Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I didn't have internet. I hope you all like this chapter and Happy Thanksgiving!

In this chapter we meet the Buidheann delegation! The delegation consists of 90% of the named nobles.

-owl

Three days later, with two days until the tournament, two of the three delegations came into the capital city. Just as dawn was breaking a servant was sent up to Ziva and Tony's rooms to tell them that the group from Meadth had arrived. The king and queen both dressed in a hurry and ran outside to meet them in the courtyard.

"Good morning, Kate!" Ziva called when she saw her sister. It seemed that rather than taking a carriage, Kate had opted for her entire group to ride. With her were three knights that Ziva did not recognize.

Kate smiled at Ziva. "Morning," she greeted. "Sorry we arrived so early in the day."

Tony shrugged. "That's ok. We can have someone show your knights to their rooms, you'll have the same one as you had at Christmas."

"That sounds good. These are Sir Brent Langer, Sir Edward Dorneget, and Sir Clayton Reeves," Kate introduced the three knights that stood next to her.

Ziva nodded to each of them in turn. "Follow me," she said as she started walking towards the castle. "I will have someone bring you to your rooms. Kate, you can either settle into your room or can come with me to see Abby. I think she could bear to get up early for once."

Tony chuckled, smiling. "I need to find Tim anyway, I could always send Abby to you guys if that would work better."

Abby was apparently so deeply asleep that she didn't wake up when Tim left the room. So, rather than finding something for all three of the sisters to do, Kate and Ziva made their way out to the training grounds and started to spar.

Ziva had the sword that Tony had forged for her the previous Christmas, and Kate carried a sword that was relatively new, a gift from their father. The sunlight glinted off the shining blades as they swung through the air, crashing into each other with loud crashes.

Kate must have been practicing her swordsmanship since the last time that the sisters had sparred, because she was holding her own quite well. It wasn't until after Kate had gotten a hit on Ziva's left forearm that Ziva was able to unbalance her sister and take the win.

When they were done sparring, they saddled up their horses and took them out to the surrounding forest. The sun was shining amid a few soft looking fluffy clouds as the sisters raced between the trees. Eventually they slowed down to a walk, side by side.

"So, Kate," Ziva started, a smile on her face. "How have things been at home?"

Kate shrugged. "Not too bad, just still learning from Dad how to rule the kingdom. Did I tell you, he threw out a Duke just the other day?"

"What could he have done to offend him?"

"Asked for my hand in marriage. And then kept asking even after I had told him no."

Around noon a guard in the watchtower sent a messenger to Ziva that there was a pair of carriages coming through the city. The messenger hadn't been able to find Tony anywhere, and as such had regretfully interrupted Ziva.

Abby had finally woken up and the three sisters had been sitting in the garden, chatting like they did as children. Leaving Kate with Abby, Ziva made her way to the courtyard just in time to watch the first of two carriages enter. Accompanying the carriages were two people on horseback, one in front and one behind

The first rider got off his horse and went to open the door of the first carriage, just as the second rider, a woman, got off her horse and went to open the door of the second carriage.

From the first carriage emerged a tall man with a serious looking face. He wore a simple gold crown and offered a small bow to Ziva when he saw her. The second person out of the first carriage was another man, this one short and blond. The blond then helped a young girl out of the carriage. Lastly, the knight who had been riding in front offered his hand and helped a woman out of the carriage.

The second carriage contained two married couples, and the husbands each helped their wives out.

"Welcome," Ziva spoke in a carrying voice once the last of the group had disembarked the carriages. "I am Queen Ziva, of DiNozzo."

The first man approached her. "Thank you for inviting us. I am King Steve of Buidheann, accompanied by my brother, Daniel, and his daughter Grace," he pointed out the short blond man and the young girl with brown hair next to him. "Earl Adam of Noshimuri and his wife, Countess Kono," He pointed to the tall man with narrow eyes and black hair, standing arm in arm with a woman with brown hair.

"Lord Lou Grover and his wife Lady Renee Grover, and Lady Quinn Liu," he pointed at a tall man with no hair and the woman beside him, then the female rider. "And lastly, Sir Junior Reigns and his wife, Lady Tani," he pointed at the last two of the delegation, the first of them the first rider.

Ziva nodded. "I am glad you were able to come. We always look forward to the tournament, and it is always interesting with new contenders. How many of you are planning on taking part?"

Daniel spoke up. "Steve, Grover, Kono, Quinn, and Junior are all planning on fighting."

Ziva smiled at the tone of voice the prince used, like he was annoyed but resigned to the decision that at least one of the named parties had made. "If you want to come with me inside, you can be shown to your rooms.

There were a few nods around the group and Ziva led them all inside. Once inside there were a pair of servants waiting near the edge of the entrance hall.

"King Steve, Prince Daniel, Princess Grace, Lord and Lady Grover, and the Earl and Countess of Noshimuri will all be in the west wing. Sir Reigns, Lady Tani, and Lady Liu will be in the east wing," Ziva said as the servants approached.

The delegation from Buidheann split into two groups and followed the servants away from the entrance hall. King Steve hung back with Zive though.

"My wife, Catherine, wanted me to extend her apology that she was not able to attend the tournament. She had been ill and was not well enough to travel in time."

Ziva nodded. "Of course. That is no problem. I am sure there will be another opportunity to meet her."

The evening meal was a busy affair. With the amount of people present, they could not eat in the smaller, private, dining room. Instead the meal was served in the dining hall. They were a small enough group to sit at the same table, though. The entire group from Buidheann was there, as was Kate and her knights.

"Do we know how many will be entering in the tournament?" Lady Liu asked, about halfway through the meal.

Tony gave a 'sort of' motion with his hand. "As far as we know there are at least fifteen people who will be entering, but there will be more than that, I'm sure."

"Have you settled in ok?" Ellie asked, setting her fork down on her plate and looking around at the Meadth and Buidheann delegations.

There were a few nods around the group.

"As I am sure you know, the tournament will be starting in two days," Ziva said, drawing the attention of the room. "Feel free to explore the castle and city, train in the training grounds or whatever you wish to do."

"We just ask that you stay out of the siege tunnels," Tony interrupted. "Without the map it's too easy for someone to get lost down there."

"Ok," Prince Daniel nodded. He looked to his daughter who was sitting next to him, and almost had her head in her plate. "I think I'm going to take my leave, Grace seems to be falling asleep at the table."

Without any objections, the father and daughter left the dining hall. The rest of the meal was filled with low side conversations.