Loyalty and Mischief (WIP - On Hiatus)

Chapter 3 - Test the limits and break through

Loki did his best to treat Thor and Sigyn simultaneously, but he could not manage on his own for much longer. His brother's wounds were concerning, but not as much as the residual aura of magic lingering. Suppressing it required utmost focus, which he currently didn't have, thanks to Thor, the oaf. Relief washed over Loki when Frigga finally appeared beside him.

"See to Thor," he told her. "He's badly burned."

"And Sigyn?" asked Frigga, looking down at the unconscious young woman.

"No physical wounds apart from a few cuts and scrapes. I'll deal with Sigyn, Mother. See to my brother, please."

The Queen left her youngest son under the watchful eye of Hogun, but Loki ignored him. Now that he no longer had to worry about his brother, he could give Sigyn his full attention. As he carefully reined in what remained of her magic, he took a moment to wrap his head around what he had witnessed. Only two people had power over Mjölnir; the Allfather and Thor. None other could wield the hammer, let alone stop it mid-attack. But Sigyn had. It was simply astonishing.
When the healers arrived, the Warriors Three helped to place Thor and Sigyn on gurneys so they could be taken to the palace for further treatment. Frigga joined them, but when Loki meant to do the same, his father called him back.

"Loki, stay! I would have words with you. And you as well, Astrid."

Loki was tempted to ignore his father's order, but he knew better than that. There could only be two reasons he was asked to stay. Either Odin suspected he had something to do with what happened — which surprisingly enough wasn't the case for once — or he would be asked for advice, seeing how he was the most powerful magic wielder in Asgard, apart from Frigga. He reluctantly stepped back to join his father, one last look on Sigyn's ashen face.
Odin waited until Loki stood beside Sigyn's companion and only friend. Astrid was trying to keep a brave face, but Loki could tell by her constant fidgeting and swaying she was worried sick about Sigyn and would much rather tend to her.

"Now," began Odin, "I have heard from Sif and Fandrall that Sigyn was with you, Loki, before the incident."

"Yes, Father. We were practising our archery whilst the others watched Sif and Astrid's sparring match."

"And what exactly instigated the fight between Thor and Sigyn?"

Loki contemplated lying, but Odin would find out eventually from either Thor or Sigyn. No point denying what really happened.

"A remark Thor made," he admitted.

"Ah, I see... A similar incident as when they first met. I believed they had moved past that?"

"They did. This was... personal. Thor believed Sigyn was but a beginner when I already saw her as more advanced than any archer I've ever met and spoke out of turn. She took offence and proved to us all she was no beginner, splitting every arrow we'd already shot. But then she shot one at Thor, nicking his cheek, and —"

"And your brother also took offence," concluded Odin with a nod. "And this?"

The Allfather lifted Mjölnir, and Loki gasped at the sight of it. The hammer didn't even look like a hammer anymore. If Thor ever hoped to use it again, it would have to be re-forged. How was he supposed to explain this without revealing Sigyn's magic?

"Allfather, if I may?" Astrid, who had kept quiet this entire time, suddenly stepped forward. "Lady Sigyn has a talisman protecting her from harm. A small hand mirror gifted to her by her grandmother before her passing to Valhalla, which she always keeps on her person. She was a skilled sorceress and put an enchantment on the mirror to protect her only granddaughter."

Loki had no doubt there was some truth in the story, but he didn't believe for one second that what he saw and felt came from something as simple as a hand mirror. Astrid's earnest expression of this unmistakably well-rehearsed story helped sell it, though.