Queen Glitter sat in her throne room, a small grin on her face as she awaited her daughter. After hearing what Sarah said, as well as sensing the magic that was used, she knew how this would turn out. The only question was when the pair would arrive.
"Mommy!"
Glitter turned, stifling a small laugh as she gazed at her six year old daughter and friend. Despite the potency of the magic, Aoloa still remembered the passage she often took when entering the castle. Both girls gazed at Glitter in wide eyed wonderment. Dressed only in t-shirts that rested knee high, the two girls offered Glitter an embarrassed smile. "Why hello girls," Glitter smiled. "What's happened to you?"
"We got little mommy," Sarah stated, the young girl brushing her brunette hair behind her ear. Glitter nodded, noting her daughters youthful mannerisms and speech. This was the results she expected. "Can you help us Qween Gwitter," Aoloa lisped. A warm smile spread across the Queen's face, Aoloa’s lisp was truly endearing. "Of course little ones." she said warmly.
Slowly approaching the pair, Glitter could see their small innocent eyes go wide in shock. The pair of girls shocked at the size discrepancy between them. Taking their tiny hands in hers, Glitter now led the pair to her bedroom, feeling the girls squeeze her hand for safety.
Entering the bedroom, Glitter led the tiny six year olds towards her bed, pausing for a moment. "Up you go," she said, reaching down and hoisting the girls onto her bed. Obviously both Aoloa and Sarah were shocked by this, Glitter picking them up like small children and sitting them on her bed. As they glanced down at their tiny feet, they realized they would not have been able to sit here without assistance. "So," Glitter asked, grabbing a chair so she could sit in front of the girls. "I take it their was some complications with the spell?"
"We keep getting littler mommy," Sarah replied. "The spell I cast isn't stopping." Glitter nodded, turning to Aoloa. The young Hawaiian girls bare feet rhythmically drumming against the bed. "Aoloa you weren't able to reverse the spell?" she asked. Aoloa shook her head no, the girl looking as if she might cry. "I can't remember," she said softly. "It getting harder and harder to think like a big girl." Glitter nodded, a warm motherly smile spreading across her face.
"I anticipated this," she said softly. "When Sarah described the spell, I was almost certain this would be the result." Aoloa and Sarah's jaws dropped, the pair of first graders surprised to hear this. "The spell Sarah performed can be quite difficult," she said. "Especially for someone who is only beginning to understand our ways."
"I sowwy Qween Gwitter," Aoloa sniffed. "I shouda told Sarah no." Glitter smiled, stroking the young girl's hair, soothing her. "It's not your fault Aoloa," she said softly. "Mistakes happen and it gave you two a chance to bond with one another."
"You not mad mommy?" Sarah asked in astonishment. "Of course not," Glitter smiled. "I anticipated this result from your first time experimenting with magic. The good news is the spell isn't permanent. You will both grow back up when the spell runs its course. By this time tomorrow, you two will be back to your old selves." Sarah and Aoloa sighed with relief, Sarah's magic wasn't permanent. It was only a matter of time before they would begin growing up again. "Unfortunately," Glitter added. "The spell isn't over yet."
Sarah and Aoloa now cast Glitter a concerned look. As they were about to speak, they gasped as another year fell away leaving them only five. "Mommy I'm getting littler," the five year old Sarah exclaimed, noting the neck-hole of her shirt rested on her shoulders. "Are we gonna be babies?!"
Glitter nodded, the two girls eyes growing wide in shock as they turned to one another. Both Sarah and Aoloa’s faces were round and childish, their hair thinning as they grew younger. Their tiny bodies growing softer as baby fat returned as they inched closer to toddler hood. "I dun wanna be a baby," Aoloa whined. "I big girl!"
Glitter soothed the pair, seeing that neither one was thrilled with the idea of a return to infancy. Reaching out, the fairy queen tickled the two girls as they shrank back to age four. The two girls squealing with laughter. "It's okay little ones," she said softly. "You both will be okay. I'll take care of you and it's only temporary." Picking both girls up, she now carried them across the room, letting them stand for a moment as they gazed in wonder at the now gigantic fairy queen. Glitter could only smile, watching the pair shrink once more, becoming only three years of age.
"The spell is almost over," she said softly, letting the tiny girls wrap hands around her finger as they walked. "When the spell ends, you two will take a nap and when you wake up, you'll get to grow up together."
"We get to grow up together?" Sarah said in awe. "Yes sweetie," Glitter replied. "Obviously Aoloa means a lot to you, so now you both get to enjoy a brief return to the beginning and make memories that will last a lifetime." Sarah nodded, the little girl realizing that in essence she and Aoloa would grow up as one, cramming a life time of memories into a single day. In a way, she was taking a crash course on a childhood best friend.
"I'm scared," Aoloa whimpered. "I dint wanna be a baby. You gonna be mad." Glitter shook her head no, picking up the small child and squeezing her in a hug. "I could never be mad at you Aoloa," she said warmly. "You care for my daughter. So much so that you willingly allowed her to cast this spell. When you were older, you could of reversed it, but you didn't."
"I dint think I be baby," she grumbled, her thumb now finding it's way into her mouth. "I know," Glitter smirked. "But look at it this way. You and Sarah will grow up together over the next 24 hours. How many people can say they got to grow up from the cradle with their best friend?" Aoloa paused, despite her mind feeling a bit muddled, she understood what Queen Glitter was saying. She adored Sarah and for the next 24 hours, the pair would experience growing up together.
Placing the two girls down, Glitter watched as they went from three to two. The pair of toddlers, wobbling on unsteady legs as they stared at one another. "You my best friend," Sarah lisped, hugging Aoloa. "I luv ewe."
"I wuv ewe too," Aoloa replied, flashing a smile at Sarah. Glitter could only grin as months melted off the pair of toddlers. As the inched closer to a year in age, Glitter watched them wobble before they fell onto their butts, the two babbling to one another as they hit their first birthday and passed it in reverse. Slowly the infant girls crawled next to eachother, until crawling itself became too difficult. Now the pair of infants huddled near one another, flashing toothless grins from their infantile mouths before falling into a blissful slumber.
Glitter could only sigh, her heart melting at the adorable scene. Conjuring forth a crib and a onesie for the girls to wear, she laid them next to one another. As Glitter looked at the infant Sarah, she picked her up for a moment and cradled her in her arms.
"You may not know it, but this was also a little gift for me. I missed seeing so much of your life growing up. There wasn't a single day I never thought of you, to see you crawl, to see you walk. I wish I could have seen your ups and your downs, but I never regretted letting Jon and Annie raise you, I loved them like family. Annie was the sister I never knew I wanted and Jon....your father...." Glitter shed a few tears before wiping them away.
"I'm proud of how you grew up, and I'll enjoy seeing you grow up into the beautiful, strong woman I'm happy to know again. You're my daughter, my world, my Sarathea. I love you, my little princess and I always will." Glitter finished before kissing her on the forehead before setting her down again in the crib with Sarah's hand on Aoloa.
After a short nap, the girls would find themselves toddlers once more as they began the trek to adulthood. Hopefully the memories of the next 24 hours would last them a lifetime.