The white stain or dye, she couldn't tell exactly what it was, and could only hope that it worked for the best, was taken out. Pulling out the flash of water, she shivered as she poured atop her head. Taking the sheep shears she had procured from the market as well, she took a deep breath.

The first cut of the sleek brown hair gave her courage to continue. When finished, the extremely uneven pieces almost stood on end, shorter than a woman would dare where her hair these days.

Next she took out the stain that would normally be used on clothes . . . but she had other ideas. Flipping her head upside down she meticulously rubbed the stain throughout the spiky tufts of brown.

She waited until she could stand it no longer, and quickly rinsed the remaining amount out, trying to ease the pain of her burning scalp. She couldn't see the results, but she didn't have to guess that it would be somewhere between bleach blonde and golden. Removing the rest of her clothes, she quietly entered the stream just over the ridge, the main reason she had chosen this spot. Her teeth chattered as she washed herself clean of the cinammon flecks of hair that still clung to her skin. Getting out from the pond, she saw her reflection in the pond . . . turning she studied the work done.

Even she couldn't recognize herself, but still she was almost certaint the green eyes would give her away. Her hair was nearly spiked, even in the water it nearly stood on end, the faint scars that traced up her arms could be covered easily enough, and as long as she often hid the bright green eyes that she couldn't change without another's help with magic, she was sure she could accomplish what she intended. Her common features would also allow her to blend in better than had she been beautiful. Turning from the pond she quickly dried herself off with her cloak, but not before realizing the dark blue material had been stained by her careless actions . . . the dye had gotten on the garment earlier, and now was splotched with varying shades of white and gold. She almost wailed, but instead tossed it into the sack that she had brought along. Retrieving the dark ruby cloak that had cost her all of her saved money, she shrugged it on . . . immediately feeling the oddness of the new fabric. It didn't suit her, that much she knew instantly but instead she didn't pay attention to it as much. Rounding up the odd tid bits she had scattered about in the past hour.

Just as quietly as she had come, she left.