“You’re too darn cute to get re-aged!” Ashlee cooed. Laura stared at her. “I’ve wanted a child of my own for a very long time now, but I’m unable to bear children. With your exposure to magic and your cuteness, you’re just what I’ve been looking for!”
“What?” Laura squeaked.
“A witch can’t have a child that is unable to use magic. But since you’ve been exposed to and shaped by magic in such a major way, you’ll be able to cast spells of your own once you reach twelve.” Ashlee pulled Laura onto her lap. “Of course, that won’t happen for ten years.”
“Eight,” Laura corrected instinctively. Ashlee raised an eyebrow. “I’m four.”
“You’re four. I thought you were two.” Ashlee shrugged. “That’s easy enough to fix.” She snapped her fingers. Laura’s dice appeared on the table, then rolled. “Snake eyes. Perfect.”
“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 shrunk further, to a chubby two-year-old.
“Aw, you’re even cuter than you were before!” Ashlee gushed. “Now, to keep those dice from being naughty…” She clenched her hand into a fist and slammed it onto the dice, turning them into powder.
“The die has been rolled, your age has been cast, enjoy what has been returned to you,” the voice of the dice whispered. Laura swallowed nervously.
“Okay. Dice destroyed. You’re two. Hmm, you need some better-fitting clothes,” Ashlee said. She snapped her fingers again. Laura’s clothes, now too big for her, were replaced with a soft, pink onesie and a thick disposable diaper. “That’s better.” Ashlee cocked her head. “Were you potty-trained at two? Do you know?” Laura opened her mouth, but before she could respond, Ashlee laughed. “Never mind, it doesn’t matter. I like how cute diapers are on kids your age, so…” She snapped her fingers again. “There! Potty training gone!”
“You evil bi-” Laura started. Ashlee snapped her fingers. A pink pacifier appeared in Laura’s mouth.
“Ah-ah. No naughty words from my little girl,” Ashlee scolded playfully. She frowned. “Actually, I should fix that, too.” She snapped her fingers yet again. Laura shuddered, feeling the effects immediately. She wasn’t sure what had changed, but she could tell something had. “I don’t want you to be a mindless little girl, but I don’t want you attracting attention, either. Your mind and memories remain, honey, and at home, you can talk and read and have all your other skills still. Except for your potty training and walking, of course. Those are too cute to get rid of. But outside home or around other people, you’ll lose all those skills. You’ll still be the same person, but restricted the same way someone your age normally would be.”
“Why?” Laura whined around her pacifier. Ashlee embraced her tightly.
“Because I need to make sure my baby is exactly what I want!” she cooed. “Which means that I need to make one other change…”
Laura suckled nervously on the pacifier, terrified of what final change was in store for her.