Aurora was released earlier than normal by her teacher. She returned to her chamber in the castle to get ready for her journey.
She sat down on a stool in front of a bronze mirror with a pair of scissors in her hand as she cut her hair.
"I said you won't be coming with me," Aurora told her maid who was bent on following her. "It is not a place for a child. If it was, I would have gone long ago and not wait this long," Aurora continued to persuade the young maiden.
"I know but I am not a child. I am a young woman and I can do anything you ask me to do," Helen tried to find a way to persuade her mistress instead of getting persuaded.
"That is exactly what I am doing now. I am giving you an order to stay here. You are free to live your life the way you want as soon as I leave but don't get an abusive master, okay?
"You could open a little garment store where you can use your gift of making garments to use," Aurora decided to give Helen other options she had rather than following her to her death.
"Please, let me come along with you. I was very young when I began working for you and I don't think I have a life without you," Helen said as she fell on her knees before Aurora and began begging more seriously when she noticed Aurora was unbending.
"Quit begging, Helen. I know I have held you with me for too long that is why I should let you go now," Aurora told her seriously as she continued to cut her hair.
"You know they will kill you afterwards, right?" Helen asked grimly. "I will never see you again when you leave," Helen said as she began sobbing as her slim body frame shook.
"Helen, I don't want you to delay my departure, okay? I have to leave the gates of the city before dawn. Get the bath ready with what Darlene gave you," Aurora ordered coldly and made up her mind not to mind the girl anymore since she does not have enough time.
Hearing the coldness in her master's voice, Helen stood up and dragged her feet to the table where a bowl filled with something the witch ordered her to put in her master's bathing water. There were a lot of flowers she had never seen and many herbs.
The smell that she perceived from the items in the wooden bowl she was now holding gave her a cool smell. She did as her master ordered her to as she watched her master cut off the very hair she grew to love so much.
When the bath was ready, her master had cut hair to a shoulder length from its usual waist length. She gasped when her master's golden eyes met hers. "How did you do this?"
"I don't know what you are talking about," Aurora told her as she glanced at her reflection on the mirror which showed her as a beautiful young boy. She smiled knowing fully well that her teacher had played a very big role in making this happen.
"How is this possible? How could you look so much like a boy?" Helen asked as she stared with her mouth agape.
"I think Darlene did it," Aurora looking at the strange face in the mirror. This boy looked so much like her but she did not know that the cup of concoction that was given to her by her teacher was strong enough to really make her look like a boy. Her teacher told her it was a disguise.
She was not sure of what the disguise would be. She thought it will make her look like an old woman or something else after drinking it but when she got back to her room and look at her reflection on the mirror, she was confused because she still looked at beautiful as she has always been.
That made her very confused but since she had already decided to disguise herself like a boy, she decided to go on with that plan.
She had cut off her hair only to find out that her facial appearance immediately took the appearance of a boy which is really amazing.
"Wow, how did she make you look like a boy. You were clearly a girl when you returned," Helen said with her mouth remaining ajar afterwards.
"Yes, I am also surprised. She has such a very good gift," Aurora said impressed as she raised her hand and touched her face.
Her face had sharper features that made her look very much like a boy however, below she was a woman. Her chest was still full and she still had her curvy shape.
She glanced at the set of male garments she had prepared for her departure and nodded, with that, she will totally look like a boy.
She smiled and walked to the bathing tub that her maid had filled up with water and a lot of flowers and herbs were floating on the surface of the water.
She sighed as she settled comfortable into the large bathing tub. It was a gift to her uncle from one of the nearby kings. It was given to him after his first birthday.
The bathing tub is really large that two people could cuddle in it comfortably. It must have been very heavy because it was transport from miles away from the city.
All the women in the king's palace except Aurora who was not paying any attention to the gifts brought to her uncle despite being present in the banquet.
The bathing tub was taken to her chamber at the end of the day. She was very happy about that because it was a lot more comfortable that the wooden tub she had.
It was carved out of one of the three legendary rocks of a people who had their lands taken away from them by the king who offered it to her uncle.
It was said that the rock was worshipped in the past by those people. Aurora only felt it was good for her to bath and did not bother herself with the stories behind it.
The gentle touch she felt from the water against her skin was one of the most beautiful feelings she could feel at this moment when her death was less than a month away from her.
She was asked to soak in the water for an hour to masks her scent. She was not offended by the scent that filled her nose rather it have a very nice calming effect, different from what she expected.
There was a gentle knock on the door and Helen left to the door.