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The warm water felt nice on her skin, as did her husband's soft caress as he rubbed the bar of lavender soap down her calves.
With a cunning smile, Niklaus fingers loosened around the soap, letting it fall into the water as he placed a suggestive kiss to her ankle.
Giggling, Astrid's head lulled back against the edge of the bathtub as she kicked her legs out, Nik narrowly avoiding a swift kick to the head by ducking.
He seemed amused by this as his fingers wrapped and twisted around her ankle.
Firmly yet gently, he pulled her through the bathwater till she was sat on his lap, her bare chest facing his as he smiled contently at her.
They'd been at the De Martel castle for over a month now, and it was finally beginning to feel like home. They were more relaxed, happier even. Astrid had seen the changes in each sibling.
Sweet Rebekah was overly indulging in court, enjoying the company of the other fine ladies, she had even agreed to join their needlepoint session.
It was safe to say that Astrid had quickly denied her invite to the club, as she had said to Nik- she would rather poke her eyes out with needles than ever willingly do needlepoint again.
Though, Astrid supposed it was reminder of home and normality for Rebekah.
She couldn't count the amount of times herself, Rebekah and Esther had gathered in the wildflower fields, chatting away as they sewed clothes and designed pretty patterns.
Astrid had never been very good at needlepoint or sewing, she'd mostly come home with bleeding fingers after pricking herself countlessly.
However, Rebekah had always been very talented, she always been able to sow pretty flowers and challenging patterns.
But Rebekah wasn't the only one of her siblings to be enjoying their stay at the castle.
Elijah and Finn had both come very popular in court, engaging in sophisticated conversations and showing off their axe throwing and bow skills amongst other noble men.
Most of the noble men were futile, unable to even hit the edge of the targets with a bow, never mind an axe. So, Elijah and Finn's talents were highly appreciated.
Her darling husband was also becoming rather popular, showing off his sculpting skills and even showing how he used crushed berries and herbs to make beautiful paintings.
He was very talented, and Astrid enjoyed when he would show her his work.
The way he did it interested her, it was all very thought through, the way he tied varied lengths and widths of grasses together to make the head of a paint brush for different painting affects.
