"It's burnt again, Camilla! Stop dreaming and focus!", the young girl nodded as she continued chopping the vegetables.

Growing up in the family business had its perks, but the yelling wasn't part of it. She hated it, she hated the pressure and the heat and- she grimaced as the knife slipped off the plump tomato into her fingers.

"Camilla! Be careful!", her sister ran over and held a towel against her finger. "You need to watch out.".

Sofia led her younger sister to the emergency kit. Her brisk and efficient work managed to leave Camilla speechless countless times thanks to the abundance of grace she mustered. "You need to stop dreaming, Camilla. I know you don't handle the stress well and I'll tell ma and pa to go easy on you, ok?"

Sofia had been the mature, perfect sister all her life and on this day, Camilla despised it.
"No.", she gritted her teeth, "I can handle this myself. The knife was too blunt, it shouldn't have slipped off something as delicate as a tomato. I will sharpen the knives after work, don't worry about it."
Her sister sighed, "If you could handle it, I wouldn't be mending your wound right now."

Camilla looked away in shame and pouted. She knew Sofia was right. As always.
She yanked her hand away and walked back towards the kitchen and stopped in the doorway. "Thanks for the plaster, but I can do this myself."


She grinned when she heard the last staff member leave the restaurant. This only meant one thing, she was alone. She pulled out all the knives and tossed her whetstone into the sink. Time to sharpen these knives. It always felt therapeutic to stand in the dim kitchen, grinding away at the blunt edges. Cold water soaked up her fresh plaster, the whetstone bubbles away under the stream of water. Camilla sighed in relief as she dried off the last utensil and placed it back in its intended spot. The moon reflected off the blades, light dancing around the unlit room.

Once she finished closing everything off, Camilla looked up at the gloomy sky. The night sky was bare, apart from a single bright star shining. She shut her eyes and inhaled the city air. It wasn't fresh and lush, but better than other places in the world.

She stared back at the star and smiled. Wouldn't it be fun to leave everything? Just start from nothing in a new country?

She listed her skills as she walked through the lit streets. What was she good at? Her parents had never encouraged Sofia or her at anything other than helping in the restaurant. In fact, Sofia shocked the entire family when she told them she would become a doctor. The star of the family and oldest child didn't want to take over the old family establishment. After one daughter left, all the work plummeted onto Camilla. She couldn't go off to become a vet or an author or an artist or whatever her heart desired. She had to take over the family business.

Camilla plopped onto a bench by the pitch-black, wide river and stared off into the distance. Thoughts of falling into the dark depths and vanishing from the world or worse, a giant squid passing by made her shiver.

Once again, she pondered, what was she good at? Pastries? Anything with carbs seemed to work. Desserts also were one of her favourite things to prepare.

The short girl sighed and leaned back, her long dark brown bangs dangled off the back of the bench. All these years and all she seemed to excel at was cooking. Her interests vanished slowly as the restaurant became the main priority. Although cooking undoubtedly was her passion, being forced to help out daily didn't encourage her in any way.

The dark haired girl sat back in defeat. Maybe she could make her other joys her job? Reading? Playing games? Writing? She knew she either wasn't good enough to make it or there was no way she could make it a job. A taste tester? She had helped with selecting ingredients, she could taste what ingredients were in a dish, her nose was rather sensitive as well and to top all that off, she would get to eat copious amounts of delicious food. This clearly was the best and least taxing job she could think of.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. The young girl slipped it out and took a look at the daunting display name. It was her mother, probably wondering where her daughter was. "Camilla? Are you still in the restaurant? How long do you need to sharpen a couple knives?"

"I'm taking a walk."

"Well get back soon, I've been talking to Sofia about your recent behaviour."

Camilla rolled her eyes so far, she was concerned they'd get stuck.

"Well? How long will you need?"

"Give me an hour."

Before her ma could freak out on the other end, she hung up and ignored any further calls. She needed some peace.

She gritted her teeth when she thought about Sofia. She always got into her business, even when told not to. Sometimes it felt like this had only been the case when it would get Camilla in trouble and leave Sofia looking like the mature one. Maybe it was true? Sofia was older and had more experience in life after all.

"Damn it." Camilla knew she would get an earful when she got home, especially after hanging up. She kicked the bench in frustration and yelped in pain. I hate this. I hate everything. She wanted to scream, to shout, but mostly, to cry.


"You have been absolutely shameful lately!"

Camilla stared at the ground as her mother yelled at her.

"You're making more and more mistakes in the kitchen! Burning food! Chopping things too coarsely! Sometimes making little food experiments and then serving them to our guests! Worst of all, you've been daydreaming even more than usual and then you dare speak back and hang up!"

