Not much to say here, other than this is technically Saturday's chapter. I will be posting again on Sunday, though it will probably be in the afternoon/evening instead of in the mornings like normal.

-owl

Abby woke up with a grin on her face. It felt like it would never go away, like it was etched in her face forever. She was still happy from the ball the night before. Having danced with Timothy for most of the night, she had found out that he was a wonderful dancer.

She was also happy that Ziva had found someone to dance with too, and even happier as Ziva was often seen dancing with the prince of DiNozzo when Abby had looked. She wasn't as happy though, that it didn't seem like Kate had found anyone she particularly liked. The ball, while mainly for Ziva's sixteenth birthday, was also to help the three girls start looking for suitors. Abby had found someone and Ziva had found someone, but Kate hadn't.

"Miss," Olivia said as she opened the curtains to let in the sun, breaking Abby's train of thought. "Your sisters are waiting for you."

"Where?" Abby's voice was scratchy from sleep, and she cleared her throat before continuing. "What are they waiting for me for?"

Olivia finished messing with the curtains and went over to the door. "I'm not sure what they want you for, but they are outside your room now. Should I let them in?"

Abby's brow furrowed as she thought about it. There wasn't any predetermined plan that they had, so she was just as confused as Olivia seemed to be. "Yes, let them in," she decided.

Olivia nodded and opened the door, letting Abby's sisters into the room. As they entered, Olivia curtseyed and left.

Kate and Ziva were wearing matching sun dresses in pale purple and olive green respectively, and they both carried a basket in their hands. Kate's hair was tied in a bun and Ziva's was in a braid that, to Abby, looked like it had been down the night before, prior to sleeping. Ziva also had her bow and quiver of arrows hung over her shoulder.

"Good morning, Abby," they said together. Both Ziva and Kate set their baskets on her desk, then they sat on either side of Abby's bed.

Abby smiled at them. "Good morning, Kate, Ziva. What are you guys doing here so early?"

Kate grinned. "We were thinking we could eat breakfast with you. Besides, I want to hear about what you two did during the ball."

Ziva nodded in agreement. "Kate suggested that we should eat outside, and I liked the idea."

"That sounds like a great idea!" Abby exclaimed. "I just need to get dressed, then we can go," she said as she jumped out of her bed and sprinted across the room to her wardrobe. A minute later she came back out, wearing a dress matching her sisters' in a bright red.

Kate and Ziva smiled before they grabbed the baskets from the desk and after Abby grabbed the 'picnic blanket' from her pile of blankets, they all left her room.

The halls were empty, and their footsteps echoed around them. They didn't pass even a servant let alone a guard until they saw Timothy standing alone in the hallway. In his hands was a knife and a chunk of wood. On the floor near him were wood shavings.

He bowed quickly. "Good morning, Princesses," he said as he stood. "May I inquire as to where you three lovely ladies are going this fine morning?"

Abby smiled. "We are going out to the garden for breakfast. What are you doing here?" she asked, stopping to talk.

Timothy shrugged. "I'm waiting for Tony to be done with a meeting. Your father called him to a meeting almost as soon as he got up."

Ziva nodded, acknowledging his words. "Do you know when he will be done with that meeting, Sir McGee?"

He shook his head. "Forgive me, Princess, but I'm unsure when he will be done. I can let him know that you were looking for him."

Ziva's face flashed into a panicked look for a second before she recovered and answered Timothy. "You don't need to, but thank you."

He nodded and waved as the girls continued on their way to the gardens.

The three of them walked out of the castle and into the garden together. Even though it was early, the sun still added a good amount of warmth to the air making the garden warm enough but not hot. A soft breeze blew through the air around them.

Kate led them to the middle of the garden, where Ziva normally practiced her archery. A willow tree was near Ziva's shooting range, and under that they set up their picnic. Abby laid the red and black checked blanket on the ground, spreading it out to its full size. The three girls sat down and Kate and Ziva — after removing her archery set from her shoulder — began unpacking the baskets.

