Who: Lady Sif and Lady Doctor Jane Foster What: Jane and Sif discuss security When: Early-ish April, a couple days before Passover
Jane was out and about in New Asgard. With Passover coming, Jane needed groceries. Thor had offered to come with and do the fetching and carrying but Jane turned him down. She lived here too now and it would be good for her to be seen out around town without Thor by her side. She was on her way home now, tote bags slung over her forearms. The glint of metal caught her eye as she walked. It wasn’t so unusual around the people of Asgard , many of whom carried weapons or mixed pieces or armor in with Earth clothes. Jane stopped curious. It looked like guard training. Jane saw Sif not far away and she paused to watch.
Sif was putting the guards through their paces, supervising duels and correcting forms, when she noticed Jane wandering through the village green, some shopping clearly in hand. Behind her, someone else who had also spotted Jane grumbled, "The Lady Jane should not have to carry her food like a commoner!"
"That's the Lady Doctor Foster to you," Sif reminded them. "And for your impertinence to the King's friend, you may all do five laps around the village to remind you to address her correctly, and not familiarly." She clapped her hands. "Swords away, and off with you!"
There was groaning, mostly aimed at the punishment and the mouthing off that had gotten them into trouble, and the guards began to put up their weapons and goods so they could run. As they fell into line, Sif made her way over to Jane. "Doctor Foster! How do you fare this fine day?"
"Hi, Lady Sif," answered Jane. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened with the guards but Jane had seen enough TV about sports teams to know running laps usually wasn't a good sign. "I'm good. I was just picking up a few things to get ready for seder. I hope I'm not interrupting? Couldn't keep myself from watching."
"Not at all. If you wish to join us, or watch, you are always welcome. The guards would be delighted to have an audience. I've told them," Sif added, "to respect your wishes and treat you as a citizen of New Asgard. If they overstep in their zealousness to honor King Thor, let me know and I will clarify matters with them again. They understand that you are not Queen but they still wish to show you respect in the Asgardian manner." This last she added in a lower voice so that they were unlikely to be overheard.
Sif wanted to ask about the seder, but first she needed to be sure that Jane understood that Sif had understood Jane's wishes and was instructing the guard in them.
Jane's eyebrows went up and her mouth formed a pronounced 'o' shape. "Oh. That's very nice of them but I don't really need any honors. Really everyone can treat me the same as anyone else."
"I have told them this," Sif replied evenly. "And should any offend against your wishes, they will be disciplined, and not merely by the running of laps. They do not understand, but they will learn to obey." She smiled again and changed the subject. "Would you like me to take one of your bags? And you can tell me about the seder." Sif pronounced the word as one she was unfamiliar with.
"It's not an offense. I'm not offended," Jane said quickly. Trying to thread the needle on Asgardian etiquette was difficult and this was one of the areas she was sure she was out of her depth. Like now. Sif had offered to carry a bag? Was it more rude to say no?
Jane handed over a canvas printed with a portrait of Albert Einstein and the two women fell into step towards home. "Thank you. I'm just...I'm not queen. I'm nobody. I don't want it to come across like I'm putting on airs or expecting some sort of special treatment."
"You're the--what's the word, partner? is that correct in Midgardian terms?--" Sif knew paramour had the wrong implication so she had tried for a more neutral term "--of Thor, who, King or no, is well-beloved. The guards understand it as an honor to him to treat you as a great lady of Asgard, to defend you from any insult or attack, to carry your belongings, to announce you and see that you receive due deference. They mean well, but you shouldn't have to put up with what you don't want to have, and it will be my duty to tell them so," Sif told Jane. "It took the guards of my youth some long time to learn to treat me as I wished to be treated. I'll convince them that honor means complying with your wishes, with your requests to Thor. It's just going to take a while."
The corner of Jane's mouth turned up a little. "Partner's a good word. I don't want to be rude and reject anyone. But I understood that when I chose to be consort," here Jane used the term that Loki had used with her, "that it meant being shut out of certain parts of Asgard society. I'm trying to figure out what the right thing is. I know everyone loves Thor but I'm not used to having people fuss and since I'm only here because Thor wants me here, I don't want to give the impression I'm playing queen. It's not an easy line."
Sif nodded. "I imagine it's not easy. Being Queen is a different office; you have chosen not to assume it. New Asgard requires many changes for us, and this is one we must all accept, even if it seems strange to us. Though--" Sif hesitated, "I am told that Midgardians sometimes have guards as well, even if the individual being guarded is not a royal. If there is some concern that strangers might bother them. The bards of Midgard often have such protection, like Tailor the Swift and the Lady of Gaga, is it not so?"
Jane, who was used to Asgardian speech by now, managed to limit her reaction to only a lip twitch. "They do," she agreed. "But I don't have a need for any of that, either."
"If someone wanted to hurt you for Thor's sake, you might," Sif, ever practical and often suspicious, reminded Jane.
Jane stopped walking. "Is that a thing? Who would do that? You'd have to be...do people not understand he can hit you with lightning? Why risk it compared to that? I'm not worth it."
Sif, who had stopped alongside Jane, couldn't help but agree about the likely outcome. "I wouldn't try it, but I'm not sure all Midgardians understand what a risky endeavour it would be. I can say if someone wanted to harm the Avengers, or to convince them to act in a certain way, or stay out of a conflict, you, or, say, the Lady Pepper or her daughter, would be an easier target to threaten or seize to force the Avengers into action than one of their members. And it's part of my nature to think of these things--how war might be waged against New Asgard or the Avengers."
"I don't think I would want to be there when the full force of the Avengers comes down on anyone foolish enough to go after Morgan Stark. But I hear what you're saying. Us normals are a risk. But that doesn't explain…" and then Jane connected the dots. "Are we talking about some overeager guards sucking up to Thor by flattering me or are you saying I'm going to have security?"
"You don't have to have security if you don't want it. I'm just saying that there is a rational case for having someone with you even though you have every reason to refuse an honor guard, and every right to not want the guards to express their affection for Thor by serving you." Sif didn't like that term 'sucking up', so she went for a politer alternative. "It is a, how do you say, insurance policy? But you don't have to make a decision today, especially not if it's a holy day."
"I think I should talk to Thor," Jane said. "And it's okay, Passover's not for another couple days."
Sif shrugged phlegmatically. "You should do what you think is wise and necessary. But please remember that none of the guard wish you anything but well. If they're angry at anyone, they're unhappy with me. But this holy day of passing over; what does it celebrate?"
Jane turned back to the walk. "That's more of a story…"