"...and if a diplomat should sit next to you, you may initiate conversation without an official introduction. But he may not initiate the conversation with you." Lord Bjork smiled, adjusting this robes. "Any questions?"

"Can I go to the latrine?" asked Baldur.

"Yes, of course."

Baldur left the room, went down the hall, past the latrine, and was just picking up speed when he rounded a corner, running straight into his father.

"Father," he gasped, falling back.

Loki raised a brow. "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

"Um."

He smirked. "Which lesson was Bjork on today?"

"Diplomatic relations."

"And what have you learned?"

"I can start conversations. I shouldn't pick my nose at the table. And I should avoid talking about anything serious before dessert has been served."

"Sounds like you've learned just about everything you need to know. But you still haven't told me where you were going."

"Er, I was going to...stretch my legs."

"I see. Then would the prince care to walk with me?"

Baldur made a face. "You're not going to start talking like that, too?"

Father laughed. "No. Come along."

"What about Boring Bjork?"

"Is that what you call him?"

Baldur flushed.

"It's all right." Stopping a nearby servant, Father instructed him to tell Lord Bjork his pupil would be out for a short while.

Baldur and his father walked down the hall, veering off down a veranda overlooking a large courtyard. They didn't talk for a while.

Finally, Baldur said, "Can I ask you a question, Father?"

"Certainly."

"Why is Mother sad?"

Loki didn't answer for a moment. "What makes you think she's sad?"

"She just looks it sometimes."

"Let's sit."

They stepped off the veranda and into the courtyard, sitting beside the fountain on a bench.

"Baldur," he said, "you've hurt people's feelings before. Like your sister's?"

"Yes, sir."

"But that was forgiven. Did that forgiveness mean those hurtful things never happened?"

"No."

"Well. I hurt your mother's feelings once. I couldn't really help it but it happened."

"And Mother hasn't forgiven you?"

"I'm sure she has. But it still makes her sad."

"When will she stop being sad?"

Loki sighed. "I don't know. I hope so." They were silent a moment. Then, Loki said, "I know you don't like going to the meadow, Baldur."

Baldur looked down at the toes of his boots. "The kids don't like me. They say I'm a freak."

Father frowned, wrapping an arm around him. "You are not a freak, Baldur."

"Yes, I am. None of the other kids can do magic."

"Just because you're the only one who can doesn't make you a freak. Your mother and I can work magic. And, one day, so will Joan. You aren't alone, Baldur." A strange, sad looked crossed his face and he looked at Baldur earnestly. "Never for a moment think that."

"I just wish I had someone like me to play with."

"You will one day." He squeezed his shoulder again before letting go. "So. You were running away when I came by, I think?"

Baldur tried very hard not to look guilty. "I was bored."

"I get bored, too, but you don't see me running out of council meetings." He ruffled his son's hair. "I'll let you get away with it just this once."

"Thank you, Father."

"Now, off you go. Back to Boring Bjork."

OoOoOoO

It wasn't until nightfall that Jormungr finally got away from his lessons. His back hurt from the cane and he knew he wouldn't be able to remember all of the customs and etiquette drilled into his head. The way everyone was going on, you would think he was going to crowned king the next day. In the distance, he heard Mother calling for him to come to supper, but, for the first time in his life, he ignored her voice. He kept going until he reached the ice garden on the tallest level of the Palace.

This garden was his very favorite place to go. No one came up here and he felt oddly at peace there. Jormungr walked down the paths, coming to a large frozen fountain in the center. At the top of fountain stood two Jotuns entwined in a passionate embrace. The faces looked familiar but years of ice had hidden some of the details. One of these days, he was going to clean that fountain to get a better look at the figures.

Taking a deep breath, he pulled a small scroll from a satchel he kept on him, to carry reading material in. (One more thing to be teased about.) Unrolling it revealed a small map sketched by one of the Jotuns who had visited the Palace of Asgard. Jormungr had memorized the scroll he had found last night and, after careful meditation, felt ready to try to put it to use. And if he never came back, then who would care?

The image of his mother, heartbroken and crying, flashed through his mind. Jormungr was her only child. She had never had another with Thrym and, for some reason, Jormungr always felt like Thrym hated her for that.

Pushing aside all these thoughts, he picked what appeared to be another garden out of the way of the main Palace traffic. He intended to wrap himself in invisibility, walk around a little, and then come back to Jotunheim. The idea of getting caught by Heimdell frightened him but surely the guardian knew how bad things were in his home. Surely he would go easy on him?

Closing his eyes, Jormungr reached for the lines of magic, arranging them as he needed, then took a step forward. Something jerked at his gut and then he was falling, heel over head, as bright flashes of color whipped pass him. He gulped back a scream as he felt as if the skin was going to be flayed off of him. Then, another jerk, he landed on his feet, and the world stilled.

