I had fun with this, let me know what you think. The last scene in this chapter was thought up with help from my mother.

Side note, as much as I do like Granger's character, when watching season 3, I truly hated him, so now he's the bad guy.

Also, from here on out, I'm going to be noting who's POV the section is in. If no one is named, it can be assumed that it is the same as the previous. I'm not doing that because I don't think you'll be able to follow, but because I was reading a book literally two nights ago and didn't notice the POV shift and got so confused.

-owl

Kensi

Kensi returned to her and Deeks' room with the help of Abby. No matter how many times she had stayed at the DiNozzo castle, it was too much of a maze for her to be able to get anywhere off the beaten path without help.

Entering the room, Kensi was blinded by the lack of light. Once she gave her eyes time to adjust, she could see Deeks was passed out in bed, snoring. In the dark, Kensi undressed and slipped into bed beside her husband.

Deeks groaned and rolled over, pulling Kensi into his arms. "How'd it go?" he asked, his voice garbled.

"I thought you were asleep," she whispered back.

"I'm a good enough husband that I know when my wife joins me in bed."

Kensi rolled her eyes. "It went well. We have a plan. It involves a lot of moving parts and I will be here in DiNozzo until we can get my name cleared. The main thing for tomorrow, that you need to know, is that four of the women have decided to be decoys, and dress like me. One of them, Lady Quinn Liu from Buidheann, will be riding out of the city with you, and branch off in Eareg. Once you're back in Operacje, stay in the capital and wait. The Earl and Countess of Noshimuri will be arriving to help you clear my name."

"Sounds like a lot of chaos."

Laughing, Kensi nodded. "I can't disagree."

The conversation lapsed after that, and Kensi fell asleep cocooned in her husband's warm embrace.

A little before dawn there was a knock at the door, waking both Kensi and Deeks. After rushing to pull a dress over her underthings, Kensi opened the door to find Abby standing outside.

Abby was dressed in a gauzy red dress. A belt around her waist and the trim of the sleeves, neckline, and bottom hemline were black. In her hands was a rectangular piece of paper. "Good morning." Abby handed Kensi the paper, it was actually a sealed letter. "Give this to Tim's parents when you arrive. You'll stay there for two days, then return here."

Kensi nodded. "Let me grab a few things and say goodbye to Deeks, then I can come with you to the war room."

Abby nodded and closed the door.

Turning back into the room, Kensi saw Deeks sitting on the edge of the bed, watching her.

"It's really happening, isn't it?" he mused.

Kensi crossed the room and stood between his legs, framing his face with her hands. "Yes, it is. But I have faith that everything will be sorted out."

Deeks turned his head and kissed her palm. "I'm going to miss you," he whispered.

"Me too."

After a few more minutes standing like that, Kensi pulled herself away from Deeks and began to dress properly. She chose a cream colored dress that was light and airy, though also sturdy enough to hold up while riding a horse. A few important things got thrown in a bag that she slung over her shoulder.

She crossed the room to Deeks, letting him pull her in for a hug.

"You'll be ok," he whispered in her ear.

Kensi nodded. "And so will you. Let Lady Kono and Earl Adam help. I'll be home as soon as possible."

And, with one final kiss, Kensi left the room and walked with Abby to the old war room they had been in the previous night.

When they entered the room they were greeted by Lady Kono, Lady Quinn, Lady Tani, and Ziva. All four of them were wearing dresses that mirrored the slightly different style of Operacje. Ziva was in a dusky hue of blue. And Ladies Kono, Quinn, and Tani were in muted shades of green, brown, and orange.

Kensi figured that Nell was talking to the Operacje delegation, and she had said the previous night not to plan on her meeting them down in the war room in the morning. Ellie was likely getting the wagon and carriages ready as she had volunteered to do.

"Goodmorning, everyone," Kensi greeted them.

Once all the greetings were done with, Abby had all four decoys sit down in chairs that had been pulled against the wall. She then proceeded to use a variety of make-up, scarves, high collars, and sheer force of will to make the four of them look A) as similar as possible and B) passable as Kensi.

It was as Ziva was approaching the wall map that the door opened and Ellie came in, Nell right behind her. Ellie was in a very simple dress, plain brown with a black tie around her waist. Nell was in traveling clothes, similar to what Kensi was wearing, just a little more ornate.

For the second time that morning, greetings were gone through. Then Ziva brought their attention to the map.

"Kensi, you will navigate the siege tunnels, then ride on horseback to McGee Manor," Ziva said, pointing to the carving on the map that denoted the manor. "There will be a horse in one of the surrounding fields that is for you. Abby drew up a map for you to use, but, once you are out of the tunnels, please destroy it.

