Day of the Competition

Crushed by the results, Mira turned around and was about to leave the tavern as she heard a commotion. Some of the judges were shocked at the result. Hearing the commotion, one of the maids came over to the presenter and apologized. Apparently some numbers got mixed up. This was both the numbers of points as well as whom they were actually allocated to.

"I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience. And I am also sorry for Thomas, if he is here. The one that actually got the right to enter the competition is Mira."

Not sure what had happened, Mira heard someone call out in anger, "This is not fair! How come my cake did not win in the last second? I was about to celebrate. This is outrageous."

"I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience." The presenter said. However this was not enough, as the one start to make more ruckus, before the guards finally stepped in and dragged him out of the room.

Seeing the guy being dragged past her, Mira finally got back to her senses. "Did she just say that I got to the final round?" She asked herself in a low voice. Not being sure, she asked the presenter if she could repeat what just happened.

Hearing a confirmation that she got to the next round, she burst into tears as she happily rushed over to the presenter and hugged her firmly.

Being put in an awkward position, the presenter hugged her a bit, before she tried to escape from the grip. Feeling some resistance, Mira got back to herself and let go of the presenter, before apologizing for her behavior.

…

After the competition was over, she received her plate before heading back home. On the way back Mira could not help herself from smiling and enjoying the beautiful day and night.

Arriving home, Mira told the story to her mother with excitement. She still could not believe that she passed the preliminary round. The look on her mother's face was also bright. She also was exited for Mira. However, her face turned serious when Mira mentioned the presentation of the food.

"Now I think about it, we did not do anything concerning the presentation. It is indeed lucky that it happened in the preliminary round rather than the final competition. So starting tomorrow, we will train again on improving your skills. So be ready." Mira's mother said with a serious face.

They still had another 3 days to prepare for the final competition day. So in these 3 days, they would make a few more products and also focus on the presentation. Another idea that popped up was to attend the other preliminary rounds in order to also get some inspiration from other participants.

…

The following days passed by quickly. During these days, Mira trained with her mother on improving her skills. The money that she saved up was getting used up at a quick phase. She even had to borrow some bits from her neighbors who had heard that Mira made it to the final round of the competition. With their help, they were able to secure enough ingredients to train till the final day.

During this time, to make up a bit of their losses, they decided to sell some of the pastries and also raise money with that. Every day more and more people started to come by to get something delicious to eat for cheap as well as support Mira on her endeavor.

Other than training, Mira spent the majority of her time watching others compete and also get inspiration from them. She was even able to mimic one of the delicacies that were presented. Building up her resolve and understanding about cooking, she started to feel more confident in herself.

The last thing that had happened during these few days was that she got into contact with the rats again. However, this time they were not able to touch her, as she started to get more known in the area. Even her previous boss, the brothel owner, was reluctant to corner her. Instead he came with an offer. Until the competition ends, the rats would not touch her. However she had to pay them 5 gold. With that Mira would be able to buy out her freedom from the rats. Without any though Mira accepted quickly.

With that, it was finally the day that the competition would start. Mira woke up early as she was taken over by her excitement. Getting herself ready, she decided to dress up in the best possible cloths she could find. Living in the slums, she had not many cloths, however she was still able to get something passable.

Even her mother, who would normally feel weak and not have much power to move, got taken by the excitement. "Why are you up and dressed? Shouldn't you rest?" Mira asked when she saw her mother dressed up waiting for Mira at the door.

"I would never want to miss today, even if it was my last day." Her mother said with a gentle smile.

Not being able to argue with her, she nodded her head and smiled back. With that the two exited the building.

…