Bernard and Pip entered the Great Hall, waving and smiling to the people assembled. They had changed their clothes since Eden saw them last, and Pip was now wearing an apple green suit embroidered with silver lilies. 

Bernard's suit was rose red, and embroidered with gold strawberry leaves. His hair and beard looked as if they had had an especially good brushing, and Pip was so well-groomed he looked polished.

"Good Yule, good Yule," Bernard and Pip said to everyone, shaking hands as they went down the line of people.

Each person received a few words of welcome or enquiry, and each time it had to be a little different. Eden couldn't think how they came up something new each time, and hoped she never had to greet so many people at once when she was a queen.

"Good Yule, Geoffrey," said Bernard, bending over the prime minister to shake his hand. The old man began getting to his feet, but Bernard said, "No, no, please don't get up."

Eden heard him speak with all the Hetheringtons, and thought Penelope's mother said, "He's having a good day."

"Excellent to hear," Bernard smiled, and moved on to the next person.

Pip was talking to an elderly lady, very tall and upright with a hawk-like nose and iron-grey hair that fell to her waist as straight as a ruler.

"Lady Hortensia Grace," Aubrey said in a low voice to Eden. "The High Treasurer, and tipped to be the next Prime Minister."

Bernard continued greeting people, but Eden noticed he was also nodding and gesturing to footmen, who came to escort people to the first dining table. First Lady Hortensia, then the Hetherington family, before others were brought to join them.

Eden noticed they were all elderly people. Mr Percy made a mild protest about "not wanting to cause any fuss."

"Always room for another war hero," Bernard said, patting him on the shoulder as a footman came to escort him.

A startled Eden looked at Aubrey for explanation, but he only shrugged and shook his head to show his ignorance.

"Major Percy Spoopin of the Tenth Light Horse," a grizzled old man with side whiskers barked at them. "Led the charge at Champollion. When Gerald the Magnificent was killed in battle at the point of victory, it was Percy who rallied us and kept on to the end."

"I'm sorry sir, I didn't know," Aubrey said.

"He's always been treated as a bit of a joke," the grizzled man said. "Got called Job's-Already-Done-Spoopin, that sort of thing. But the truth is we might have lost everything we'd gained without Percy."

"Perhaps if his name wasn't Spoopin, people wouldn't have made fun," Eden suggested.

"You might have something there," the grizzled man conceded.

When Percy walked past them, Aubrey had the grace to murmur, "Thank you for your courage in battle, sir," and Eden added, "Good Yule, Major."

Percy didn't seem to quite take in what they were saying, but Pip heard them and came over to shake hands.

"Hello you two," he said with a smile. "Having a good Yule?"

"Yes, thank you, Pip," Eden said, while Aubrey replied, "Simply topping."

"Well, who else shall we add to the first table?" Pip asked them. "What do you think, Eden?"

"The bodyguards and upper servants," she said at once. "There's a big group of them standing by the fire, including Maeve and Jarvis."

"Great idea," Pip smiled, signalling to some footmen. "And who should be next, Aubrey?"

"Us," Aubrey said. "I mean, all the young people. We always end up shoved onto the end of the last table in a dark corner and half the time they forget to bring us extra bread and drinks."

"Very well," Pip agreed. "Why don't you save the footmen some work, and fetch all your friends? You can be on the end of the first table instead."

Aubrey dashed off, and Eden expected to sit with everyone else once he returned. To her surprise, Pip tucked her arm in his, and led her to the next table, saying, "Bernard and I simply must sit down, or nobody else will, and it will be four o'clock before anyone gets dinner."

He sat down and motioned for her to take the chair next to him. A moment later Bernard joined them, with Lucy in tow.

"I think my hand is about to fall off from all the shaking," he said as he sat down, Lucy plonking herself down beside him. "Thanks so much for bagsing us a seat."

As Pip turned to talk to his husband, Eden and Lucy leaned forward and waved at each other. Eden wondered how many times in history had two princesses sat on either side of two kings for Yuletide dinner.

While everyone was talking and exchanging gifts, footmen and upper housemaids had been setting and arranging the tables. They looked beautiful, covered with deep ruby red table cloths, red and white candles, and bright fragrant evergreens. There were colourful little cards displayed on silver holders with pictures on them that Eden struggled to decipher.

"Pip, can you please tell me what these funny symbols mean on the cards on the table?" Eden asked after puzzling over them.

"They're ancient Saxon runes," Pip explained. "I'm not an expert, but this round one on the orange card is the Wheel of the Year. The yellow one like a butterfly is the Light of Day, while the red lightning bolt is The Sun. The little pink flag shape means Joy in Fellowship, and the big gold X is Generous Gifts."

"I don't know anything about runes," Eden said. "I've never even heard about them in language lessons."

"Well, the idea is that they aren't just words," Pip said. "By writing down a rune, or putting a few together, you are actually making that thing come to life. So by having these runes on the table, they're helping to bring about a happy Yuletide for everyone here."

"Like a magic spell?"

"Yes, or a prayer or a hymn," Pip agreed. "Saying something with purpose helps bring it about. At least, I think that's how it's supposed to work."

"But do spells and prayers always come true?" Eden wondered.

"I know magic works up to a point," Pip said thoughtfully. "My granny knew more about it than me, and she said you could only cross fate so far."

