Page 37 of The King's Menagerie

She led him to the main desk, and in short order he had an account with the royal library and five books checked out. Heconsidered sitting at a table to read them, but given the whispers and stares continued, maybe he should find somewhere quieter.

Out in the hallway, a passing servant paused and bowed. "Shall I take your books back to your room, Master Ender?"

How did everyone know his name already? "Um, yes please, thank you so much."

The servant took the books, bowed, and hurried off.

Ender was never going to get used to all this. Deference. Bodyguards. People carrying his things. Being stared at like he was remarkable in some way rather than a country bumpkin to be ignored.

One of his guards offered a sympathetic smile. "Perhaps you'd like to see the gardens next? His Majesty has granted you permission to visit his private gardens, and they are very much worth viewing."

"He has?" Ender replied. He hadn't done anything, except show up looking like one of His Majesty's concubines. If he wasn't Nadir's twin, none of this would be happening, and he didn't know why that thought hurt so much. It was stupid. If he wasn't Nadir's twin, he wouldn't even be here. He'd still be at school, stressing about exams and making plans to visit his parents, pondering where he wanted to apply for work once he had his degree. He'd never know about any of this, and he wouldn't pine for it or even dream about it.

Shunting his stupid thoughts aside, he smiled and said, "I would love to see the gardens. Even the finest houses back home do not have more than a handful of potted plants." Gardens were too costly, especially in water. He couldn't fathom living in a place that had so much water there was not one, but multiple gardens.

He gasped when he saw them.

There were more plants and trees and flowers than he could identify. Jasmine, various orchids, trees with long, wispybranches falling over a bench, roses, lilies… everything arranged around a winding stone path of multicolored stones and little bridges that crossed a stream. Astream, in the middle of the palace, all that fresh water there just to be decorative.

He paused on a bridge as movement caught his eye and stared at the fish swimming about looking for bugs and other food.

"Do you like them?" a familiar voiced.

Ender turned, not sure what to make of the ache in his chest as he took in Nadir, who stood smiling warmly at him, more beautiful than ever in the late morning sunshine that washed over them.

"Um. Yes. They're beautiful. The gardens, I mean." Of course that was what he meant, what in the world else would he have meant?

Nadir's smile widened. "Come on, I'll show you around, tell you about some of the rarer plants. The royal family has always been ardently devoted to their gardens, and Shafiq is no exception." He moved to walk with Ender, not touching, but close enough he so easily could, and damn Ender's stupid everything for the way that made his heart beat faster. This was hisbrother; he shouldn't be having such thoughts about him.

But how did you regard someone as a sibling when you hadn't even known they existed until just a day ago? Barely a full day, at this point. Regarding someone as family was a lot more involved than being born to the same parent or parents.

Swallowing, Ender sought desperately for a distraction, relief sweeping through him when his gaze fell on a colorful flower he didn't recognize. "What is that? It's stunning."

Nadir followed his pointing and broke into another beautiful smile. "That's a twilight orchid. Shafiq has the only ones in the kingdom. They're imported from Rittu, where theyonly grow on one of the smaller islands surrounding the main ones."

"The colors don't seem real," Ender replied. They were purple, pink, and teal, blending and flowing into each other in a rainbow that certainly suited being called twilight.

Nadir motioned. "If you like that, you'll love the special roses. This way!" He hopped over the little stream and vanished between two trees with long, flowing branches like strands of beads in a doorway. Ender hastened to follow him, and tripped over something on the ground, nearly slamming right into a rosebush and the pond just past it.

When he was certain he had his balance back, face hot at making such a fool of himself, he finally took in the roses properly. There were six… no, seven enormous bushes framing a pond filled with splotchy black and white fish. The roses were shockingly dark in color, from what nearly seemed a true black, to a deep crimson, midnight blue, a rich viridian, purple, a lush dark gray, and an orange like dying embers. "I've never seen anything so beautiful in my life. I didn't know roses came in such shades."

"They don't, normally," Nadir said, brimming with excitement and pride. "These have been specially bred by the royal family for generations. Shafiq and his gardeners are working on a dark pink one right now, but they're still turning out heavily red. That black one took three generations."

"Fascinating," Ender murmured. "What are the fish?"

"Starlight Koi, another import." Nadir laughed. "In the moonlight, they look like they're glowing, which is where the name comes from. They were a wedding gift from his late wife."

"That must be bittersweet," Ender said softly. He had no experience with such a devastating loss, and wasn't eager to experience it, though such things were inevitable. Still, to neverbe allowed to leave the palace, forever surrounded by memories of the person you'd loved most in the world…

Nadir smiled sadly, echoing Ender's thoughts. "He has Kajan, at least, and us." He paused, then flushed. "Well, Berkant and me." His smile turned mischievous. "For now. Come on, next flower!"

So they went, wending and weaving through the garden, until Ender was exhausted, and he knew more about exotic flowers than he'd ever expected to learn.

"Early dinner?" Nadir asked with a sheepish laugh. "Let me see if Shafiq and Berkant can join us; they'd both enjoy that. Come, sit and rest. I'm sorry, I got a bit carried away. A lot carried away."

Ender smiled and reached out to reassure him with a grip to his hand before he recalled himself and yanked it back. "No worries, please. This is the most fun I've had in my life. Country bumpkin, remember?"

"I don't think you could be a bumpkin if you tried. You have more class and grace than nobles have trained for their entire lives." He motioned to a servant who'd likely been summoned by one of the guards, from what Ender had seen of their efficiency so far. "Would you bring refreshment for Master Ender, and send someone to speak with His Majesty, asking if he and Berkant might be able to enjoy an early dinner with us?"

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