You see the Bifrost open in the distance, they have returned. The warriors had left for Jotunheim after the break in at the royal vaults on Thor's coronation day, they had told no one, but Heimdall had the common sense to go to Odin.

You run out of your chambers holding the silks of your skirts. Storming through the hallways of the palace you ignore the guards and other people wandering the halls. You see them at the gate, but there you are met only by the warriors three and Sif.

"Where is Loki?" you burst, panic taking over.

"They are in the Observatory, they are all well," Sif says, "Fandral is badly hurt, please, help him."

Your heart is torn for a moment, you want nothing more than to run to the rainbow bridge, but you know you have to help the man, it will take you only a moment. So you step up to Fandral who is supported by Hogun and Volstagg. You see him bleeding through his clothes and armor. You gently place your hand above the wound and see the blood disappear and healthy tissue closing the gap.

"Thank you, Lady Y/n, truly," Fandral says and his posture changes, already feeling stronger than before.

"I'm glad you're all right, but I must go," you give them a sorry look before making your way past them and dashing towards the colorful path. You see two figures approaching from the other side and realize they are Loki and Odin. Noticing you, Loki starts walking faster until he is running towards you. Reaching you he picks you up and you wrap your arms tightly around his neck. He twirls you around and holds you as close as he could.

"It's all right, everything is fine," he assures you.

"I was so worried. Why did you leave like this? You could have died!" you almost cry.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry," he kisses your cheek before putting you down. You reach up and kiss him before hugging him tight.

"Never leave like this again," you press yourself against his chest, "Tell me, are you hurt?"

You push yourself off to look at him closely, but you see no change in the way he stands.

"Nothing but some minor scratches," he gently takes your arms, "I'm fine."

You turn his arm and see lines with minuscule droplets of blood that disappear as you use your powers on them, leaving nothing but his perfect marble skin. Only then you realize the obvious.

"Where is Thor?"

Loki hesitates before answering you.

"He was banished by Odin," he says, "For putting the realm at risk and disturbing the fragile peace between the Jotuns and Asgard. He was stripped from his powers, Odin took away his hammer and sent him to Midgard."

You look at Loki and then past him at Odin who is approaching from behind, he looks stern and in an awfully bad mood, you decide not to say anything as you don't want to risk him hearing you.

"I'm just glad you're all right," you say and step closer again to wrap your arms around him. There is nothing that you want more than to keep him safe and away from harm's way. You feel him stroke your back and you just stand there as Odin passes the two of you. Waiting a while longer you look at Loki again.

"What does this mean? Thor is king, isn't he?" you ask.

"No," Loki sighs, "The coronation was never finished. Odin didn't announce him as king."

"What will become of him? What will become of the realm?"

"Odin gave Thor every chance to improve. Should he truly change, should he be worthy of the throne, he shall have his powers back, but until then he is to live his life as a human, well, he would still have the lifespan of an Asgardian, but nothing more," Loki strokes your cheek, "But as long as he doesn't return, I will be heir."

"Do you think Thor could change? Could he be worthy?"

"I have known him my whole life, he is my brother and I know him better than anyone," he lowers his head, "It pains me to say, that I don't think it is possible to redeem him. I don't think he could possibly change and be worthy of the throne. I'm sad and I wish he could at least be here, powers or not, he deserves to be with family, but Odin isn't that forgiving."

You are at a loss of words, you can barely believe Thor has been banished to Earth and there is a good chance he will never return. You feel sadness for Thor, but also guilt for deep down inside being happy for Loki and his chance to be heir, his chance to be king.

"I'm very sorry, I know how much you love Thor," you take his hand, "We should get back to the palace, I'm sure Frigga will like to see you and also needs your support on Thor."

"You're right. As always," he says and kisses the top of your head and offers you his arm. You take it and together you walk along the Bifrost towards the golden city.

***

The news of today caused a lot of talk and commotion in the kingdom. People are worried that the frost giants could come to invade Asgard. Some are concerned about the banishment of Thor. Tonight, nobody sleeps. The warriors met in the golden room with the fire pit to talk about what had happened and what they should do. You want no part in this so you go to look for Frigga, to keep her company in this difficult time.

You find her walking in the garden. The lights shine and reflect from the water streams. How different it looks from the first time you walked here. It was dark and gloomy, now you could see the vibrant colors of the foreign plants even in the cover of night. Frigga is accompanied by two guards, everyone had reason to be nervous. You didn't usually take guards with you, nobody could hurt you, nobody could kill you, but now even you had one guard tag behind you.

Walking up to the All-Mother she greets you with a sorrowful smile. She takes your arm and you support her. Together you start walking again.

"I'm so sorry," you whisper, it is hard for you to find words.

"Thank you, my child," she says, but keeps her eyes on the path ahead, "You being here means a lot to me. It truly does."

Together you walk in the garden, armed guards close behind. The city that usually would be silent and sleeping by now had lights in almost every window. You feel helpless as there is nothing you could do.