The Struggle Begins

Mack walked up the stairs and followed the boys wails until he came to stand outside the boys room. He opened the door and the first thing he saw was the boy in nothing but a diaper, sitting in the middle of a crib. He walked up to the crib and looked through the bars. "What's wrong buddy"

He was obviously trying to pull himself together and hide his diaper so I couldn't see it. He sniffled a few times "nothing, go away and leave me alone"

"Buddy there's always a reason" he said "did someone have a nightmare" the boys eyes opened wide like His darkest secret was unraveled. Mack lowered the side of the crib and sat down on the edge. The boy didn't make eye contact. "If you don't want to talk about it that's fine. Would you like a hug instead" he said holding open his arms in invitation

"Please don't touch me" the boy said looking absolutely Disgusted at the thought.

"I'm not giving you a choice" said Mack as he leaned towards the boy

"No, I don't want a hug" he said forgetting the blanket and trying to crawl away but not succeeding before being wrapped up in Mack's arms and hoisted into his lap. Though Mack struggled with lifting him due to him being weak.

"Unhand me you useless trash" yelled the boy as he wriggled trying to escape.

"Little boys shouldn't use words like that" said Mack in a calm and collected voice.

"I'll have you know I'm old enough to be your father maybe even your grandfather. So show some respect to your elders" the boy continued to wriggle around

"Hhhhhh I didn't want to do this but you leave me no choice" said Mack. "Prove it"

The boy instantly stopped moving and looked at Mack. Surprised at the audacity this kid had to even ask him such a question "what" he uttered

"You heard me" replied Mack "if you're so much older then me, then prove it."

The boy put on a smug smile. Like a cat that finally ate the Canary "I have a son in the Academy he will be my proof."

"are you sure about that?" Said Mack with concern. He was having second thoughts on continuing this conversation but he was trying to prove a point and put his concerns to the back of his mind.

"Of course I'm sure" he stated "why wouldn't I be. My son and I have a great relationship"

" how long have you been like this?"

"I don't know, two months maybe, it's heard to remember" he replied

"And when was the last time your son visited"

"Well, the Academy gives the students 1 week breaks between quarters. So between spring and summer quarters two….months….ago" said the boy as the realization hit him.

"This is going to be extremely cruel and I'm sorry but let me open your eyes to your new reality. Your son wouldn't recognize you even if you were to pass each other in the market district. To him your just a small child not even worth his attention. You've got no proof that you were a grown up once. If you try telling people that you are a grown up they will just think that you are a cute little boy with a big imagination. Your not a grown up anymore your a four year old boy and you'll be a four year old boy for the next ten months then you be a five year old boy"

Tony listened to Mack's words but every word was like a thousand knives stabbing his heart. He was right. His son wouldn't recognize him if he was standing in front of him. "He is a perfectly capable young man now. He's not a boy anymore. He'll be in the army. That's a good career with decent pay. I shouldn't bother him with this. Let him grieve the death of of his father Tony Benz. I won't have any memory of him come next month when he visits anyway" he thought to himself as his eyes started getting heavy. He tried to fight it but the rocking and rhythmic pats were loling him to sleep against his will. So he made a decision to not fight it anymore and put his thumb in his mouth and fell asleep in the warm embrace of the older boy.

Mack held him close as he could see tears rolling down the his face. He continued to rock him back and forth while patting his bottom like his mom did with him when he was little. After about fifteen minutes he noticed the boy's breath slow slightly and looked at his face. The boys eyes were closed and he had at some point popped his thumb into his mouth and looked perfectly content sleeping in Mack's arms but Mack had things to do so he laid laid the boy back on his bed and covered him with his blanket. He decided to leave the bars down turned and slowly tiptoed out of the room closing the door behind him.

"That boy is going to be a handful" he said to himself as he went down stairs and into the office to look for a manual for the proper procedures on how to care for the horses. After some time he finally found a small hand written manual in the top desk drawer and proceeded to read it.

"Well that's an hour I'll never get back" he said "they could've saved a bunch of parchment if they would have put. Make sure animals don't die. My only job is to clean out the stalls, feed and give them fresh water. That's actually good. I was worried I would have to saddle the horses. He decided to start in the morning because it was going to be dark soon and he wanted to try his hand at cooking. So with that out of the way he went into the kitchen and after some investigation he found the cellar door and went down. What he found blew his mind. It was fully stocked and cold. He found potatoes, onions, carrots, among other vegetables. He also found fish, chicken, beef, as well as some beef bones. Mack had read multiple books on how to cook and he was pretty confident he could do it. He even remembered a recipe on how to make bread and other recipes. He grabbed a couple potatoes, an onion, a couple carrots and a few stocks of celery and a few other vegetables and headed up stairs. He looked in the pantry and found fresh herbs and spices as well as ingredients to bake the bread. The first thing he needed to do was start a fire but to do that he needed to find wood. He got lucky and found the wood right next to the back door and grabbed some stacking it in the fire place. He then grabbed some dead grass and sticks and lit those on fire using a candle then placed it under the logs where eventually after relighting it multiple times the logs finally caught. While the fire was warming up he started on the bread dough because it's going to have to rise before going into the fire place. After finishing that he set it aside to rise while he started on the stew. He started by carefully chopping the beef into bite sized pieces and placing them into the pot and after he chopped up the rest of the vegetables he added them to the pot as well along with the bone to help with the broth. Filling it with water part way he covers it with a lid and hung it on the hook in the fire place to cook.