"Hmm."

"I expect an apology! And don't think Sofia will protect you any longer! She told me about today. She helps you and all you do is snap at her?"

Camilla glared at Sofia, who sat next to their mother. Minding her own business, staring at her phone.

"I did not snap at her."

"What? Is that all you have to say?"

"I'm sorry for hanging up and for trying new things, but I did not snap at Sofia. And I would like it if you could come directly to me next time, instead of gossiping to each other."

Sofia looked up from her phone and smiled. "Well, things just came up. Am I not allowed to speak to my own mother anymore?"

Camilla clenched her fists in frustration. "You can if you leave me out of the discussion. I am sick of you and your stupid-."

"Well, Camilla.", her mother paused and looked over at Sofia, "We're sick of your behaviour as well. If it's too much for you to handle, we don't want your help."

Too much to handle. This was Sofia's work.

"But how am I supposed to take over the restaurant?"

"We've discussed this with your father. He agrees that you might not be fit. In fact, Sofia actually knows a friend who will take over your spot. He seems to be level-headed and actually went to a culinary school."

"So.", Camilla swallowed the knot in her throat, "You are replacing me?"

Her mother seemed upset but decisive. "We think it's for your best. Don't think we didn't notice your grades slipping as well."

"That's because I've been closing the place for a couple years. I'm hardly getting any sleep after working all day and going to school."

"If you can't handle-"

"Stop saying that! I can handle this and I will! Stop making choices for me! You two have been meddling in my life for too long, I want to be able to make a choice for once!"

"We are doing what we think will be best for you."

"What's best for me?", the young girl scoffed, "You've been doing what's best for your business!"

"Let me finish, Camilla.", her mother took a deep breath.

"Your sister's friend happens to have been from a culinary school in Japan. He actually recommended it to me and that's why-."

Camilla stared at her with wide open eyes. She knew what was about to happen. Her eyes watered as her mother finished her sentence.

We want you gone.

We want Sofia.

We don't need you.

Camilla, we want you to pack your things and attend the Tōtsuki Tea Ceremony and Cooking Academy.


After swallowing her pride and settling down for the night, Camilla insisted on meeting the new head chef of the Golden Deer. Who was she up against? Was he truly better than her or was that culinary school just some overblown place for rich kids?

The room fell silent when the door opened and two people entered. The first was Sofia, her beaming smile lit up the room, even more than usual. Camilla's eye twitched when she was her sister's fingers interlaced with that man's. He was tall, undoubtedly over six feet. His raven hair and piercing blue eyes sent chills down her back. The young girl went frigid when she spotted the engagement band on her older sister's ring finger.
This was why she was so happy to introduce him.

"Everyone, meet James, my fiancé and future head chef of the Golden Deer!"
Their mother just stared in shock. Sofia usually told them everything about her partners, how come she never mentioned James before?

He had an arrogant vibe and a sly smirk. "It's a pleasure to meet the family of my beloved."
The room felt cold as soon as he had entered it. His sinister smile battled the radiance of Sofia's smile. They were so different, apart from their dark hair and yet Camilla could see her sister was in love and so was he.

"The pleasure is ours, James. Welcome to the family.", their mother spoke first, "This is Camilla."

His arrogant gaze landed on Camilla. "I see, it's wonderful to meet the former chef. I've heard a lot of positive things about you. In fact, Sofia only spoke about you most of the time."

Camilla looked at Sofia, who nodded briefly. "I see."

"I hope you won't mind me taking over the kitchen while you are abroad. I promise I will look after it."

Camilla smiled weakly, "You better, otherwise I'll just return right away."

He laughed and nodded, "Who knows, maybe you'll return sooner than you'd expect. It isn't easy to graduate at that school, you know."

The young girl just smiled and shrugged, "You don't need to worry about me. Focus on keeping this place open while I'm away.", she crossed her arms, "And treat my family well."

"I'll do my best."

Camilla glared at the giant, who practically towered over her. "How about you cook the most popular dish on the menu? Show us those culinary school skills. I'll even let you use your own recipe.", she muttered smugly.

He swiftly stripped off his suit jacket and threw it over a chair, "I'll give it my best shot. Tafelspitz, was it?".
Within an hour he served her the dish and sat down. "Go on, give it a taste, Camilla."

The intense beef fragrance alone felt like a punch to her gut. Each bite felt like another jab, but she couldn't stop. It felt so light and yet she felt perfectly full and content as soon as she lowered her cutlery. It was truly impressive.

The young chef stared at her empty dish in disbelief. She knew it right there. She was inferior.