"Your carriage awaits," said the Captain of the Guard, offering Pip an ironic bow accompanied by a click of his heels.

Captain Zidane gave Eden a piercing glance. Once again she received a strong impression that the captain was keeping an eye on her.

He turned to the woman standing at attention beside him and said, "Vera, please run through all the security information for those who may need another reminder."

He held Eden's gaze just a moment too long. She shifted uncomfortably until Pip leaned closer and whispered, "Don't mind Iggy. He's only teasing."

Vera stepped forward smartly. She was much older than Maeve and not as tall, but strongly built. Her light brown hair was cropped very short, and Eden wondered if it might have fallen out after a fever and never grown back. She wore a dark suit with trousers like a man, which Eden thought sensible.

"Thank you, Captain Zidane," Vera said in her gruff voice. "Miss Lucy, Miss Eden. I am your bodyguard for today. There's no need for any special precautions, as Captain Zidane and I are here to keep you safe. Remember to follow any instructions we give you, and remain in the carriage until we tell you it is safe to leave. Thank you, and good Yule."

"Ladies first," said Bernard courteously, gesturing towards the carriage.

Vera directed Lucy to enter the carriage first, then sat in the middle herself before telling Eden to get in next to her. Bernard and Pip sat on the opposite seats, facing forward, and Iggy swung himself lithely onto the back of the carriage.

"It won't take too long to get there," Bernard said with a smile, as the carriage began moving down the driveway.

"Are we the only people going?" Eden asked.

Pip said, "The gifts and food have already been sent ahead under guard. Don't worry, there will be plenty of security there."

Eden hadn't been thinking of that, and she looked from the carriage window as they turned out of the gates and onto Castle Hill. There were quite a few people standing about, having braved the cold for the chance of glimpsing nobles or royals leaving the palace.

Most of them were exuberantly waving at the carriage, and Bernard and Pip gave gracious waves of their hands in return. Amongst the smiling crowd was a man in a navy blue cloak, and although his face was hidden by its hood, Eden had the strangest feeling that he was staring straight at her.

She turned and said, "This is going to sound ridiculous, but I think that man is looking right at me."

"Show me," Vera said at once, leaning over to peer intensely through the glass.

"The man in the blue cloak," Eden replied, but when she went to point him out he had disappeared.

"I know it seems a little intrusive, but people are only there to see royalty," Bernard said, not without sympathy. "Just give a wave and a smile, and don't worry too much about it."

"Sir, if Miss Eden feels that something isn't right, I will report it to Captain Zidane," Vera said seriously. "Always trust your instincts, Miss Eden. It's saved many a life, believe me."

"It isn't that bad man from the markets is it?" Lucy asked anxiously.

"I'm not sure," Eden said. "His face was hidden, but I thought he didn't look quite as tall. It's hard to tell from a window."

The carriage went up Castle Hill this time instead of down, and onto a narrow ribbon of cobblestones that Vera told her was called Mulciber Street.

They came out onto a busy high street, and Bernard said, "We're nearly at the East Gate now, and will be out of the city soon."

Pip gave a laugh and said, "When I was a little boy I thought that the East Gate was the front door of Camden."

"You were right in a way," Lucy said. "I was always taught that the East Gate is the main gate to the city. It's the first thing most people see when they arrive here."

Eden privately thought they could have made the front door a little more presentable, because the first thing visitors saw when they arrived in Camden was a grotty looking high street that seemed to have nothing but taverns with drunks spilling out, and women with bright lips standing on the street corners. There was a well to drink from, but nobody seemed very interested in drinking water.

The East Gate was between an ale house and a temple, and being kings, Bernard and Pip were waved through the open door by the gatekeeper without having to pay a single copper. There was an exulting feeling of freedom as the carriage rattled over the drawbridge into the Eastlands.

