"What are you-"

"Shh, you'll ruin the surprise."

Surprise? What surprise? Elissa fought the urge to open her eyes and see where he was leading her with such glee. In all the years she'd known Nathaniel - from kids until comrades in arms - Elissa couldn't place a memory of him this giddy over something. It felt as if an eternity had passed before they finally stopped.

"Can I open my eyes now?" She cringed in wait for the answer, afraid there were more steps to climb or doors to go through.

"Yes."

Once past the initial shock, she did so. Cracking one eye open and then the other. Nothing looked all that special. Her gaze swept around the room. Her room. She frowned and looked at Nathaniel. He huffed, twining his fingers with hers again to drag her further into the room until her eyes caught it. Set off to the side was a marble tub she'd never made use of. Not properly, at least.

Elissa's eyes widened when she realized it had been filled. The steam curled into the air above the hot water, plus the couple buckets set aside. She turned slowly to look at Nathaniel. For his part he looked quite pleased with himself, especially in light of her surprise.

"A lady of your standing deserves a proper bath every now and then, does she not?" He flashed a charming, toothy grin for her.

"Flatterer," she murmured. She then shifted from foot to foot, eyes still wide as she looked back toward the tub. A warm flush slowly crept up her neck and burned at her cheeks. Thoughts swirled through her head, balanced somewhere between surprise and sheer joy. Elissa couldn't remember the last time she'd actually had a bath. A real- hot water and all - bath.

Nathaniel helped strip her out of her gear before moving on to himself, pulling his tunic over his head and casting it aside. Elissa eased into the steamy water, dunking her head below the surface before coming back up for air. A long, contented sigh escaped her lips.

"I take it milady approves?" Nathaniel purred from behind her as he pulled up a stool.

Elissa hummed in reply, a pleased smile finally replacing her typical worn and tired expression. Nathaniel chuckled, picking up the bar of soap and working up a lather.

"What are you - oh," Elissa hiccuped in surprise. She tilted her head forward as he began to massage her scalp with the soap. Deft fingers causing another pleased sigh to slip past her lips as he set about his work.

"You really don't have to do this." Her protest was quiet, weak. And he seemed to easily call her bluff, merely laughing and dropping a soapy hand to pat her shoulder.

"But I want to," he added after a moment. He paused then to rinse her hair, beginning the process over again a few moments later. All the while Elissa practically purred in her enjoyment of the attention, eyes slipping closed. A content and happy smile on her lips the entire time.