They stood in the palace stables surrounded by some of the most amazing specimens that Asgard had to offer. Thor had brought out a beautiful white horse 'This is White Fire, one of the finest war horses that Asgard has ever bred. He is steadfast and brave and has never run from battle'

Jane stood next to the large commanding horse, feeling very small and insignificant, but she noted the look of pride on Thor's face 'this is your horse?' he nodded 'He is beautiful' only she wasn't looking at White Fire when she said this. 'I feel very small standing next to the two of you' her head barely reaching the height of the animals back.

Thor stepped away from the horse, standing directly in front of Jane and stared down looking into her deep brown eyes 'You are just as imposing Jane, at least to me'

For a second she forgot to breathe, the heat between the two a palable thing. But Thor remembering that they were out in the open on display to his countrymen broke the spell offering Jane her own horse. He soon returned with another specimen just as fine as the last, however again it was a horse to fit the stature of the prince. 'These are not horses, these are giants' she stood next to the brown horse to emphasize her point, but reaching up to stroke its beautiful body 'I have never ridden a horse before, this is not going to end well when I fall off'

He thought back to his time on her home world 'Have the metal carriages replaced the uses of horses all together on Midgard?

'For travel, pretty much.'

He thought for a moment and walked over to White Fire, the horse lowering its head to the prince almost in greeting. Without a second thought, he stepped on the stirrup and was astride the horse. He lent down and grabbed Jane by the waist and lifted her, placing her directly in front of him, his hand not leaving her waist. 'Ok?'

Jane's eyes were as large as saucers, suddenly very aware how close they were again, struggling to breathe 'kay' was all she could blurt out, White Fire started walking slowly leaving the stables.

They traveled through the city and Jane got more of a feel for Asgard than in the palace walking its halls. She was now surrounded by its people, how they truly lived, architecture, markets, leisure it was all out for Jane to soak in. She had never really had the chance to travel back home on earth, the irony was not lost on her that she had to travel to another galaxy to experience other cultures. Needless to say riding the prince's horse, with their prince on board caused the locals to stare, but Thor just smiled so Jane took her cue and smiled too.

Conversation flowed easily and Thor took great joy in explaining the many foreign objects that roused her interest, but eventually they both needed a break from riding. Instead of resting in a quiet area or even a tavern for a bite to eat, Thor led them down a dark alley where many men were walking in and out of the building, every single one stopped and gave a short only at the neck and slight shoulders bow.

'Where are we going?'

'You have more friends here than just myself, I have been selfish, something that I intend to remedy'

Eventually the alley opened up to a large grass area, many of the men that Jane had seen entering where sparring with swords, spears and other weapons, there were archers practicing their aim, some while riding on horseback taking their shots mid gallop. This was possibly the most surreal thing that Jane had seen since arriving on Asgard. For her it was almost like being at a renaissance fair. But unlike the rubber swords they played with, this was actually men training for battle. In the centre of the area were four familiar faces, Volstagg, Hogun and Fandral, the warriors three and Sif. Currently Volstagg and Fandral were engaging in unarmed hand to hand combat, Fandral being the leaner one of the two was not surprisingly lighter on his feet and tormenting his larger opponent. The sparring did not stop as the two approached Fandral taunted Volstagg, by dropping and rolling aside when Volstagg made an obvious lunge for him as his rage got the better of him. The slegding continued and so did the match.

Sif with her calculating eyes had seen this match a hundred times or more. Volstagg could never master unarmed combat his own bloodlust became his worst enemy. No Sif was more interested in Jane. The woman who had changed her prince so completely, turned a spolit boy into the man that they all knew was in there. What Sif found interesting was Jane's attention to the match 'What do you think my lady Jane?'

Her eyes were still calculating and did not leave the dueling duo 'I think his balance is off and it's going to get him into trouble'

A smile slowly crept across Sif's face knowing what was going to happen next 'WHAT!' the match had stopped and Volstagg's large frame was no longer concerned about Fandral. He turned all attention to Jane, his rage had not passed it now added to the rant that was about happen 'What do you know about it Midigardian?' his arm out pointing at her. Thor was about to interject, disappointed with his friend.

'Enough' Jane grabbed the outstretched hand and before anyone could have reacted, used the mans own impressive body weight to flip him onto the ground, his arm now pulled at an odd angle behind his back, his face flat in the mud. Jane was in a position where she could easily break his wrist or dislocate his shoulder, putting pressure on the arm Volgun could not move without making matters worse. 'Do you yield?'

'Yes! Yes' the muffled sound below came and she let him go.

The warriors three and Thor stared at her. You could have heard a pin drop in the arena. All other training had stopped and they were all staring at Jane. The spell was only broken when Sif started clapping. It's clear crisp noise jarring all to life 'Oh I'm going to like you'

The two women stared at each other a knowing smile on each face 'I would like that'

The men stared from one face to another hoping to find more than the baffled expressions on each other's face. It was finally Fandral that spoke 'Men we are in trouble, there is now two of them'

The women just laughed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

In a warm tavern not far from the training ground the group sat, having a bite to eat and a glass of ale. The greetings that should have taken place earlier finally happened and conversation flowing freely, Volstagg having moved on from his temper and humiliation once again turned into the good mannered friend that Thor had always known him to be and thankfully was not taking it out on Jane. Thor was trying to think of how to broach the subject of what had just happened when Volstagg asked for him.

'Are you a warrior on Midgard Lady Jane? Thor never mentioned that you were'

Her musical laughed filled the room 'No, I'm an astrophysicist, I study the universe. By no means am I a warrior'

'Although she is brave' Thor piped up, thinking of his time on earth

'Then how did you do that?'

She thought for a moment trying to work out a way to put it into context 'Do either of you have daughters? She stared at the warriors, all shaking their heads in response 'I am an only child, no older brothers to look out for me. My mother died when I was twelve. Leaving my father and I alone in this world. At about the age of 14 my father finally started noticing that I was no longer his little girl and was turning into a young woman. It was at this point where he gave me two choices. An ultimatum that I think most fathers would like to give. 1. Get locked up in a tower until I was 30 and be protected from the world or 2. I learn to defend myself. He trusted me explicitly but for his own piece of mind needed to know that I could handle myself, should he not be around to look after me'

'Your father sounds like a wise man'

'He was, he too died a few years ago. . .' her voice petered out for a moment as memories clearly flashed through her mind and Thor reached for her hand 'I only know some hand to hand skills, nothing that involves a weapon of any sort' a cheeky smile crossing her face 'but it appears I know enough to get the better of you'. The table erupted in laughter at Volstagg's expense

'My daughters are getting locked in the tower' he retorted, and the hilarity continued.