"It's interesting having a picture mean so much," Eden said, looking at them carefully. "But I suppose it's a bit like Egyptian hieroglyphics, although they're ..."

Before she could finish her sentence, there was the sound of chiming through the Great Hall, as Brother Bellamy stood up, ringing a bell vigorously with both hands. The chatter around the tables gradually came to an end as everyone fell into a respectful silence.

"Good Yule, brothers and sisters," said Brother Bellamy with a broad smile. "I won't keep you long, I know you're all eager for the delicious feast Monsieur Leroux has prepared with his team, and don't want to go hungry."

"No fear of that!" a man shouted, and everyone laughed.

Brother Bellamy smiled, and held up his hands for silence. "However, we do have one very important task to do before we begin dinner. As you know, it is traditional to swear a solemn oath for some feat that you will accomplish in the coming year. I must ask you to please be very careful in what you vow to do, for these oaths are unbreakable."

There was some slightly worried-sounding murmuring from the crowd.

"Choose rashly, and I promise the oath will force you to fulfil it, though it destroy you in the end," Brother Bellamy said impressively. "Choose foolishly, and the fulfilment of the oath shall bring you only misery. I can't begin to tell you the number of unhappy marriages that began with someone vowing an oath that they must marry Lycia, or that Bruno will become their husband."

"Now isn't that the truth?" a woman nearby muttered. Eden wondered if she'd been longed for like Lycia, or had been like the person who wanted Bruno.

"Only those aged fourteen or over may swear an oath," Brother Bellamy continued. "And to those making your first oath – I urge you to start small. Swear to get full marks on your Mathematics exam or something like that."

I'm old enough to swear an oath, thought Eden in surprise. She'd assumed that only grown ups would be allowed to do it.

"The promise cup will be passed down the table," Brother Bellamy instructed. "As it reaches you, grip your hands on each side of the bowl, using the handles. Swear your oath by a god of your choice, which may be either said aloud, or silently in your head. Then take a swig from the cup. Only when you swallow shall the oath be sealed. You don't need to drink a lot – a single drop is all it takes."

A footman placed the promise cup in front of Bernard. It was actually a great bowl, large enough to be used for punch, filled with golden brown liquid. It was heavy dark silver and decorated with a frieze of wild boars and grapes. There were handles on each side, and Bernard gripped them both firmly.

The king took a moment to seemingly collect his thoughts, and then in a loud voice proclaimed, "By my Lady Luna, I swear to protect the kingdom of Lindensea to the best of my ability."

He drank deeply, wiped his mouth, and pushed the bowl towards Pip. His husband held onto the handles of the bowl, and said, "By the Lady Moon do I swear to love my king with all my heart and be loyal in all things."

Pip took a very small sip, with an expressionless face, then slid the bowl along to Eden. She wondered what on earth she was supposed to say, and decided to only think her oath in her head to keep it private.

Eden held onto the handles of the promise cup. They were smooth and solid with indentations for her fingers to fit into. There was really only one thing she could swear as an oath.

She thought, By Lord Mercury I swear to find the boy named Oscar Twitch, rescue him, and help him find a good home in any way I can.

Eden put her face down to the bowl as it was too heavy to lift, and took a careful sip from it. It was mulled ale, sweetened with honey, spices, and apple mash. It had a stale, sickly taste that made her stomach lurch uncomfortably, but she was sure that she had swallowed at least one drop of it.

It was strange, all she had done was drink some sugary warm ale and think a few words in her head. Yet she had the strangest sensation of something final and irrevocable going right through her body, of wheels being set in motion that she could could no longer control.

The bowl was too heavy for her to push easily, so the gentleman sitting next to her helped, and swore an oath to be always faithful to his duty at the Board of Trade. The lady beside him swore to give one-tenth of her dress allowance to the Temple of Juno. The young man next to her swore to learn the Norse language within a year, before taking up a position in Anslo.

I don't have a year to fulfil my oath, Eden suddenly realised. I've got less than a week before I go home!

She took advantage of the oath-making and whispered to Pip, "Can you please tell me if anyone has seen Oscar?"

Pip looked serious as he replied, "Yes, he's been sighted quite a distance from here. It wasn't safe to try to contact him, and Camden police are working closely with the other authorities."

"Oh. That sounds like it's very difficult to help him," Eden said in dismay.

Pip gave a smile that tried to be reassuring, as he said, "Don't worry. Sir Richard Fort said cases like this can take weeks or even months to solve. They'll find him, Eden. We just have to be patient."

Months! She had sworn an oath to find – and rescue – Oscar in less than a week!

Eden tried to remember all of Brother Bellamy's warnings. He'd said that an oath that was rash or foolish could destroy her, or lead her to unhappiness. Suddenly her oath seemed very rash, and extremely foolish. She hadn't even tried to find out any more about Oscar before swearing the oath, and didn't know he wasn't in Camden any more.

She suffered almost a minute of genuine black misery before she recalled that Brother Bellamy had said the oaths were unbreakable. That must mean it was impossible to fail. There was some sort of magic to it; they were words of intention like a magic spell or a rune or a prayer. 

Pip had told her that magic could only be pushed so far, but she decided not to think about that. She would just concentrate on the power of the magic and fulfilling her oath.