The Legend by Melissa Delport Page A

working, Henry.”
    â€œNot working?” he scoffs. “Three days ago you were in a coma, Rebecca. Today you were playing football with your son. I’d say your healing is definitely working.”
    â€œWhat about my speed, my strength?”
    â€œGive it time.”
    I am sick to death of hearing these words, but I thank him and leave his practice room, which was no doubt the old infirmary. As I round the first corner, I come face to face with Sofia heading in the opposite direction.
    â€œHi,” I greet her, feeling slightly uncomfortable.
    Before I was injured, when Aidan was suffering from amnesia, he and Sofia were becoming close. I can only assume, from what I heard before I woke up, that their budding relationship ended abruptly when Aidan got his memory back and realised he was still in love with me. Even before that, the dynamics of their relationship had shifted as Aidan’s affection for me grew, but Sofia had stuck closer than a barnacle and had refused to consider that Aidan might transfer his attention to me, intact memory or not. The look on her face confirms my suspicions. Sofia looks embarrassed, and a Morgan-like scowl of dislike mars her exotically pretty face.
    â€œHello, Rebecca,” she replies stiltedly, her English accent a sharp contrast to her dark Mexican looks. Sofia was raised by Henry and as a result picked up his pronounced intonation. She keeps walking, and I can practically hear her praying that I don’t strike up a conversation. Sympathetic to her broken heart and wounded pride, I simply nod and continue on my way.
    If Sofia’s love life is deteriorating, her father Henry’s is just the opposite. I learn that he and Archer’s mother Sienna are planning on getting married. Here in the Rebeldom there is no legal way to get married or divorced, but the two are planning a small ceremony anyway. I knew that they were getting close, but I am still surprised.
    â€œThe older you get, the more you realise that time is precious,” my dad explains as I watch Archer and Sofia helping them set up a makeshift wedding arch on the grass of the family park pavilion. “You shouldn’t waste a minute of it. If you find love, you have to grab hold of it with both hands and never let it go. When I met your mother, I just knew that she was the one for me. We didn’t wait long either.”
    â€œYou want to get to your point?” I ask, knowing that there is far more to his words than a simple conversation.
    â€œI don’t want you to have any regrets. I know your mother didn’t.” If he thinks that bringing up my mother is going to sway me from my mission, he is wrong.
    â€œMy mother didn’t have a war to win,” I remind him bluntly.
    The day of the ceremony dawns and if the weather is any indication, the gods are smiling down on the soon-to-be newly-weds. There is not a cloud in the sky and no breeze rustles the leaves. Everyone in the Academy is attending, much to my chagrin, because it means I have no excuse not to go. Without Jenna to help me with my outfit, I settle on a pair of black pants and a pretty grey chiffon blouse with a beaded sash that ties around the neck to hold it up. It is the first time I have ever worn it, and I feel ridiculous. To my amazement, three hundred of the wooden dining hall chairs have been ferried all the way out here and lined up in perfect rows on the grass. I am late, and most seats are already occupied but my dad waves his arm, indicating an empty chair beside him a few rows from the front. It is only when I take my seat between him and Alex that I notice that Reed is on his other side, and Aidan is next to Alex, with Brooke sitting on his lap so she can see over the heads of those in front of us.
    â€œGood thing this isn’t awkward,” I mumble, folding my hands in my lap and keeping my eyes on the wedding arch which has been transformed into a thing of beauty by the intricate