Rusty whined loudly.
“I know,” Marcia said. “I come.” She didn’t have much time to follow the being before the trail went cold, so she had to move fast. Setting the doll that Christine had been turned into on her tray, Marcia went to unbuckle herself from the booster seat. To her horror, her fingers, pudgy with baby fat, didn’t cooperate. It was like she no longer had any fine motor skills.
Rusty whined again.
“I no get out!” Marcia shouted, still desperately trying to free herself from the booster seat. It was no use. She was trapped. Marcia burst into tears.
“What’s going on in here?” a voice asked. Marcia hurriedly wiped her face and turned to look. The butler had returned. “Where’s Lady Christine?” Marcia silently held up the doll. The butler walked over and took the doll from her. “Ah.” He sighed. “I see things have escalated further.”
“What you know?” Marcia asked suspiciously. The butler removed her tray and unbuckled her from the booster seat.
“Everything, Marcia. Lady Christine kept the truth from the rest of the staff, but as the head of staff and her personal friend, I was informed of who you and your doggy friend over there are, as well as the extent of Lady Christine’s curse.”
“What name?”
“Matthew Black. Usually, I prefer to be called Matthew or Mr. Black, but judging by your speaking ability, things have escalated for you as well, and both options might be difficult for you to get your mouth around. You may call me Matt.”
“Matt.”
“Yes.” Matt set Marcia on the floor, then walked to the other end of the room. He crouched down, holding his arms out. “Walk to me, please, Marcia.” Confused, Marcia did as she was told, awkwardly toddling over. However, halfway across the room, without warning, her legs buckled under her and she fell onto her padded butt. “Hmm.”
“What happen?” Marcia whispered. Matt came back to her.
“I saw you struggling with the booster seat and had my suspicions about your motor skills. Those suspicions have been proven. One last thing. Read this for me, please.” Matt pulled a note out of his pocket and held it in front of Marcia. She squinted, but couldn’t make sense of the squiggles on the paper.
“No read.”
“That’s what I thought.” Matt put the note back in his pocket. “Your mind is still intact, but your skills have been fully regressed to match your body. For all intents and purposes, you are a two-year-old.”
“Two?”
“Roughly, yes.” Matt picked Marcia up and propped her on one hip, then handed her the Christine doll. “Hold onto Lady Christine, please.” Matt next went over to Rusty and took a hold of his leash.
“Where go?”
“I need to talk to the rest of the staff about what has happened.”
“What say?” Marcia asked timidly.
“I’m going to…”