Loki wondered where the other boys went in the evening. From the nursery he could hear them in Thor's room talking and laughing, and then they all left.
Now that he was older, Thor had his own room adjacent to the nursery where he kept his own things. The connecting door to the nursery allowed him to access the large playing space, but he and his friends rarely used it.
Loki didn't mind that a bit. It was nice to have toys he could play with whenever he wanted without one of the bigger boys snatching it away from him. It was quieter and there was less arguing and yelling. He didn't like yelling, he liked quiet so he could look at his little books, play as he wished, and think about things when he wanted.
But he was curious about the things they did. Sometimes they came in all dirty and scratched, with torn and muddied clothes. He wasn't interested in that. But later, when it was getting close to his bedtime, they often went off somewhere in the palace. That he wanted to know about.
So tonight he decided to follow them. When he heard them leave, he went to the nursery door that led to the corridor and peeked out. The four of them were noisily walking, trotting, skipping down the hall. He slipped out and followed slowly. He didn't need to be close to them, he could hear them easily. And he didn't want them to see him.
They went down two flights of stairs, around a corner to the main corridor and down that. He knew where they were going when he reached the main corridor; the big hall was down there, and he could hear sounds from that too.
The corridor was busy with adults coming and going too, so he stayed to the side all the way to the large entrance to the hall. He stopped there and stared in astonishment.
He knew the big children and adults ate later than he did, but there were so many people talking, laughing, eating and going from table to table it daunted him for a moment. He was shorter than the tables, couldn't see much of anything but chairs and people and tablecloths hanging down. Where had Thor gone?
He was in there somewhere, but it really didn't matter. What mattered was the huge party going on. Loki went in slowly, but found he had to move quickly sometimes to avoid being tripped over. He did not want that to happen, especially not with one of the servers carrying trays of food and drink, it would be embarrassing. And he was sure Odin and Frigga were in the hall somewhere. He had never been forbidden to come here but he wasn't sure whether he was allowed.
He walked past the backs of occupied chairs, listening to the conversations and stories. Sometimes he stopped for a while to hear more, and then moved on. Someone started singing.
The voice was clear and penetrating, and it got quiet except for the song, which he didn't recognize. But it was pretty, and then other people started singing too, and soon it seemed everyone was singing except for him. But the chorus was repetitive, and when he recognized that, he sang along.
The song ended and conversation resumed. He finally saw Volstagg on the lap of a big man that he recognized as his father. And then he spotted the blond head that had to be Thor, and Fandral and part of Hogun standing on the other side of them.
Suddenly Loki didn't want them to see him. He was having a good time just listening to all the adults and older children saying things new to him. He didn't even know all the words he heard. Then another song started up.
He found a table that was almost deserted, so he climbed up on an empty chair to see what was on the table. There were a few adults at the table, but they were singing and just smiled and nodded at him. Standing on the chair he could reach some grapes and took a handful, sat down, and munched.
By the time he'd finished the grapes, the song had ended and someone was telling a tale. He quickly realized it was one of the long sagas, and he was already sleepy. It was very likely past his bedtime, so he slid off the chair and made his way out of the hall. It was much easier than going in, most people were seated or standing still, listening.
He walked back to the nursery with no difficulty and cracked the door and peered in. Everything was as he'd left it. Sometimes Nurse came in to check on him, but he was a big boy and put himself to bed these days.
He overslept a little in the morning, but it didn't matter. He did his usual morning routine, washing, dressing, combing his hair and getting his breakfast in the dining hall down the corridor. It had little tables and chairs, and he could reach the food set out without climbing on anything. When he came back to the nursery, he decided to make his bed. Nurse usually did it, but he felt older this morning so he did it himself. It took him longer than it took her, but so what?
Mother had brought him some new books the day before, and he still had some he hadn't looked at. Some were picture books, but most had easy words in them that he could read. He happily started a new one.
He could hear the boys arrive in Thor's room, and they all tore off somewhere, banging the door shut on their way. He didn't mind being alone usually, but sometimes he felt the absence of other boys his age and it made him a little sad. He'd tried a couple of times to make friends, but even though he had gotten other boys to promise to come play with him, they never did. Mother had explained that the son of the baker and the stable boy wouldn't feel right playing with a prince, and why didn't he go with Thor and his friends?
He'd just shrugged. He couldn't explain really, but tagging along with the bigger boys, he never felt very welcome. Sometimes they came and got him when they needed another person for a game, and that was alright, but it didn't happen very often.
Then the nursery door opened and Mother came in! Loki carefully marked his place in the book, and then leapt up and ran over to her, smiling.
"Good morning, Loki. Do you like your books?"
"Oh yes. Good morning, Mother."
She took him over to his bed and they both sat on it. "I came to talk to you about last night."
Loki's smile faded. Was he in trouble?
"It's fine for you to come to the hall if you want to. I was proud of how nicely you behaved, and that you sensibly left when you got tired."
The smile came back. "I liked it."
"What did you like most?"
"Everything! All the people having fun, the singing, the grapes, and I learned some new words."
