Our Life Together

Chapter Twenty Nine

"Princess Celia, this looks beautiful," one of the guests at the egg hunt in the palace gardens comments. I smile at her warmly. I have never met her before. I assume she is one of the parent's of the invited children. Each year at the easter egg hunt, the children from local orphanges and 50 children from the crowd outside the palace are invited to be apart of the hunt.

"Thank you. I hope you enjoy it," I reply. She smiles back at me and walks away. Two arms wrap around me and a head comes to rest on top of mine.

"She is true, it is really beautiful," Flynn whispers. I open my mouth to reply but he stops me when he says, "But not quite as beautiful as you." I turn around so his arms are on the bottom of my back. I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Prince Flynn," I say. He smirks at me.

"I'm Prince Flynn now?" he asks. I shrug and stand on my tip toes to peck a small kiss on his cheek.

"You are if I decide you will be," I reply. He chuckles and allows me to turn back around so I can watch the people walking around the gardens. Two guards are blocking the view between two hedges so all the little, eager children can't get hints at where the eggs are hidden.

"Does the prince and princess's nephew get early access into the egg hunt?" Quinn asks. Flynn and I laugh as Quinn, her husband, and her son walk up. For the last month, they have been living with Johnathon's, her husband, parents. Their son, Matthew, stands shyly behind Quinn's legs.

"Little man!" Flynn yells out. He gets down on his knees in front of Quinn and pulls Matthew around her and into a hug. His rubs his head, messing up the hair Quinn most likely had to argue with him to comb. Then, he stands up and shakes Johnathon's hand.

"How have you been doing?" Johnathon asks. Flynn smiles.

"Well, I suppose. I don't think I've gotten enough time with Celia here, though, since returning from New Asia," Flynn replies. Johnathon chuckles and nods.

"I understand. These last two months away from her have been torture. Someone had to stay home to help with the improvements, though," Johnathon says. Flynn nods. I get down on my knees so I'm eye level with Matthew.

"Are you going to find a lot of eggs?" I ask. He moves back behind his mothers legs but still nods. I give him a warm smile. "Do I get any of your candy? I heard that there's chocolate hidden in some and that's my favorite," I say. He smiles and moves closer to me.

"No, Aunt Celia," he says. I laugh and tickle his belly. He giggles.

"If I don't get any candy, I'm gonna send the tickle monster after you," I threaten. He gasps and quickly agrees to sacrifice some of his candy for his safety. We talk for a few more minutes before Flynn and I move over to a gazebo built out of what looks like sticks and white, flowy curtains. A small table with a purple bouquet in the middle is set up for my family. My mother sits at the table, fanning herself with a coral colored fan my father brought her from New Asia.

"Are you enjoying yourself Flynn?" my mother asks. Flynn nods and sits down next to me.

"It is much more festive than any other Easter holiday I have had before," he replies. My mother nods and laughs.

"I know what you mean. We never had anything fancy like this either," she replies. We become silent for a few minutes as we watch the people walking around the gardens. All of the children seem so excited. Most of them have on their nicest dresses and suits and carry little buckets with chicks and bunnies on them.

"The palace now invites all the children to gather in front of the garden! The egg hunt is about to begin!" one of the guards announces. Close to 75 children gather around the guards along with some very excited adults who will most likely try to steal a few eggs themselves. The guards move after a few minutes and all the kids race deeper into the gardens. I stand up and grab Flynn's wrist.

"Come on!" I squeal. He gets up and allows me to pull him into the part of the garden where the eggs are hidden. All the flowers and bushes are decorated with plastic eggs that contain various prizes. Some contain little bead necklaces and rings. Others contain candy. Some hold little race cars.

We watch the children run around for a few minutes before Flynn leans over and whispers, "Come with me." He takes my hand and I follow him through crowds of people to a small opening to another section of the garden. I walk in to see one large, sparkly pink egg. I give him a questioning glance and he nods towards it.

I open the egg and inside is a folded up piece of paper. I unfold it to see a note. Here's the top ten reasons I love you. Can you find them all? It reads. I turn back to look at Flynn. He gestures around the garden. "Here is your own special egg hunt," he says. I walk to him and wrap my arms around him.

"You know I love you, right?" I ask. He smiles and nods. Before he can reply, I am looking through well groomed flowers and bushes for plastic eggs. I find the first one, a small, sparkly green egg, in a group of yellow flowers. I open it to a note that reads Your smile—If the sun were to die, your smile would be able to light the world. I smile and close the note back up and keep the egg in my hand.

Next, I find a blue sparkly egg hidden in a bird bath. I open it up. The note has you eyes—With those, I can see just how much you really love me. wrote on it. I hold to my heart and look over at him.

I move over to a vine hanging on the palace wall. A sparkly orange egg sits there. I open in up. The note inside says The fact that you fell in love with me. Tears flood my eyes and threaten to spill out. Flynn walks over to move and hugs me.

"I didn't mean to upset you. Did it offend you?" he asks. I look down at the note again. Tears spill out of my eyes and onto my cheeks. I reread it over and over again. The fact that I fell in love with you. I don't deserve this. A wife who didn't allow her brother-in-law to kiss her deserves this.

Instead of telling him the truth, I shake my head. "No, it's just really sweet," I reply. I close the note in the egg and move on, wiping a few more tears away from my face.

I wish I could tell him. I should. Only now do I realize he wouldn't be mad at me. I look at him. He is smiling at me with a relaxed expression on his face as he leans against the palace walls. I just can't do it, though. It would break his heart that I kept it a secret, not that I didn't tell him.

So, that's what I do: I keep it a secret.

This was actually supposed to be posted yesterday but due to technical difficulties (aka a stupid computer) it had to wait until today. If you want to know the rest of Flynn's list you can see them on my Instagram which is @finnchellove.wattpad. Please comment ad vote!

Disclaimer: As most of you know, a new Kiera Cass book comes out Tuesday. This book happens to be in the same series that this fanfiction is for, which means Kiera Cass owns The Selection.