Kate's basket held napkins, plates, forks and cups. She set one of each in front of each of them. Abby's set was black with red roses painted on top. Kate's set was a light, happy, floral print featuring pink and white tulips. Ziva's set featured her bow and arrows in concentric circles.

Ziva's basket held food and water. There was a collection of four types of pastries, all looking nearly too good to eat. Croissants, berry tarts, apple turnovers, and caramel scones made up the collection. There also was a pair of oranges and a pair of apples. In a jug with a lid was water.

The three girls filled their plates with food. Abby took a tart and an orange. Kate took a few of the scones and an apple. Ziva took a croissant and a turnover. They ate in silence for a few minutes. Abby was done eating first.

"So," Abby said, drawing the word out slightly. "Why were you so interested in when Prince Anthony was going to be done with his meeting?"

Ziva looked at Kate, swallowing her mouthful of food before answering. "Last night Tony and I spoke quite a bit, and he is a nice person. Is it so bad to want to talk to someone else our age?"

Abby looked at Ziva. "No, I suppose not," she conceded, turning to Kate. "What about you, Kate, what did you think of the ball?"

Kate shrugged. "I had fun, you always plan a good party, Abby. The men I danced with were quite dull. Although it was quite funny when Dad had Lord Haswari's son thrown out of the room."

Abby laughed. "I have never seen him look so angry other than when his third ex-wife asked him to make us leave the castle."

Kate nodded in agreement. "I knew that face looked familiar. But, back to the original topic, Abby. Who were you dancing with all night?"

Abby did not blush, but smiled instead. "Timothy is a very lovely dancer. He is very kind as well."

"Who's Timothy?" Kate asked, glancing up from setting her cup down.

"Sir McGee asked me to call him by his given name, in return I told him to call me Abby," she responded. "He said he doesn't like the title of being a knight."

Ziva gave her a weird look. "Then why is he a knight?"

"He told me last night that his father wanted to give him a high rank in King Anthony's army, but he refused. Instead he chose to take the path of a knight." When Abby finished speaking, she grabbed one of the croissants from the plate and began to eat it.

"He and the Prince seem to be good friends," Kate said. "After the ball they were talking to each other near the library. I think they got lost. Prince Tony seemed to be teasing Sir Timothy about something."

The three girls fell silent. The food was nearly gone, and their plates were empty. Abby began to stack the serving plates, plates and cups, gently placing them back into the basket. In the other basket she would put the blanket when they returned to the castle.

Ziva stood up, grabbing her bow and quiver from where they rested in the grass next to the blanket. She left the secluded alcove under the willow's branches. The next thing that Abby and Kate heard was the snap of the bow string and the soft but solid 'thwack.'

Kate stood up and offered her hand to Abby. "Let's go watch."

Abby nodded and took Kate's hand. After pulling her up, Kate and Abby folded up the blanket and tucked it into Kate's basket. They grabbed the two baskets and left the willow tree to watch Ziva.

When they emerged into the sunlight, they saw Ziva set her bow on the ground as she went to her target to collect the arrows she had shot. All but one were in the middle circle. Some of the arrows were buried deeper and took Ziva more force to pull from the target.

When Ziva had collected all of her arrows and returned to her sisters, she smiled. "I plan on staying out here and shooting for a while. I do not wish to keep you if you have something else you need to do."

Abby shrugged. "I don't have anything planned for today, so I think I will stay with you." She sat down after speaking, placing the basket on the ground next to her.

Kate had opened her mouth to answer when a servant came running up to the trio. After he caught his breath he spoke.

"Princess Caitlin, King Gibbs requests your presence in his meeting immediately."

Kate sighed, then nodded and answered the servant. "Thank you for letting me know, I will make my way there as soon as I can."

He nodded and left the three princesses alone.

"I need to go, I guess. I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer," Kate apologized as she began making her way to the castle.