Eden was surprised at how her mood lifted as they left the walls of Camden behind. She had not thought that she found being in a city oppressive, but her spirits rose and bubbled over in the open air to such an extent that she realised she must have done. She grinned across at Lucy and wriggled in her seat with excitement.

The country to the east of Camden was different to the north – there were small farms and brown earthy fields spread across flat ground, although it was still quite muddy, with snow piled along the bare hedges. The blue-grey sky seemed higher than it had in the city, and to have the horizon in front of her again felt like a relief.

They had been driving for less than ten minutes down the Great East Road before Bernard called out, "Here we are!"

Eden craned her neck around to see that they were approaching a red brick country house with white trim, in that elegant style of a half century ago that was already becoming known as 'Geraldian'. It was surrounded by a high brick wall with wrought iron gates and a gravel drive leading to a canary yellow front door with a pretty fanlight of leaded glass above it.

A guard came out of the gatehouse to open up for them, saluting the carriage as he did so. Eden thought it looked as if he was saluting Captain Zidane rather than Bernard.

Once the carriage pulled up outside the house they all descended onto the gravel driveway, and Captain Zidane and Vera decamped to the gatehouse before the carriage went back to Camden.

Bernard had only knocked on the door once before it was opened by a plump smiling woman with dark hair and a neat blue dress.

"Good Yule, Mr Bernard and Mr Pip," she said, dropping a little curtsy. "Welcome, and never mind the mess. Goodness the little tykes are that excited. But come through, all of you. Miss Lucy and Miss Eden too."

"Nurse Melia! What are you doing here?" Eden demanded as her old nurse calmly ushered her through as if she'd been working at the children's home for at least ten years.

"May and I came in the carriage with the food for Yule dinner," Melia explained. "We happened to be in the kitchen this morning, and um, somebody asked if we wouldn't mind taking care of the hamper going to the children's home. Er, cooks can get very worried about their food."

"The gifts are in the big playroom, Mr Pip sir," said Nurse May briskly as she came down the hallway, the carpet well worn from dozens of feet running down it every day. "The guards unloaded them, and I've kept the door locked so that the children's surprise isn't spoiled."

"They've already opened their personal gifts this morning," Nurse Melia added, "and my, weren't there some happy faces? But the big presents they can share will be something else again."

Dame Barton came out of her office at this point, exclaiming that she hadn't heard the carriage and offering Yuletide greetings to all.

"And Miss Lucy and Miss Eden, how kind of you to visit us and let us return your hospitality," Dame Barton said, smiling graciously at both of them.

"It's Mr Pip!" Eden heard a boy yell, and soon children were swarming down the stairs in their Yuletide best, calling out to Pip and Bernard. Miss Faye and Mr Spencer followed after them, helping the small ones, and laughing to each other at the children's excitement.

"Presents! Presents!" the children cried.

"Good Yule, good Yule," Bernard and Pip said at almost the same time. "We hope you like your gifts."

Dame Barton held up a hand for calm as she unlocked the door of the playroom, and the children streamed in with delighted squeals. The gifts hadn't been wrapped but were artfully arranged around the room for the children to discover.

Eden and Lucy enjoyed watching the children skip about the room to examine all their new things, each rushing to the one they loved most. Miss Faye and Mr Spencer provided assistance when needed, but did not interfere otherwise.

There were boxes of new books for the library, filled with enchanting coloured pictures of dragons, unicorns, handsome knights, brave princesses, and magical lands that were all far, far away. There were rag dolls and wooden soldiers, dominoes and chess sets to while away the winter hours, spinning tops, hoops, and glass marbles ready for the spring.

Little Bella was helped onto a white rocking horse with a real mane and tail, and pale blue leather saddle and bridle; Miss Faye set it in motion and held Bella safe while she rode it. A group of children were looking at the sleds, painted in bright colours with their names in fancy lettering – Snow Skimmer, Starlight, Red Racer, Rose Queen. Mr Spencer was petitioned to help  take them to the hilly field behind the children's home the next day and let them speed down as fast as possible.