"As for the decoys, we will all leave separately to get to our mode of transport. Lady Quinn will be first, and leave with the Operacje delegation by horseback though the main gate. Lady Kono will be in a carriage out the back gate, and will leave once the Operacje delegation have cleared the city walls. Then I will leave through the army gate in my carriage, then Lady Tani through the secondary gate."

Every time she mentioned one of the gates, Ziva pointed it out on the map.

"How far are we each going?" Lady Tani asked.

Ziva didn't get the chance to respond as the door opened again and Kate entered the room.

Kate was wearing the nicest dress she had brought. It was a little wrinkled, though. That could be attested to how it had been transported from Meadth, of course. What couldn't be explained, however, was the fact that her hair was in complete disarray. Her face was flushed and, though she looked outwardly apologetic, there was something about her body language that made it hard to believe.

Nodding at her sister, Ziva continued, answering Lady Tani's question. "The delegation will meet up with Lady Kono in Eareg. Lady Kono, you should be able to arrive first, your carriage driver will be able to take a more direct route as the single carriage can fit on the smaller roads. You two will do as discussed last night. As for Lady Tani and myself, we will turn around near noon and return to the castle."

There was a knock on the door. A muffled voice then spoke. "Your Highness, Princess Caitlin, you wished to be notified when the Operacje delegation was preparing to leave?"

"Yes, thank you!" Kate yelled through the door. Then she turned to the others. "I guess it's showtime."

Kensi watched as everyone but Ellie left the room.

Pulling her into a tight hug Ellie gave her one last comment. "Good luck. I really hope we are able to pull this off."

Kensi nodded. "Me too. Thank you for helping, Ellie."

With a nod, the Lady left the room. Kensi was alone.

Pulling out the map, Kensi sucked in a deep breath and left the room, paying close attention to the map she had been given. The last thing she wanted was to get lost.

Quinn

Quinn walked out of DiNozzo castle side by side with Princess Caitlin, Princess Nell, Lady Abby, and Lady Ellie following close behind. This whole thing was almost a fever dream, if she were being honest. How she had let Tani convince her to help the Duchess of Bly she would never know.

Duke Deeks was the first of the Operacje delegation to approach. He pulled her into a hug, speaking loudly. "Hi, Kens, are you ready to go?"

Quinn offered a tight smile. "Sure." Then she spoke in a whisper, under the guise of whispering sweet nothings. "I take it Kensi told you the plan?"

He laughed, responding in the same way. "Yes, You're Lady Quinn, one of Buidheann's knights."

"Kensi! Are you ready to get moving?" Sir Callen called over to her. He was standing with Sam, the Earl of Hanna, by three horses.

Quinn nodded. "Yes, I'll be over in a second." Then she turned back to Duke Deeks. "Who knows?"

"As far as I know, Nell spoke to them."

"Ok, that's good." Pulling herself away, Quinn approached Earl Sam and Sir Callen.

Sir Callen grinned. "Your disguise is very impressive," he greeted her. "But I would know my sister anywhere."

"The goal wasn't to trick her family, but any spies that ArchDuke Granger might have assigned. Where is he, anyway?"

Earl Sam shrugged. "Not sure. Haven't seen him all morning."

There was a sudden, sharp, whistle from the carriage. Prince Consort Eric was leaning out of the carriage. "We gotta get moving, We've got a long way to travel today!"

And, with that, Quinn, Sir Callen, and Earl Sam all mounted their horses and led the charge from the castle courtyard.

Kensi

Kensi couldn't help but panic when she saw the gaping chasm in front of her. Neither Ziva or Abby had warned her about this. Luckily there was an old, dried, plank of wood that she was able to maneuver to span across the chasm. Balancing as she walked across it was a little disconcerting, but she was able to do so and didn't fall.

After she made it across the plank, Kensi was only six or so fathoms from the end of the tunnel. As she emerged outside into the bright morning light, Kensi had to shield her eyes. The contrast of light from the tunnels to the field was stark.

Just as Ziva had said, there was a saddled horse in one of the nearby fields. Hoisting her bag on her shoulder, Kensi strode off towards the animal.

Once she was situated on the saddle, Kensi had one goal: McGee Manor.

Tony

Tony was in the middle of looking over the treaty that had just been signed with Buidheann when there was a knock on the door of his office. When the sound came again, hurriedly, Tony got up and strode over to the door. Pulling it open he found one of the castle guards standing, poised to knock again.

"Your Majesty!" he exclaimed. "There's a bit of a situation."

"What kind of a situation?"

The guard looked faintly apprehensive before he spoke. "ArchDuke Granger is poking around the castle. He's trying to go into rooms that are not open to anyone other than the royal family, and when I told him that, he refused to listen to me."

