Was this chapter supposed to have more of an emphasis on the fact that today is the winter solstice? Yes. Did I decided to go almost an entirely different direction? Also yes. Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

-owl

Ziva was on her way to meet up with Lady Elenore Torres when the court jester came around the corner and nearly knocked her over. Ziva's reflexes, though, were quick enough to dodge the man, although she almost tripped on the cloak she was carrying with her.

The jester, Mac, bowed deeply. His floppy hat echoed his action and threatened to fall from his head. "My queen," he drawled in his jovial voice. "Shall my service be needed tonight at the solstice feast?"

Ziva smiled. "Yes, Mac, that would be appreciated. Do you have a routine ready?"

He nodded, the bells on his hat jingling with the movement. (Ziva was quite sure that Mac nodded for longer and more vigorously to make them ring more.) "Of course I have a routine. I must be ready at all times." Then, with a grin from one ear to the other, he cartwheeled off, down the hall.

After taking a second to regain a semblance of normality, Mac always seemed to take her sanity, Ziva continued her way to find Lady Elenore. Every year prior, since he had gotten his position, when Sir Nicholas Torres was at the castle during the winter, Lady Elenore had stayed at the Torres Manor. This year, it seemed, she had tired of the empty house, and had joined her husband.

This would be the first time Ziva had spoken to her, other than greeting her at parties and other such things. So, Ziva didn't expect to find Elenore in the library with books spread out on the floor around her. Well, she had expected the library, but not the books.

"Lady Elenore?" Ziva said, prompting the woman to look up and see her. "I hope you have been enjoying your stay."

Elenore stood up quickly, curtsying with a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry I didn't hear you enter, your Majesty. I have been enjoying my stay very much, thank you for allowing me to accompany Nick this year."

Ziva nodded, and the two women moved to sit on one of the couches. Ziva had grabbed one of the books Elenore had been looking at when she stepped over them, and now she took the time to read the cover.

"English for the intermediate student?" she asked.

The sheepish look was back as Elenore nodded. "Yes, I am still doing my best to learn the intricacies of reading and writing."

"That is right, you come from a farming family, correct?"

Elenore nodded. "Right. My father nor my mother could read or write, and I've only been learning since I wed Nick."

"What were you reading when I came in?" Ziva asked.

"Oh, this and that. I guess you could say I am looking into more etiquette. I feel like I let Nick down every time I don't know something."

"I know the feeling. I was the daughter of a duchess before I became a princess, and that was enough of a difference between the ranks. As a Lady, I could do most anything I wished, and there was not much that society said was inappropriate for me to be up to on any given day." Ziva stopped for a second, sighing as she remembered her childhood.

"When my mother married my step father, I remember that I got a lot more odd looks from the tutors and the older women of the town. Gibbs was perfectly happy to let me continue sparring, archery, and jousting, but the etiquette was vastly different."

Elenore nodded. "If you thought that going from a Lady to a Princess was hard, try going from a nobody with no sense of decorum, to a Lady of one of the most well known knights in the country." Though her words were hurried, there was no anger in them for Ziva trying to make light of their 'shared' experiences.

"Did you ride horse when you were younger?" Ziva asked, standing up.

Elenore shook her head, standing as well. "We didn't have horses, just cows and sheep. But Nick has taught me how to ride."

"That is good. Would you like to join me for a ride, then?" Ziva offered.

Elenore nodded vigorously and grabbed the cloak that she had been sitting on while on the floor. "Of course, your Majesty."

Ziva swung on her own cloak and the women left the library together. There was a chilly wind when they got out to the courtyard, but neither seemed to mind and they only stopped walking long enough for Elenore to ogle her husband.

The stable was wonderfully warm, and both women seemed to relax into the heat. Abby's horse, Burt had stayed at the castle rather than risk its foal's life to travel to the McGee Manor. Ziva saddled up her black stallion and Elenore saddled up one of the horses that had pulled the carriage that she and Sir Torres had arrived in.

When they were both ready, Ziva led the way out through the town and into the woods surrounding the castle. They stuck to the roads and wider trails as Ziva had less range of motion, seeing as she was siding side-saddle. She had not had time to return to her room to change.

Ziva and Tony sat side by side at the head table, facing out to the empty floor in the middle of the dining hall. The table along the sides of the room were filled with knights and townsfolk. Mac the jester was currently performing.

Mac often used more cartwheels in his performances than what was necessary, but this time, they were better mixed with flips and juggling and magic tricks. His jovial voice rang through the room, and his smile was almost as bright as the fire in the hearth and the many, many candles that were around the room.

The celebration went long into the night, and when the bells rang twelve times for midnight, Ziva raised her tankard of ale in the air, shouting to the room. "From here, it will only get brighter!"

The others in the room raised their tankards as well, cheering as they drank down their ale.