In pride of place was a dollhouse that none could help but marvel at, for it was a miniature replica of their own home. The same red brick with deep square windows and yellow front door, and decorated inside just as theirs was, right down to the seven rooms with neat white beds and green coverlets where the children slept.

After the presents, the two nurses stayed with the small children in the playroom, while Dame Barton took Pip to her office. Even at Yule they had important business to discuss, and Pip's face looked serious before he remembered to give a bright smile to them as he left.

Mr Spencer asked Bernard if he would so kind as to judge a snowman competition in the back garden, which the king cheerfully assented to. Bernard walked around with his arms behind his back, examining each snowman carefully, and talking about the design with the child or children who had made it. He asked Lucy and Eden for their opinions, so that it felt as if they had formed a judging committee.

After much conferring, it was unanimously decided to award first prize to a tall thin girl called Celestia Rey who had made her snowman look like Pip, and given it a gold crown made from cardboard to wear. Bernard pinned a blue ribbon to her coat with his congratulations.

He let Lucy and Eden choose the runner-up, and they decided to award it to Ravi and Flora, who had made a snow woman wearing a straw hat and shawl donated by Miss Faye. They each received scarlet ribbons to wear, and Honourable Mention was given to three eight-year-olds who had made a very creditable attempt. Their snowman was a little lopsided, but had a charming expression on its tilted face.

Any disappointment or ill-feeling over the competition was quickly swept away when Miss Faye and Mr Spencer began a snowball fight. Soon everyone was caught up in it, even Bernard getting a snowball square in the back from a cheeky urchin. Eden and Lucy tossed snowballs at each other and giggled madly as they chased each other around the garden, before they were both brought down by a skilful two-hander from Miss Faye. Who would have thought that demure young woman with the dark curls would have such an accurate throw?

The snowball fight was brought to an end when the tea bell rang loudly.

"Alight everybody, inside as quickly as possible please," Mr Spencer said in his calm, clear voice. "Outdoor things left in the hall, and tidy yourselves up. Brother Kem will be here for tea, so let's have clean hands and faces."

⋆⋅•⋅⊰∙∘⋆ ❆ ⋆∘∙⊱⋅•⋅⋆

The children marched into the dining room two by two just as Nurse May pulled the curtains closed against the deepening blue of the sky. Nurse Melia made up the fire and lit the yellow glass lamps so that the room became a place of bright cosiness.

Each child sat upright at their own set place, on their best behaviour with such august visitors as Mr Pip and Mr Bernard, and people from the palace. Brother Kem, the local priest from the Temple of Sol, presided over the table, wearing the traditional saffron robe.

A brown-skinned Egyptian with soft dark eyes, he had been born on the Aldhaven Marshes near the town of Sudforth and brought up in the Temple of Isis. He had converted to the Temple of Sol in early youth, something of its child-like simplicity calling to his own nature.

Now he tended to his little flock, living among them and sharing their worries and joys in a humble cottage in the village of Blythe Green. Lean and strong, weatherbeaten by the Sun he worshipped, he spent as much time helping in the fields as he did blessing them.

He was there to tend the sick, ease the passing of the dying, and comfort those who mourned. The villagers loved him without thinking, as they might love a draught of cool water on a hot day, or a bright dawn after a dark hopeless night. Brother Kem came often to the children's home, and always he brought a gentle smile and words of wisdom that would stay with them all their lives, had they only known it.

The table had been set with good things to eat, and cold air gives good appetite. Brother Kem knew better than to keep hungry children waiting, so he only said, "May the Light of the Sun that grew this food fill our hearts and minds as well as our bellies. So it is done."

He passed his hands over the table in blessing, then said with a smile, "Come, eat up children! At Lord Sol's feast we show him honour through enjoying the good things he has provided us. Dame Barton, please be the first to partake of his bounty."

