Sigyn was pacing back and forth in her and Loki's rooms. Dealing with the Frost Giants was taking far longer than she had thought it would, and that wasn't helping the fretful feeling she got at the notion of Loki, Thor and Odin being anywhere near any Frost Giants. She was so anxious that she couldn't even sit down or relax as she waited for Loki to return. And she was waiting for a long time.

As such, any number of maddening thoughts were running through her mind. Perhaps they had to go far away to find the Frost Giants- or perhaps there were a lot of them. Perhaps someone's been hurt. Perhaps Loki has been hurt. Anything could have happened and Sigyn had no idea. She would have gone to investigate if she had any idea where they were.

It wasn't until a maid came in to speak to her that she found out what had happened in the Vault. As shocked as she was, she was still worried, because, even then, there was still no sign of her husband. Where on Asgard is he? she frowned, confused.

When Loki finally came in, his eyes were trained on the floor. He didn't even look up as an apprehensive Sigyn called his name.

"Loki!"

She ran to the door and worriedly cupped his face in her hands, looking over him to make sure that he was okay. But Loki said nothing as she hugged him fiercely. He did look up at her though, noting the concern in her features.

"You're alright?" she asked quickly.

She looked up in time to see him nod. Somewhat relieved, Sigyn then did something that her husband did not expect. She grabbed his shoulders, pushed herself back for him and smacked him repeatedly on the arm.

"What was that for?" Loki asked, more than slightly surprised.

"You didn't come back!"

He stared.

"I had to hear about what happened in the Vault from a maid. A maid, Loki," she scowled.

"Look-"

"Why didn't you come back straight away?" Sigyn demanded. "You should have known how worried I would be!"

Loki frowned. This is going to be interesting to explain, he thought as he momentarily looked to the floor.

"Thor has been banished," he said quietly.

Sigyn's eyes widened in disbelief and her mouth fell open slightly.

"He what?"

"He's been banished," Loki repeated in the same solemn voice.

"What- why? Was it him that let the Frost Giants into Asgard?"

Loki blinked.

That's a thought... Not a correct one, but still, hethought. Maybe she'll forget her suspicion that it was me... simultaneously flitted through his mind, though he didn't linger on that.

"No; but he wanted revenge on the Jotuns for thinking that they could just waltz into Asgard."

He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath as he readied himself to continue his explanation. Sigyn had yet to hear the worst of it, after all.

"But surely that's no cause for banishment?" she enquired with a deep frown etched into her features. "Just wanting revenge can't be enough for such a drastic measure, can it?"

Loki sighed again and tilted his head to the side.

"Well..."

She could immediately hear something strange in his voice that told her something else had clearly happened to result in Thor's banishment.

"What?" she asked tentatively.

Here we go...

"We went to Jotunheim," Loki admitted finally.

Sigyn hit him again, harder this time. She couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. It was unreal; but this was something that was too serious for even Loki to make up.

"You did what?"

"Sigyn, please," he frowned.

"No, Loki. Tell me what happened."

He sighed once more. Her voice had that I'm-not-going-to-give-up-until-you-tell-me-exactly-what-happened-and-I-will-yell-at-you-until-you-do tone that he was so used to.

"Let me sit down first," he said.

She scowled and waited, folding her arms. As he went to sit in his chair she followed him and stood in front of him. Persistent as ever, he thought.

"Well?" she persevered, her seriousness reaching the rebuking glare she was giving him.

He took a long breath.

"Thor was angry about the Frost Giants and he sought to determine why they came to Asgard."

Loki conveniently left out the fact that it had been him who had planted the idea in Thor's mind. He didn't need Sigyn knowing that or he'd never hear the end of it. And she would blame him just like he knew that Sif and the Warriors Three already wanted to.

"Unfortunately, Thor could not control his temper and we ended up fighting the Jotuns," he continued.

"Loki, surely you didn't?" she gasped.

He nodded solemnly.

"I almost talked us out of the situation, but one of the Jotuns insulted Thor and... well, you know Thor. He just couldn't let it go," Loki said, somewhat bitterly. "We fought well, but we were outnumbered. It was my father that saved us in the end; but I fear that Thor may have broken the peace between our worlds."

Sigyn stared. She knew that Thor could act impulsively and without thinking, especially when he had been insulted. But how could he risk the peace between Asgard and Jotunheim? she wondered. That was a step too far, she knew.

"My father banished him to Midgard for his thoughtlessness and selfishness," Loki concluded, heaving another sigh.

Sigyn bent down to where he sat and threw her arms around him.

"Oh Loki, I'm so sorry."

"Why?"

She looked at him curiously. Thor was Loki's brother, surely he cared about what had happened?

"Thor may have just restarted a war that it took so many lives to end," Loki said blankly.

"But banishment?"

"It is the punishment that my father believes that he deserves right now; no matter how much we all dislike it."

She frowned. She hated the thought that Thor had been banished, but Loki did have a point. What if Thor had started another war with the Frost Giants? She shivered; that was not something that she wanted to even think about.

"He's still your brother," she reasoned sadly.

"There's nothing anyone can do about it. What's done is done," Loki said finally, apparently ending their conversation.

Sigyn frowned. She couldn't think about this situation anymore, especially while Loki was acting so callously in regard to his brother. She had the feeling that he wasn't going to be sympathetic to his plight if she continued their discussion and decided that it was best to let the matter drop, at least for now.

"I'm going to bed, Loki. Please come."

She wanted to distract him. This wasn't a place she wanted his mind dwelling. But he just looked at her for a moment, watching as she stood up and held a hand out for him.

"I will join you soon," was all that he replied with.

But he didn't.

Author's Note: Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays! Hope you're all having a great day! :) I've been up since half past four this morning so I got this next chapter written for you lovely people. Sorry it's a bit short, but that's just how the story goes.

Anyway, I'd love to know what you think about how this is going, and if you're liking the story so far, so please do let me know. :)

Kit xx