"You was one slow maturing child!" her mother had said to her when she was on her death-bed. "It took you a full five years before you had the appearance of a two year old and another ten before you looked like a seven year old."
That was the quote from her mother that she remembered well at this very moment in time as she brought her hands up to her face and examined them. No more than five minutes before they had been the hands of someone in their thirties, the rest of her body had also looked like she was in her thirties. Now, after her father's spell, she saw herself as no more than five years old. Normally, she would have started yelling her opinion out or putting up a fight, but she was too preoccupied with checking herself out in her five-year old child form to say anything. It had been so long since she was this age. Surprisingly, it wasn't her that made the first words or start fussing over her appearance, it was her sister who was two places in front of her.
"Daddy!" her sister said, in shock. "I can't be this age again! I'm married... I'm..."
"Silence child!" their father said sternly. "You will stay this age until I see change."
"How old are we anyways?" her brother asked.
Looking over to her far left, she got her first look at her sister who was now biting her bottom lip. Her sister had long silver hair that was held up in twin cones by red ribbon. She was wearing a real big brown dress with gold embroidery on the front, a large Madonna-style bra hung loosely from her dress. The frill that was around her dress was mostly dark brown with gold-embroidered triangles on it, there was a ruffle around the frill of indigo blue. A headband was around her head, it was embroidered with gold swirls and had a red dot in the center, a light brown strap ran from the headband down and around her jaw. Her sister had brown eyes, light purple lipstick on her lips and light purple eye shadow and long purple nails. She had a large ruby ring on her left hand that looked much too big for her finger and she had high heels on her feet. There was a staff at her feet, it was long and ended in a hollow circle with a full red circle inside.
"You're seven years old son." their father said. "Rita is nine while Angel is five."
"Not my awkward age!" Rita exclaimed. "Daddy you have to change me back! I'm married and have a planet to conquer!"
"Your awkward age?" their brother said putting emphasis on the your. "At least when I was grown I had some bone mass on me. I look like I need to lift some weights and run some miles to put the muscle back on."
Angel's head turned towards the sibling between her and Rita, he looked like he had stepped out of a horror movie. Her brother, Rito was his name, was very awkward looking. His bones were thin, not muscle on them as they had had on them when he was fully grown and the belt that was around his waist had slipped down to his large feet. A sword of bone lay off to the side, Angel doubted if he could pick it up, hs body looked so frail and fragile to her. One side of his body was light gray in color while the other was camouflaged, he had loose bands of green around his wrists.
"It took me ten years to get to this age..." Angel said, her voice was very squeaky and youthful.
"Dad! Change us back!" Rita exclaimed, she walked over, near tripping on her dress, and knelt down on the first step. "It's Angel that you should have changed into this form not all of us. Rito and I have and will always respect you, we've never disrespected you."
"Don't make me angry, Rita." their father sighed. "I did what I did and I'm glad I did it. You three are children now, and will remain so until I see you are truly ready for adulthood."
Angel looked up, their father was sitting in a wooden chair that was golden painted with bright red cushions, the arms ending in snake heads with ruby eyes. A red carpet ended right in front of the chair, it went all the way across the immense room that they were all in. The walls and ceiling were black, a line of gray separating them, and the floor, when the mist dissipated, was of the darkest blue almost black in color, the floor was marble. One the walls were torches, two torches on three-legged torch holders stood in front of the steps and an incense vase stood over near the first step, smoke rose from it. Surrounding her father's chair were four white spiral pillars, there were two others in the room and they were behind her, they marked the entrance of the room.
Their father had been very tall even in their adult forms, now that they were in their child-forms he looked like a giant. He stood a full seven feet tall, he wore black robes with a flowing black cape, on his feet were black, shiny shoes. Over his shoulders he had on a dark blue shoulder guard, two snake heads were near his chin, they nipped at his jaw whenever he spoke in a playful manner. Over his chest was a gold breast-plate, with aqua blue and red accents, that went down to his waist, a tassel of white fur and a thin gold chain hung from it. He had light gold and blue gloves on his hands, they stretched from his long nailed fingers to his elbows.
