Our Life Together

Chapter Five

I walk into the great room where my ideas are coming to life. The sets of French doors are open, allowing the wind to flow inside. The purple curtains that match everything else in the room are lifted into the air, elegantly dancing through the air. Blue, gold, and purple fabrics hang from the walls and ceiling, just enough that it looks bold but not too over the top. Circular tables are scattered throughout the room. The have dark shades of purple and blue table cloths that reach the floor with gold fabrics that cover the tops, just barely large enough to make it over the edge.

"This looks beautiful, darling," Astra says behind me, imitating the one woman in every group who has a nasally voice and decides to yell everything. I shake my head and look up at the ceiling, both surprised and unsurprised that Astra and Emily are already here. The reception doesn't start for two more days but Flynn's family has already traveled to the palace. I've barely seen them. I don't think anyone really has including Flynn. As soon as they arrived yesterday around mid-afternoon, they retreated to their rooms upstairs, only coming out for meals.

"Thank you, darling. Don't you just love this color scheme?" I ask as I turn around, making sure my voice sounds just as nasally. We all giggle. 

"Of course, darling. I don't think I've seen anything this lovely since Prince Phillip and I traveled to the Southern Isles for our honey moon. That suite was gorgeous,"  Emily says in a nasally voice, quoting the exact words one of the woman that came with the French Union several months before my birthday said. We all erupt in giggles again.

"Gosh, those women are terrible," I say. They nod as I lead them over to a table set up on the edge of the room. It has a deep blue table cloth that reaches the floor. A gold square covers it. Dark purple place mats sit on top of the square at each chair, surrounding the spot where the flower arrangements, which aren't here yet so they will be fresh, will go.

"I wonder who it will be this time," Astra says. I shrug, thinking over all of the women who normally show up for the reception. One time Nicoletta's daughter, Natalia (Her name was orginally Ember but I forgot I had already named her so I changed it.), brought her boyfriend and his family. All of the women in his family were like that. Normally, there isn't anyone like that who attends.

"I don't know. Everyone from Italy is pretty much very graceful. No one ever attends like that with them," I say. Astra nods and Emily just picks at her nails, causing the already chipped nail polish to chip off even more.

"So, how is his family?" Astra asks. I shake my head, trying to figure out a way to say my husband doesn't like his family and they refuse to socialize.

"Well, I would tell you if I had talked to them. After 'hey, how are you?' they bolted up to their rooms and haven't had a thing to say to me. They even sat at a separate table in the dining room. I don't know why they even bothered to come," I say. Astra nods and Emily snorts.

"They're probably doing drugs," Emily says. Astra and my eyes shoot over to where Emily is sitting. The idea of Flynn's parents, two older sisters, their husbands, and younger brother smoking or snorting something is so insane and outrageous it is funny.

"That would never happen, Emily," Astra says. I look over at Astra who doesn't seem to think this is weird. My cousins were obviously dropped as children, maybe even off the top of the palace.

"Who do you hang out with at school? I thought you two went to some expensive boarding school that goes up to the college years," I state. Emily and Astra just shrug. When they look at each other, they're silent for a minute then bust out into laughter.

"We hang out with each other. . . And you," Astra says. I sigh and shake my head. I stand up, leaving the two redheads behind. As I approach the door I turn back to look at them.

"Astra Orders, you are a. . . nuisance," I say, trying to think of an intelligent word to insult my older cousin with. Emily and Astra burst into laughter again. I turn back around and begin to walk out. As I do, I see a tall, heavy set woman walk past the hallway. I hurry towards where she was headed. I poke my head around the hallway and see her walk into a parlor that we never use.

I make my way over to the door as stealthily as possible, hoping I won't disturb them or anything of the such. I get to the doors, which are cracked, and peek in. A woman who appears to be in her mid forties to her early fifties is sitting in a chair next to two almost identical women in their early twenties. The older woman has short, thin hair that is in between a shade of brown and gray. She has thick eyebrows that hang over, if I remember correctly from the last time I saw her, dark brown eyes. The two younger women have identical dark brown hair that hangs down in thick layers halfway down their backs. The only difference is that one has brown eyes while the other has hazel eyes that rest under perfectly shaped eyebrows. They all have the same tone of olive skin.

"Well, at least he gets royal treatment here," Quinn, Flynn's eldest sister, the one with brown eyes, says. Flynn's mother shakes her head and rolls her eyes.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Mrs. Stephens asks. Quinn opens her mouth to say something but Teegan, Flynn's other sister, whispers something that only the other sister can hear. Quinn whispers something back and Teegan turns back to their mother.

"Mother, what Quinn was trying to say is that you should respect his decision to come to the palace and find love. You shouldn't expect him to work on the farm, which isn't even necessary anymore, forever. He deserves to spend his life how he wishes," Teegan says. Quinn nods in agreement behind her. Their mother just makes a snorting noise like she finds it to be the funniest thing in the world.

"Mother, we're serious. Flynn has found the road he wants to be on. He doesn't need to be on that farm. He has made everyone's life better. Teegan and I's families are doing better, despite the fact that we both married wealthy men. You can get Coen off the farm, too. You have enough money to hire workers if you must keep the farm," Quinn says. I briefly think over Teegan and Quinn's families. Teegan is married. Quinn is married with a young son around six months old who is staying at her husband's mother's home. I think Flynn once said they would have been threes.

"You two are both silly, foolish girls. You two may love the idea of being related to the royal family but you are both wrong. Your brother has no right to be here. If anything, I would bet he is here for the riches," she says. I back up slowly, not even paying attention to what is behind me. I bite my lip to stop myself from going in there and causing a problem and walk towards the end of the hallway, trying to get away from the conversation in the parlor.

I tried to make this chapter a little bit longer. I hope I was successful! Please comment what you think. I really hope you don't think I am using Emily and Astra's characters too much because I love the characters that they've blossomed into to. So, yeah... Comments and votes please? 

P.S. I love to read your comments so you NEED to leave them.

Disclaimer: I don't own The Selection. Know who does? You guessed it! Kierra Cass does!