"You held a meeting without waiting for me? How naughty," she teased, her eyes sparkling with amusement.
A murmur ran through the room, punctuated by a few stifled whispers.
Page, oblivious to the surrounding agitation, sauntered casually towards one of the empty seats.
"So gentlemen," she quipped in a mocking, gentle voice as she took her seat, "playing soldiers without me? How adorable."
A frosty silence descended upon the room.
The man who had introduced her, an old man with white hair and a tired gaze, turned to her.
"Calm down, Page," he said in a paternal voice. "The situation is serious; we didn't have time to wait for you."
Page gave him a cold stare. "Serious? Really?"
A murmur of indignation rose from the assembly. A man, broad-shouldered and weather-beaten, jumped to his feet.
"You have no right to speak like that, Page! You're just a kid!"
