Eden at Yuletide // Lindensea 4

III. Grand Entrance

Whether it was due to the blessing of Mercury, or whether the crowds had simply begun to disperse, it became easier to drive down Arden Street. It was about twenty minutes before they reached the end of it, and as the gatekeeper  had indicated, it was impossible to go very wrong. Bridge Street was the only choice, as the city walls and the opposite gate – the Castle Gate – lay in front of them.

By turning left onto Bridge Street, they were soon brought to Black Swan Court with its Wintertide Temple, a hodge-podge of different historical styles in grey stone, red brick, marble statuaries, mullioned windows, and domed copper roof. In broad daylight, it was probably rather ugly, Eden thought, but in the dim evening, by lantern and shadow, it had a certain fantastical charm.

From here they could already see the towers and battlements of Camden Palace, and as the carriage rode higher and higher up Castle Hill, it gradually came into view. The palace covered the hill's entire summit and effortlessly dominated the skyline.

The carriage entered through the ironwork gates and followed the gravel drive through lawns and gardens until it reached a vast stone courtyard, dotted with tubs of evergreen trees and festooned with lanterns. There, an orderly phalanx of servants waited for the visitors out the front of the castle steps.

"Well, this is spectacular," Meriadoc said with enthusiasm as the carriage came to a halt. "Doesn't Bernard have a beautiful palace?"

"Ooh, it's lovely," Nurse Melia breathed. "It looks just like a giant wedding cake."

Eden was almost dismayed at how stately and imposing Camden Palace was. She had known, of course, that Lindensea was a rich and powerful kingdom, the greatest in all the Isles. But whenever Lucy had spoken about her home, she had only talked about her family, or said how dull her life there often was. She had never imagined Lucy living somewhere so ... so extravagant.

"It's very big," Eden said at last, rather flatly. "I hope we don't get lost in it."

A crowd of servants soon flocked around the carriage, helping them alight, and taking their luggage away with quiet efficiency. Eden wondered where all her trunks and cases were being removed to, and if she would ever see them again. The constant polite murmurs of "If you please, Your Royal Highness", "Allow me, Your Royal Highness", and "This way, Your Royal Highness" didn't seem to really explain anything.

"Oh Melia, Melia!" quavered a voice on the fringes of the crowd. "I never thought to see you again, travelling all this way in the dead of winter!"

A thin middle aged woman with a screw of grey hair and a heavy cloak over her neat blue uniform came forward in a sort of agonised hopping motion, and clasped Nurse Melia's hand as if incredulous she was truly there. It was Lucy's old nurse, who had accompanied her to visit Eden in the Lakelands the previous summer.

"Why, May!" Nurse Melia said, giving her friend a hearty hug. "Of course we're here. And better in winter than the horrible heat you had to travel in to see us."

"Hello, Nurse May," said Eden, and Meriadoc joined in with, "Nurse May, a good evening to you. Your concern for us does you credit."

"Miss Eden. Your Majesty," Nurse May said, remembering her manners. "I'm very glad you're both alive too."

"Very kind of you, I'm sure," said Meriadoc with a twinkle.

"Now Melia, you must try to forget all the terrible hardships you've suffered getting here," Nurse May implored. "You're to share my room, and I'm sure you'd like supper and a hot bath".

"Well, I won't say no, May," Nurse Melia said gratefully. "I haven't been able to feel my feet for the past two days, and that's a fact."

The two nurses linked arms as they walked off, although Eden could hear a few faint fragments of their conversation.