Frigga was smiling until the last item. Her smile faltered a moment, but then returned. He would learn all the words in time, she just hoped he hadn't learned anything he shouldn't say. Well, if he did say something he shouldn't, she would gently correct him.
"I saw you were singing a little, and I wondered if you would like to learn the words to some of the songs."
Loki became excited. "Yes! Please!"
"Join me in my garden after lunch and I will teach some of them to you."
Loki vigorously nodded. "I will, right after lunch." Much more slowly he added, "Will Thor be there too?"
"No, just you and me."
Loki was entranced. He'd never been invited to her garden by himself, at least not that he could remember.
He hurried through lunch, cleaned himself up and made sure his hair was neatly combed. His hair was somewhat curly and tended to just go off in odd directions, but when he felt it sufficiently tamed he trotted through the palace to Frigga's rooms. Her maid let him in.
He went straight through to the Queen's Garden.
It was a wonderful place. There were lots of unusual trees and flowers, small pretty animals, and a deep pond with big colorful fish. He found her on a bench near the pond, one of her favorite places.
She taught him three songs, two of which he had heard last night. Frigga smiled at him as he sang. His voice was clear and he replicated the tune and tempo of the music faultlessly. So she had finally found a talent to report to Odin.
When they were both a little tired, she said, "Loki, do you see that big yellow flower with the five petals? Go pick it for me, will you?"
He leapt up and ran to it. The stem was thick and it took him a moment to detach it, but then he brought it to her and presented it to her with a bow.
Smiling, Frigga held the flower in her two hands, and said, "Watch carefully."
First the stem fell off, and then the petals began to move. One curled under, the next two spread out, and the final two began to fold. The color started to change becoming greenish yellow, and then green. Finally, Loki saw the flower's shape resembled a frog, and yes! A live frog sat before him.
"Catch him, quick!" Mother told him, and he grabbed it and held it gently. Loki didn't quite believe it, but it really was a frog wiggling in his hands.
"You did magic, Mother. That was wonderful."
"Let it go in the pond. Do it quietly or one of the bigger fish will gobble it up immediately."
"It won't hurt the fish if it eats it?"
"No, it's a real frog just as if it had been born a frog."
Loki went around the pond to where a few reeds were growing, lowered his hands to the water and let the frog slip in with hardly a ripple. Then he rinsed his hands and wiped them on his pants.
Frigga laughed lightly. For all his mature ways, Loki was definitely still a boy. She would have to remember to bring a towel if she did that again.
"Come here, and I will show you something else."
Loki complied and she put her hand out flat, palm up, and had him put his out the same way on top of hers. Little streaks of colored light rose up from his hand and burst into sparkles. He hardly breathed, feeling the magic moving through his hand.
"It's just like the big fireworks," he whispered.
"Close your hand." He did, and she did also underneath his hand and the light show stopped.
"I felt it. I felt the magic. Could I do magic some day?"
"Loki, you can do anything you want. Anything at all. Did you really feel something?"
He nodded. "It was like, oh, thorns or something moving through my hand, but it didn't hurt. I could tell exactly where each bit of light was going to come out and what color it would be."
"You could tell the color? Are you sure?"
At his nod, she decided to test him. They did it again, with him calling out the colors as they moved through his hand. He was never wrong.
After she hugged him and sent him back to his books, Frigga went to see Odin. She found him in his library.
"I have news for you," she announced as she approached him.
"What news?"
"You asked to be told if Loki displayed any talents. I can report he has two."
Odin nodded. "I heard him singing a little last night, he is musical. Unusual in a Jotun, I believe their 'music' consists of war chants. What else?"
"He is going to be a magician."
"What? Well, ice magic I suppose, from his father."
Frigga shook her head. "All magic, any magic. He is sensitive to it, and he can discern variations already."
"He's too young . . . isn't he?"
"Apparently not."
"Then you must teach him. Concentrate on the theory, teach him harmless tricks and illusions. No battle magic, he must not be stronger in battle than Thor."
"Tricks and illusions are my forte, and of course he must learn the underlying science. But starting this young, he will be powerful, he will learn some things on his own."
Odin nodded, thoughtfully. "We must be sure that he and everyone else understands that magic is of little account, useful for healers and architects, but not something important for warriors or leadership."
"You have magic and you use it in battle."
"Through my spear, Gungnir, and Thor will also have battle magic. When he is ready he will have Mjolnir. A magical weapon is an honored tradition, it is wielded in the midst of the enemy and requires courage. There is no bravery required to stand aside and cast spells at the enemy. I will be sure the correct attitude is promulgated through the warrior community. Whatever skill Loki has will not be a problem, we will control it as we can and stifle any admiration for it."
"As you will."
"We cannot, and will not, have a Frost Giant on the throne. Loki will be his brother's helper, no more."
"Of course." Frigga understood. Their true son must inherit and continue the line, as second son Loki must support his brother. Odin ruled, and even as queen she must obey. But it made her sad to think Loki would not have the admiration and respect his abilities should someday bring him.