Legend of the Dark Wood: The Phantom Oak of Meridian
The heavy oak doors of the council chamber burst open, the sound echoing like a gunshot against the high vaulted ceiling. Standing in the threshold were three girls. The eldest, Michelle Cheung, dusted off her coat with an airy, bright smile, holding a folded paper bow casually over her shoulder. Behind her loomed Maggie, tall and quiet, her hands buried in her pockets as sheets of parchment fluttered around her boots like protective wings. At the front stood Anita, the youngest, a pair of razor-sharp paper daggers already gleaming between her fingers. "We're late because someone spent all our emergency funds on first-edition hardbacks at the border," Anita snapped, glaring up at Michelle. "They were rare volumes on portal magic, Anita! Perfectly relevant!" Michelle chirped, waving a hand dismissively before turning her sharp, bright eyes onto the room. "Besides, we made it. So this is the famous Citadel?" Will Vandom lowered her guard slightly, her ...