Good morning! I hope you guys like this chapter! Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed, and left kudos!

-owl

Ziva woke early, before Tony, before the sun even rose above the horizon. The pre-dawn light was streaming through the windows and reflecting off the mirror. She let Tony sleep as she got dressed in her hunting clothes. Today was the day they were to hunt in preparation for the Christmas party. The upside of it being freezing cold was that they did not need to worry about the meat going bad.

With their bedroom as cold as it currently was, Ziva assumed that it would be horribly cold outside. With that in mind, she dressed in more layers than normal. Her trousers and long sleeved tunic were first, then thick woolen socks and sweater. She tied her furry boots tightly onto her feet, tucking the trouser legs into them to keep out the cold. Then she wrapped her scarf around her neck and head, over her mouth and nose and forehead, until the only thing visible in the mirror was her eyes.

Before Ziva went to wake Tony, she tied her cloak around her, sinking into the warmth that it brought her. She pulled in her gloves as she crossed the room to the bed where Tony was snoring. He was always saying that her snoring was terrible, but Ziva was sure he was worse.

"Tony," she said softly, gently shaking Tony's shoulder. "I am going to go get the horses ready if you want to get dressed."

"Where are we going?" he asked sleepily, not opening his eyes.

Ziva shook her head. "We are going hunting today, for the Christmas party, remember?"

"Oh, right," he said, again in that sleepy tone. He settled into the bed more before sitting up straight. "Right! I forgot, sorry, Zi," he muttered sheepishly.

She laughed. "You are fine, Tony. But, I am going to go get our horses ready and we can leave once you are ready."

"Alright, and I can stop by the kitchens and ask for some bread or something." Tony muttered to himself as he got out of bed and began to dress.

Ziva grabbed her bow and left the room, heading down to the stables to get their horses ready. The only people who were up and about in the castle were the night-shift guards, the cooks who were getting food ready, and the stable boys who were feeding the horses and cattle and sheep.

The boy who was feeding Ziva's horse bowed low when he saw her approach. "Good morning, Your Majesty!" he said. "I was just feeding your stallion for you. Is there anything I can help with?"

"Could you bring the King's horse over to the tack area?" Ziva asked him, letting herself into her horse's stall.

The boy nodded and rushed off to do as he was told.

Ziva brought her horse there as well, tying his halter to the post and began to brush him. She had just thrown a saddle blanket over him when the boy arrived. Tony's mare, already brushed, next to him. She made no movement as she was tied to another post.

"He she is, Ma'am," the boy said, bowing and scurrying away to continue his regular chores.

Ziva threw a saddle blanket over her as well. Then she fastened the saddles on both horses before putting their bridles on, and the bits in their mouths. There wasn't a need to have an additional blanket for the warmth of the horses, as both Tony and Ziva's cloaks were large enough to drape over the horses.

Just as Ziva led the horses out of the stables and into the chilly air, Tony approached. In his hands were steaming hot buns and what looked like a few strips of jerky. He had his crossbow on his back, and a thick hat on his head.

"Are we ready to go?" he asked, handing her two of the buns and one of the jerky strips.

She nodded and mounted her horse in one swift movement, made all the more impressive by the fact that in one hand she had food. Tony mounted as well, and they rode at a slow trot from the castle.

They ate as they rode through the town, polishing off the last of the jerky as they passed the outer walls of the lower town. From there they broke off from the road and into the woods at a gallop.

For a while they kept pace with each other, Tony on Ziva's right. Ziva was happy, it had been a long time since she and Tony had been able to spend time together like this. Then, as they passed a game trail, they stopped the horses to evaluate it.

They were two pointed ovals, with smaller dots behind them. They were quite deep in the snow, but Ziva was able to see them quite well. With a snap of the reins, they were off. They followed the tracks at a fast trot, keeping an eye out for the deer that had made the tracks.

Tony was the one to see it, off to his right, when Ziva had been looking to her left.

"There!" he said, excited though quiet. The deer was poking at an evergreen bush, and hadn't noticed them yet.

Ziva turned and saw it as well. "You go around, I will try to drive it towards you."

Tony nodded and guided his horse the direction Ziva suggested. When Ziva could no longer see him, there was the snap of a branch from Tony's direction. The deer's head snapped up, towards the sound, and it bolted straight at Ziva.

Ziva was ready for it, though. She nocked an arrow and drew her bow, aiming at the deer. With a twang, the arrow flew true, lodging itself into the heart of the deer.

More branches snapped, and Tony emerged from a thicket of leafless hawthorn trees. The bottom of his cloak had more snow than earlier and he had a pheasant tied to his saddle. "Sorry I startled the deer," he apologized. "The pheasant kinda jumped out at me, startling my horse."

Ziva nodded. "That is alright. You got the bird, in any case, and I got the deer." she then pointed at the downed deer.

Tony grinned. "Good job, Zi. Do you think we have enough for everyone?"

Nodding again, Ziva urged her horse to approach the deer. "We should have plenty. Help me get it back?" she asked, getting off her horse.

Tony hopped off his horse and helped her heave it over the back of her horse. The horse was not spooked or anything, so it went quickly and without incident. In only five minutes, Ziva was back on her horse, and she and Tony were on their way back to the castle.