"You selfish bastard!" Angel screamed in his youthful, squeaky voice. "You changed me into this form to try to gain control and decided to bring them into the mixture just for the hell of it!"
"Young lady watch your language!" her father replied sternly. "Your only warning."
"You think that this is going to change anything?" Angel yelled. "I'll still fight and escape from this hell-hold! I'll still..."
Angel had no chance to get the rest out, her father suddenly stood up and walked over to her and slapped her across the face with his open palm. She screamed and jumped back, her hand pressed against her cheek. Looking up, she took in further what her father looked like. He had long ear-like appendages on both sides of his head, his head was equally split in color; one side dark blue with the other being gold. His eyes were golden-yellow with black pupils, he wore a pair of dark blue-tinted glasses, he had good keen eyesight but he wore them to shape up his appearance. His ear-like appendages were striped like a Tiger, the stripes were black on a gold base. When he opened his mouth she saw that he had sharp little canines on both the upper and lower set of teeth.
"How dare you!" Angel whispered in a low hiss.
"What was that young lady?" her father asked.
"You have no right to put your hands on me!" Angel screamed.
"Daddy you have to change me back!" Rita exclaimed, she thrust herself forward until she was at her father's feet. "I can't be away from Zeddy, he'll be wondering what's up and..."
His nostrils flaring, he bent down and grabbed Rita by her wrists and gently pulled her to her feet. She pulled her wrists from his hands then fell back down, weeping heavily and saying that she missed her husband. Angel watched the sight in front of her in stunned silence, their father was simply standing in place, not doing a thing, not trying to sooth his oldest daughter who was very upset. Looking over to the left, she saw that their brother, Rito, had decided to take a short walk away from the steps to their father's throne. A sudden sound and yell made her turn her attention back to her sister, who was holding her hand up to her cheek.
"All three of you will remain in this form until I see that you are ready for your adult selves." their father said sternly. "Lynster!"
A dark brown furred Scottish Terrier/Rat creature suddenly ran into the throne room, he was wearing a red uniform with a white apron over top, the left shoulder strap had come undone and was just flapping loosely. The fur that was around the creatures eyes and on the edge of his muzzle was gray, his nose rose gently up, it ended roundly. His eyes were bright blue, very beautiful to look at. When he reached his Master he dropped to one knee, bowing deeply.
"Yes, my Master." the creature named Lynster said.
"Take my three children to their chambers." their father ordered. "Have them all changed into proper attire that fits them for their age. They are not to leave their chambers until supper time."
"I will comply with thee wishes O' Vile one." Lynster responded.
Lynster very gently lifted Rita to her feet then turned and beckoned for Rito and Angel to follow. When he passed Angel and she didn't follow him he turned back and grabbed her arm gently in his furred hand. Angel was looking at her father, anger deep within her eyes. Lynster walked forward and wrapped his arms around the younger version of his Master's youngest daughter and gently picked her up. The Master's youngest daughter was a real beauty, he knew well that she, in her adult form, would be a knock out, a real gorgeous girl. Her long fiery red hair fell back to the middle of her back, her skin lightly tanned. She had very unique eyes; emerald-green with golden-yellow around the tiny black pupils. Of the three offspring of his Master, his youngest had inherited some of the color of his eyes.
"I will make you pay dearly for this!" Angel hissed at her father. "You watch your back from now on."
Lynster carried the younger form of his Master's youngest daughter out of the throne room quickly, behind him followed the other two children of his Master. He still heard the sobs of the oldest daughter, he knew it would be hard for the three of them but he also knew his Master well and that if he had changed them from their adult forms to a child form it had to be for a good reason. The young child in his arms didn't fight him, she did have her small hands on his but that was all. She was wearing a simple red robe with gold embroidery, it was much too big for her small body.