He passed a plate to her, and this was the signal for everyone to help themselves. Everything on the table had the colours of the sun, with a golden yellow tablecloth and thick white plates. The food itself was sun-coloured, from delicately smoked ham sandwiches to a pie stuffed to the brim with bacon and eggs. There were boiled eggs in a silver stand like a castle to keep them hot, with eggcups and little spoons around its rim.

There were sweet things too. White bread spread with butter on gold-edged plates with pots of honey and strawberry jam. A great dish of little custard tarts with frilled edges. A glass bowl of trifle, rich with the colours of pineapple and slices of tangerine. In the centre, an orange cake with white icing, topped with a flag that had a picture of a smiling yellow sun upon it.

Eden accepted a cup of tea when it was offered to her, and noticing that Pip took a single slice of bread and butter to be polite, she did the same. Bernard seemed to be eating quite heartily, but perhaps the king had to or it would be an affront to the meal. Lucy was eating a custard tart with her tea, and she cut a piece of cake in half and put some on Eden's plate, whispering that she must eat a little of the Yuletide cake. A very full Eden valiantly crumbled her cake into little bits, hoping that it looked like the remnants of a meal.

After tea had been cleared away and the young children taken by the nurses to be bathed and put to bed, Brother Kem said, "The Day of Yule is coming to an end. As the light ebbs away, let us remember that the Sun always rises and hope is ever with us. Would you like to ask me any questions, children?"

There was an awkward silence, and then Ravi Kapoor said hesitantly, "Brother Kem, we are always told that Yuletide is the return of the Sun. But ... it's still cold and dark! It doesn't feel as if the Sun has come back yet."

"That is a good question," Brother Kem smiled approvingly. "At Yule, the Wheel of the Year turns to its beginning, and the Sun is reborn. But he is still only a new baby. It will take time for him to grow in strength, just as you are all growing bigger and stronger every day. Have no fear – he is born again, he is risen."

"Thank you for explaining sir," Ravi said with a slight hesitation.

"But what's the point of the Sun now if he's all tiny and weak?" said a small boy with a truculent face that Eden remembered as Jordi Silvera. "He can't do anything."

A few children looked rather shocked, but Brother Kem had an amused expression.

"Let me show you something," he said, reaching into a leather satchel at his feet and taking out a collection of little yellow candles, about the size used on birthday cakes

He passed them around until nearly every child had one. Eden and Lucy shared, looking at each other as if wondering what this was about.

Brother Kem lit a candle for himself, using a tinderbox, and dripped enough wax so that it could held in a saucer. He then asked Mr Spencer to turn down all the lamps, until the only light in the room came from this frail flame.

"See how I have a little light," he instructed. "It is tiny and weak. But if I share the light, what happens?"

He pressed his candle against Celestia's, so that they both had a little flame struggling against the darkness. She followed his example and set it into a saucer.

"And now if Celestia shares her light with the next person?" Brother Kem said, nodding to her to do the same. "What if each of us does so?"

A solemn game followed, where each child held up their candle to be brought to life. Each time they did so, the pool of light around the table got brighter and brighter. Lucy and Eden added their own little candle and admired its tiny blaze.

"You see children, even a tiny light can grow into a great brightness if we all share with others," Brother Kem instructed. "A kind deed, an encouraging word – these are bits of light that bring some sunshine into the world."

"What if we don't have any light to give?" Flora Dingle asked, sadly extinguishing her flame with a fingertip.

"Then someone must give some of theirs," Brother Kem said, nodding to Ravi to relight Flora's candle with his own. "And when you receive it, it is your turn to pass that light on."

"And if nobody is there to help?" Flora persisted.

Brother Kem gave her a compassionate smile. "At these times we must create our own light, whether by singing, praying, or telling ourselves a silly joke to get us through it. Remember children, if you are ever trapped alone in the darkness, reach out for the light. It is always there for those who have the courage to grasp it."