Tony nodded. "Alright, I'll handle it. I've been meaning to give him a piece of my mind anyway. Where is he?"

"The North Wing. He seems interested in the tower"

Tony clenched his fists. Of course Granger was poking around in his late mother's rooms. Nobody had been in there since the woman had died, and Tony was not about to let that change. With a growl of annoyance, he left his office and began storming towards the North Tower.

As promised, Granger was indeed there, trying valiantly to get into the door of the tower itself. He didn't hear Tony approach.

"Can I help you, ArchDuke Granger?" Tony asked in the most scathing tone of voice that he could muster.

The man whipped around in shock.

"King Anthony, what a surprise." His voice was like slime, oozing false sincerity. "I was just…"

"Trying to break into a room that is off limits for anyone not of the DiNozzo royal family."

"I mean…"

Tony gestured for the archduke to follow him. With a sigh, the other man did, and they made their way to Tony's office.

Once they were in the room, Tony pointed at the chair on the other side of his desk than where he sat.

"Sit down."

Granger didn't argue, but did as told.

Tony pulled out a fresh sheet of parchment, along with a quill and bottle of ink. "So, what should I be writing in my letter to Hetty?"

Granger paled, but the archduke said nothing.

"Alrighty then, we'll see what I can come up with."

The next ten or so minutes were silent as Tony penned his missive for the empress of Operacje.

To Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Hetty,

I regret having to be sending you this missive, but it is most definitely needed, as one of your nobles has tried to break into an area of the DiNozzo castle that is reserved for only those of the DiNozzo royal family. This is an egregious faux pas on the part of ArchDuke Owen Granger of Nodian.

My attention to the issue came when one of the castle guards notified me that there was someone trying to get into the North Tower. When the guard asked ArchDuke Granger to cease his attempts to break into the tower, the archduke refused to comply.

I understand that the archduke's actions were not the actions of Operacje as a whole, and as such there is no ill will born from this event, other than that I ask you to keep Archduke Owen Granger of Nodian from entering the country of DiNozzo again.

On a much more pleasant note, I am happy to report that the delegation that you sent, led by your daughter, Princess Nell, for the tournament were lovely guests as always. Those that fought in the tournament did very well, and has reminded me, once again, that never do I ever want to be at war with your empire.

With kind regards, King Anthony II

"I will be sending this with a messenger to either the delegation led by Nell, or directly to Hetty," Tony said, sealing the letter with wax and pressing it with his signet ring. "You are to gather whatever belongings you may have and leave the country. You have five days from now. Then, should you be spotted within our borders, my knights, nobles, or army will have the right to bring you forcibly back here to await judgement."

When evening came upon the capital city, Rafael was eager to meet up with his buddies at the tavern. Henry, Kyle, Larance, and William were all guards that often got posted at the city gates, rather than in the castle itself. Most evenings they tried to meet up, though it wasn't always possible.

"Man do I have a story to tell you all!" Rafael exclaimed as he took his seat, a tankard of mead in his hand.

Kyle grinned, taking a gulp from his own tankard. "Well, out with it!"

Palace Guard

Rafael took a few long moments to settle in and get comfortable, letting the suspense build. "Well, today I was stationed in the North Wing. It was a normal day for the most part, until right around noon. I found a man poking around in the rooms there. I tried to get him to stop but he glared at me and declared who he was."

"Who was it?" Larance asked.

"I'm getting there!" Rafael chided. "Anyway, the man was none other than ArchDuke Granger of Nodian, in Operacje! He kept saying he needed to find Duchess Kensi of Bly. I had to go get the king, and I don't know anything after that."

A patron walked in and bumped against Rafael on their way to the bar.

"Well, he wouldn't be finding her in the North Wing, or Tower for that matter," Henry exclaimed. "I saw the duchess leave with the Operacje delegation this morning, on horseback."

William frowned. "But I saw the duchess leave, through the army gate, in a carriage.

"No, you both must be mistaken," Kyle interjected. "For I saw the duchess leaving through the secondary gate, in an open wagon."

Larance started chortling, getting louder and louder. "The duchess duped the archduke, and everyone else! There must have been imposters, as Duchess Kensi left the city through the back gate in a carriage!"

Suddenly there was a sixth person at their table. It was the patron who had bumped against Rafael. The patron took down his hood to reveal himself as King Anthony. The king was laughing as he sat down next to Henry.

"I must say, Ziva's decoy plan worked quite well,"

The guards all gaped at the king. Finally Kyle spoke. "So which one was the real duchess? And who all were the decoys?"

The king shrugged. "I have no earthly clue as to which of them was actually Kensi. I also didn't know who all the decoys were, other than Ziva."

The king continued to laugh, the guards joining in. Wouldn't this be a great story to tell their children eventually?