To Laura’s relief, she rolls a two.
“Four years you have walked this Earth, now this number is but two. Each roll of the dice returns more of what you have lost.” Laura shrinks out of her clothes, hopefully for the final time. The man scoops up the dice and tucks them away behind the counter.
“First things first, we need to get you into a diaper,” the man says, picking Laura up and bringing her into the backroom where she’d changed herself earlier. He quickly and efficiently tapes a diaper onto Laura, just as she lets out a loud fart. Her bowels evacuate. “…And I need to get you into another one.” Laura blushes as he removes the diaper, wipes her down, and puts a fresh one on her. “There!”
The man grabs a diaper bag, picks up Laura, and leaves the shop. Laura is buckled into a car seat next to the booster seat she sat in earlier. They drive away.
At the man’s house, Laura is placed in a playpen until dinner, at which time she is spoonfed baby food and given a bottle of milk. Then the man gives her a bath, tapes a new diaper on her, and places her in a crib in his bedroom. Laura curls up and falls asleep immediately.
The next morning goes by in a blur, as the man wakes Laura up, changes her wet diaper, feeds her, puts her in a sundress, and then brings her to the car. When he checks on her diaper, he hums quietly to himself, visibly concerned, though Laura isn’t sure why.
At the store, Laura is placed in the playpen and given toys to occupy herself with. She spots a pacifier, pops it into her mouth, and suckles on it eagerly. Laura splits her time in the playpen playing with the toys, sleeping, and watching the customers in the shop. During lunch, Laura is given a bottle of milk and her wet diaper changed. The man looks more concerned than before when he changes her.
Just as Laura is finishing her bottle, the door to the shop opens. Two boys walk in, one about twelve or thirteen, and the other a little older than Laura. Despite being old enough to use training pants, the younger boy has a visible diaper bulge. The boys walk up to the counter.
“Hi, we had an issue with some dice,” says the older boy. The man sighs heavily. “We brought them with us.”
“Well, that’s good. I won’t be able to re-age you right away, however,” the man says. “Another dice victim is in a more difficult situation, one that takes priority.”
“Oh.” The older boy seems disappointed. “Um. What are we supposed to do, then?”
“You can stay with me until things get resolved for you. Give me your dice, and I’ll be able to work a spell that adjusts reality slightly so that no one will think oddly of the two of you being missing.” The boys place two dice cases onto the counter. The man tucks them into a pocket. “In the meantime, what are your names?”
“I’m Mason, and this is Chad,” the older boy says.
“The young lady over in the playpen is Laura,” the man says, nodding at Laura. “She’s the one whose situation takes priority over yours.”
“I can see why,” Mason says. Laura feels pressure building in her abdomen. Desperate to avoid visibly messing herself while she’s being watched, she pushes as hard as she can. Only a small fart comes out. Laura reluctantly gets to her feet and squats. She grunts loudly as she strains, her face turning red from effort. Chad points and laughs.
“She’s pooping!” he jeers. Laura’s face turns redder, but this time from embarrassment. The man frowns at Chad.
“You don’t seem to be in a situation to mock her,” he scolds. “You’re wearing a diaper.”
“That’s only ‘cause I was a bedwetter at this age and we couldn’t find training pants. I’m not going to mess myself,” Chad says confidently. The man’s frown deepens. He waves a hand. “I’m not some-” Chad suddenly squats. He lets out a loud fart. His face turns red.
“Looks like you need diapers after all, Chad,” the man says cheerfully. Chad stands straight again, his diaper visibly sagging. “It’s a shame, really, at your age, to still be messing yourself.” Mason chuckles. “Well, let’s get you changed.”
The man takes Chad’s hand and leads him over to the corner where the playpen and diaper bag are. He removes a changing pad, diaper, and wipes from the bag, then lays the changing pad on the floor. Laura and Mason watch as the man changes Chad’s diaper in front of them. Chad turns beet red from the humiliation.
By the time Chad has been changed into a fresh diaper, Laura’s messed her diaper. The man picks up Chad, wearing only a t-shirt and diaper, and places him in the playpen.
“Hey, what about my pants?” Chad demands.
“If you’re wearing pants, it’ll be more difficult to tell when you need a change,” the man replies. He picks Laura up and brings her into the backroom to be changed.
The rest of the day passes by quickly. Laura wets herself a few times, but avoids messing herself again, unlike Chad. After Chad yells at the man, he messes himself in front of multiple customers. Twice. Each time, the man asks a customer if they’d be willing to change Chad, which they do right there, without allowing Chad any privacy. Following this humiliation, Chad finally behaves. Mason stays out of the way and doesn’t interact with Laura or Chad.
Finally, the man closes the shop. He sighs loudly.
“Three children to watch while taking care of my shop…this won’t be easy.” He looks over at the playpen, where Chad and Laura are watching him silently. “Especially given that I have to make three aging cures.”
“Can you make it so I’m not pooping myself?” Chad asks. The man shakes his head. “Why not?”
“If I removed that spell, it might make it more difficult to remove the regression spell from the dice. You’re stuck in diapers until you’re back to your proper age.”
“By the way,” Mason pipes up, “where will we be staying?”
“Tonight, you’ll stay at my place, as will Laura.”
“What about the rest of the time we’re young?”