"I can't go up the stairs!" Rito exclaimed when Lynster finally reached the spiraling staircase that ran all the way up to the top room of his father's palace. "My legs won't carry me that far."
"You have forgotten?" Lynster asked, shocked. He turned around and looked at the young Rito in surprise. "Remember, your father had both you and your sister's child chambers on the second level. It's just a short flight of stairs, not far."
A short flight of stairs to the second level was far from the truth, Rito was near about to collapse and Rita not far behind him when Lynster finally got to the break. He allowed for the two younger formed children to rest for a few minutes before turning left. He led them down a long hallway until he reached a single metallic door with a gold R on the front. He opened the door and motioned for Rito to walk in, before he closed the door behind him he said for Rito to sit on the bed and rest, that he would be back to help him shortly.
"Not that bad," Lynster said to Rita who was now just sniffling. "you'll find you will love this form in no time."
The next door he came up to was light purple with a gold trim around it, like Rito's chamber's door it had a gold R on the front. Lynster opened the door and very gently pushed Rita inside. He had no chance to say for her to relax until he came back, she ran to the bed and flung herself on it, crying loudly. Lynster shook his head the closed the door lightly behind him.
"I think that of the three of you, you and Rita will be a bit slower in adapting to this new form." Lynster sighed. "Rito seems to be fine with the change."
"Of course, he's Rito!" Angel hissed. "He'll cry and complain at everything but will settle down quick."
Lynster carried Angel almost all the way down the hallway before stopping at a single door. The door was cherry wood, very bright red and pretty to look at, it had gold trim around it. There was no letter on the door, it was just bare. Lynster opened the door and carried her in, the room was very sparsely decorated. A single bed stood by the wall, it had blood-red and purple sheets on it and many pillows of many shapes that matched the sheets. A small bedside table stood beside the bed, on it was a single skull that was holding a candle, the candle was lit. Hanging from the ceiling was a chandelier of bone, the bones were holding red candles that were also lit, it was the chandelier that lit up the whole room. A dark wooden borough stood on the far right wall, it was bare on top. A rug of exquisite beauty lay beside the bed, it was gold, black and dark red in color, it looked very soft and reminded her of a braided rug. Lynster gently placed her on the edge of the bed then turned, he went to the burrow and took out a dress and some panties. When he brought them over to Angel she looked at them for a second before snatching them away.
"I shall leave you be now." Lynster said, bowing.
Angel had no choice but to change into the dress, she found that the fabric was very comfortable. The dress was one of beauty, it was two toned red, the top being dark red and the lower part being a dark pink. Once she was dressed she took the robe that she had been wearing and placed it over to the side, she knew she would need it again one day. Standing up, she went to the door and tried to open it, it was locked. Sighing deeply, she walked around the room. Just the bed, the bedside table, rug and borough, that was all that was in the room. To her, it was very empty, she felt very alone. There was a small window over by her bed so she went to it and looked out. The sky outside was purple, all purple, looming up before the planet shone three spheres; all silver except for one that had a light yellow tint to it. It was these spheres that lit up the landscape, hills of pebbles rose and fell gently, they were dwarfed by the light gray mountains that were as smooth as glass. The mountains and hills went for at least fifty or so miles before stopping before giving way to a patch of light purple and green grassland, a little town was to the far left of the grassland, the buildings of smooth milky yellow stone shone brilliantly in the sphere's rays. The palace that she was in was a tall one, the shadow that it cast on the spiraling yellow road that went around the mountain it was perched on was long and pyramid-shaped. She had seen what the outside of the palace looked like on one of her attempts to escape, it looked smaller on the outside than what it really was.
She had no idea how long she stood there looking out the window, all of a sudden she heard the doorknob jingle. Turning around, flinging her long fiery red hair back, she watched as Lynster walked into the room. He looked at her and smiled warmly, she had no idea why but she returned it, and even took a few steps forward before returning to standing in front of the window.
"It's time to take you and your siblings to the dining room for supper." he said gently. "Your father had made sure to have prepared you foods that you can eat."