Underneath The Hidden Stars

Chapter XIX - Final Chapter

Just a few moments after the morning announcement echoed throughout the stone halls of Level 4, Mira had a pillow thrown at her face from the other side of the room. She grunted, but opened her eyes, and after contemplating her life for a few short moments, reluctantly got out of bed. Terra, who had just thrown the pillow at Mira, was pretending to be asleep, and had her covers pulled off by her sister.

"Hey! What the hell did you do that for?" Terra yelled out so loud, that she probably woke more people up than the announcement ever did.

Mira just smiled in response and went to get dressed. She was to leave back for Level 8 in a few hours, except this time, she managed to convince the higher ups to give her a pass that never expires - meaning she would be able to travel from one floor to the other whenever she wished to, as long as it didn't interrupt her work. Mira took a quick shower and went to the kitchen, where her father had already been waiting at the table. He glanced at her over the top of the newspaper he had been reading and smiled.

"Good morning."

"Heya, dad. What's new today?" she inquired while walking to the pot on the stove.

She put some rice in her bowl and sat down, and soon after, Terra walked in and did the same thing.

"Same old, same old." He looked through the page he was on and folded the newspaper, which revealed an article he didn't notice before. "Oh, that's new. Let's see. 'The leader of the infamous terrorist group that wreaked havoc on the tower has received her well-deserved sentence'..." he skimmed through the article, reading every few words. "Renee Fader... blah blah blah... was sentenced to life in the below!" he exclaimed and looked at his daughters with excitement. "Finally, something good is happening. Phew, I was scared for a moment she'd get less than that." He then glanced at his wrist and stood up. "Oh dear, I'm late! See you later!" he hurried towards the door and stopped before closing it behind himself. "Good luck up there Mira. I'll be waiting for you here from time to time."

Mira smiled at him as he left and the girls continued eating. A few minutes later, Terra dropped her spoon into her bowl in disbelief.

"He still doesn't have a watch!"

A couple of hours later, 5 floors above, Mira was sitting on her couch, while watching anything that looked moderately interesting on her TV. At some point, a doorbell rung, making her frown and stand up. She lazily walked to the door and peeked through the peep hole. Behind her door stood an unfamiliar old man, who was dressed in clothes that seemed to be a little bit too fancy for every day wear. Cautious, she took a utility knife out of her drawer and placed it in her cardigan pocket. She opened the door as slowly as she could and was greeted with a smile.

After a few minutes, they were sitting on her couch and drinking tea, when the man decided it was time to get down to business. He placed his brightly colored mug on the coffee table and cleared his throat before turning to Mira.

"Now, you've greeted me like a friend without me having to tell you why I'm here, but I believe it is time to introduce myself. I am West Harwell, the king's advisor. He has sent me here-"

"Hold on, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt, but did you just say the king's advisor?"

"Yes- yes, indeed I did." He said firmly and Mira immediately sat up straight and fixed up her clothes. "Well, anyway, the king sent me to visit you, as he had an offer. His majesty has heard of your great skills in the law enforcement area, and ever since you put your personal feelings aside and helped with the arrest of Renee Fader, who we are well aware is your mother, it has been his wish that you would come to Level 10."

"Wait, what? Did I hear you right? To Level 10?"

"Yes, Level 10. You would receive all accommodation necessary and would be able to live there freely, plus move around the tower as much as you'd like."