encounter. Like our brother and I, you have a great destiny ahead of you. Let me go fetch the doctor, and then we can move forward."

"I got enlisted."

Bucky glanced sideways at Steve as they walked back to their flats.

"You sure about this? It ain't easy, training. You gotta be hard-boiled to get through it," Bucky said, evidently worried about his best friend.

"Pretty positive. Oh, and Rexanne, the dame I told you about before? She really is my sister," Steve said, "and a real nice lady too. She'll be there to help watch over my training, so I've got nothing to worry about."

"Gosh darn, I really wish I would've come with ya. She sounds real swell," Bucky sighed.

"Yeah, well, someone had to look after our dates," Steve pointed out, then sighed. "Even though mine didn't give me a second look…"

"Don't worry about that, punk. I'm sure your brother and sister weren't all that lucky either."

"I ain't so sure, Buck. Rexanne's really beautiful. I saw a lot of soldiers looking interested," Steve said, sounding mildly hostile, which made Bucky laugh.

"Sounds like you're becoming a protective brother already. Don't want anyone datin' your sister?"

"She could already be married, Buck. She did live for over 600 years."

"Or she could still be single. She could have worse luck than you with dating."

"How can someone manage to be single for that long?"

"Could be some sort of ancient pact, maybe? Or she's really a hag once you get to know her." Steve rolled his eyes while Bucky laughed.

"No-way jerk. Mom wouldn't raise us like that, and she definitely ain't a call-girl. Should've seen the look on her face when some guy tried to make a pass at her. And the next thing we knew, he started brayin' like a donkey, and, gosh, she was looking so smug!"

Bucky clutched his sides from laughing so hard, bent over double. Steve laughed as well, recalling the event.

"Guess she's really got magic and that was her way of callin' him an ass," Steve noted as the laughter died down.

"You really believe that? That she's got magic?" Bucky asked, cheeks red from laughter.

"There's no other way she could've survived this long. And the evidence was right in front of me when she did her little trick. Not to mention, she knows Mordred. Turns out, he really didn't kill King Arthur, nor was he the King and Morgana's son." Steve pointed out. "And mom did mention in her letter that she and our brother are powerful sorcerers."

"Remind me never to get on her bad side then. Don't want to end up being turned into a slug or something nasty."

They reached Steve's flat, and Steve turned to Bucky and gave him a tight hug while bidding him a goodnight. This could very well be the final time he could see his best friend. It made his heart clench, knowing that the man before him, the one who was like a brother to him, could be killed. Sure it was for a good cause. To stop Hitler's reign. But would it be worth it?

Before, Steve was positive about his choice to join the army. He had no one to return to, no one to miss him. But when he found his mother's letter, and met his sister, whom he had started to grow close to, he started doubting himself.

Like our brother and I, you have a great destiny ahead of you.

But what was that great destiny? Was it to help in the war? Or was it something else? And what about Bucky? They did nearly everything together. Was he a part of this great destiny? Or was he going to play a small role? Be a pawn in someone's chess game?

Trying to shake the dark thoughts from his mind, Steve made himself ready for bed, half wishing his sister wasn't so cryptic.

Slang translation:

Hard-boiled: jaded/tough man

Call-girl: Prostitute