In front of him grew a bush with dark green leaves and red flowers. The air felt warm against him and goosebumps prickled his skin. Slowly, he reached out and stroked the petal of one of the flowers. The petal immediately froze and wilted. Jormungr jerked back his hand.

"What are you doing here?"

He turned around. A little Asgardian boy stood behind him. He had curly black hair, bright blue eyes, and was dressed in dark blue and green. "There wasn't a scheduled visit from Jotunheim today," he said.

"Um," said Jormungr, "it's a surprise."

The boy frowned. "Surprises aren't allowed."

"That's not in the treaty."

"No. But it's still not allowed. For...diplomatic reasons." The boy lifted his chin, as if proud to use that word.

"Who are you?"

"I am Prince Baldur, son of Prince Loki. Who are you?"

Now it was Jormungr's turn to lift his chin. "I am Prince Jormungr, son of King Thrym."

Baldur looked him over. "You're kind of short for a Frost Giant."

"You're kind of short for an Asgardian."

"Asgardians don't go to Jotunheim and you've never been here or I would have met you. So, how do you know if I'm short?"

Baldur had him there. "Um."

"I'll have you know that I'm considered tall for my age, like both my parents. And you still haven't answered my question: what are you doing here?"

Jormungr shifted a little. "I came for a visit."

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Baldur didn't seem to have a rebuttal for that. "Do you want to see my mother's garden? It's much nicer than this one. And both her and my father are out, so they won't catch us."

"I can't go walking around like this. Someone will see me."

"Oh, a glamour is easy." The boy walked up and waved his hands around Jormungr. He felt tingling lines of magic fall over him. "There. Anyone sees you will think you're just a kid like me. Just don't touch anything."

Jormungr looked down at his hands. He could make out smaller, ghostlike hands over his own. "How did you do that?"

"It was easy. Father taught me ages ago."

"Can you teach me?"

"Sure. Come on. Hey, can I call you Jor?"

"Um. All right."

OoOoOoO

Baldur was so excited, his feet barely touched the ground on the way to the garden. He did keep an eye out, to make sure Jor didn't brush up against anyone or anything. But the Frost Giant boy moved with a grace and ease that kept him from freezing anything. Baldur envied him. It seemed like everyday he was breaking something out of clumsiness.

The garden in the center of their chambers was empty. Water gurgled while bees hovered over flowers.

"It's beautiful," said Jor. "Do you live here?"

"Yeah. My room is through there." He pointed off to the side. "Father had it built when I was old enough to sleep in my own chamber. Through there is my parents' chambers. My sister Joan still sleeps in the spare room in there."

"Sister?"

"Yeah. She's eight and a complete pest. Don't you have any siblings?"

"No."

"That sounds great! Joan keeps trying to follow me around."

"It's not. I think I would like to have a brother or a sister."

"I think my father wants to have another child but Mother doesn't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

Jor looked around. "What are those buzzing things?"

"Bees. Don't you have bees in Jotunheim? You must. You have mead and you need honey to make mead."

"The bees live deep underground. I've never seen one before. Why are there so many?"

"My mother, Sigrid, she uses honey in her magic. And she uses fire. She can make anything in a hearth. One time, she made me a little black horse with grey speckling. She said she used to have a horse like that called Coal. Wanna see?"

Jor blinked, as if a little bewildered at his new friend's excitement. "All right."

Baldur took him into his room and showed him the toy. He also showed him the different trinkets that Father had brought him on his travels.

"I wish my Father had done the same," Jor said.

"Your father doesn't go on trips?"

"He does. But he doesn't bring me anything."

Baldur couldn't imagine not getting something from his father when he got back from a trip. "Here." Reaching over, he picked up a silver ball with gold filigree. "Father got this when he visited the dwarves."

"I cannot take your trinket."

"It's okay. If you never come back, you'll have something to remember me."

Jor slowly took the ball, careful to not let his fingers brush Baldur's. "I...would like to come back."

Baldur grinned. "Really?"

"Yes."

"If you wait a couple of days, maybe I'll have a better way of disguising you figured out."

"I'll do research of my own. I'm not supposed to study magic on my own but I do anyway."

"My father lets me study but I'm not supposed to do new spells without him or Mother watching."

"I like your parents."

"You could meet them but Father would recognize you. He can see right through illusions." Baldur told him about the invisibility spell from the other day.

"Huh. Well. I should go before I'm missed."

"Will you come back?"

"Yes." Jor smiled. "I will be back in two days."

"Come here. At night."

"See you then. Bye, Baldur."

"Bye, Jor."

With a icy whoosh of air, Jor disappeared.

OoOoOoO

That night, after a tense dinner, Jormundr retreated to his room. From a drawer of the table by his bed, he took out the silver ball. Staring down at it, he felt a shiver of excitement.

He had a friend.