Once everything was almost ready he went to go upstairs and wake up Tony but as he entered the living he saw him coming down the stairs. "I hope you're planning on wearing actual clothes to the dinner table" Mack asked the boy when he saw that he was still wearing nothing but his diaper.

Tony was still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and wasn't thinking properly. "Oh….im sorry, I'll go put clothes on" he said in surprise as he quickly scampered up the stairs.

"Do you need help or can you do it" asked Mack as he watch Tony disappear around the corner.

"I can do it" he yelled back

Mack disappeared back into the kitchen to get dinner on the table. After searching for a bit he finally found bowls and utensils. However due to being vertically challenged he was having a hard time reaching them. After climbing up onto the countertop he was able to finally get them. He dished out the stew into two bowls and cut some bread and waited at the table.

"How long does it take to put on a pair of pants and a shirt." He thought when after 15 minutes tony wasn't down stairs. So he went up to see if the little guy needed help.

When he got up stairs he walked in to Tony's room to find him struggling to pull his pants on. "I thought you didn't need help" Mack said with crossed arms as he leaned against the doorframe.

"I don't" he said in defiance

"Then why are you trying to put the pants on backwards." He said with a giggle

"It's not funny Mack" he said "my mind is slipping away and your laughing at my struggles"

"I'm sorry Tony, that must be difficult to deal with" he said as he walked over and picked up the pants off the floor and held them open for him "here put your left leg in this hole...fantastic now the other...good job bubba, you did it"

"Don't patronize me Mack, I put pants on, big deal" he said as he pouted at the praise. "Do I have to wear a shirt"

"Yes, I'm not having at the dinner table half naked"

"Why, it's just you and me here" he protested

"That doesn't matter, it's improper" said Mack as he popped Tony's head through the head hole of his shirts.

"Your not a pampered prince in the castle anymore, Mr. Silverspoon. Us common folk arnt as prim and proper as you"

"Trust me I'm figuring that out" he grabbed Tony's right arm and fed it through the hole and did the same for the other. Mack sniffed the air. He couldn't quite place the smell he was smelling. It was stronger around Tony so he leaned down and sniffed again.

"Umm….what are you doing" Tony asked while blushing. He looked up at Mack who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow "what"

"Don't what me. I literally just put your clothes on you Tony. So that's what you were doing up here all that time" he said annoyed "I thought I was supposed to be taking care of animals not playing daddy to an adult turned Four year old who's having trouble adjusting."

He grumbled as he found the clean diapers. "Go lay on the bed Tony"

"But…..I can do it myself" he said close to tears after hearing Mack's words

"Oh yeah, kinda like you could dress yourself as well huh. On the bed now. Dinners getting cold"

Tony hung his head and climbed up on the bed and layed down facing Mack. He watched in horror as Mack pulled down his pants and undid the pins holding his diaper. After a lot of gagging on Mack's part and tears of humiliation on Tony's he finally pinned up the new diaper and pulled up Tony's pants. "Their, all clean and fresh. Doesnt that feel better bubba" said Mack trying to lighten the mood. He realized he let his emotions get the best of him and Tony's payed for it with his dignity. Tony just nodded his head. Mack then thought of the perfect way to distract the little guy. "What's that" he said pointing to his exposed belly

"What's what" asked Tony looking at his belly

"That" said Mack getting real close

"That's just my belly button silly" said Tony "you've been cooped up in that castle to long"

"Really….is that what it is…..I wonder if it's Edible" said Mack

"Did your brain go soupy, you can't eat my belly" said Tony as Mack started to pretend to eat Tony's belly. At that very moment the four year old squealed then started to laugh. He tried his best to get the older boy to stop tickling him "stop...hehehe…please...hahaha...I can't…..take it…..anymore….haha" he said between fits of laughter.

"Are you going to cry anymore"

"No….I promise….please no more" he protested

"I'm sorry I got mad bubba" Mack apologized

"It's ok" he said blushing again "I should have asked you to help me When you asked the first time. But I was a bit self conscious about you seeing it plus I didn't want to admit to myself that I'm having trouble remembering how to get myself dressed properly or the proper way to change my own diaper. I remember the concept, but not the procedure. Does that make since." He Confessed

"Yeah that makes perfect since. Your mind is regressing a lot faster then you can adjust"

"I just hope I last long enough to tell my boy how proud of him I am" he said as they reached the dining table

"Why don't you sit on that side and I'll take this side" said Mack "if not I can tell him. Though it won't be the same coming from me."

"I appreciate that Mack. I just don't know what I'm going to do. Are they going to have you take care of me from now on? I wouldn't mind you being my dad. Your capabilities are good"

"I'm flattered bubba but your going to need someone older then me not to mention someone who can actually grow up."

"What do you mean. I know you don't have a mana core but does that effect other things" he asked as he took another bite of the stew "this stew is amazing."

"Thank you it's not bad for my first time ever cooking" he said "but I'm stuck in the body of a 9 year old forever so being a father is out of the question even adopting you would be difficult because you will one day be bigger and older physically and that won't work. Would you be ok if your son adopts you as his kid"

"I've not thought of that before. But he's still young as well, not that much older then you. I don't want to burden him with having to care for a kid"

"He won't have a choice now that I think of it. I'm familiar with the law. When a parent dies the oldest child is then responsible for the other kids unless their all to young then they will go to a relative or an orphanage till the oldest is capable of taking care of them or opts out.

Now your situation is unique. Tony is dead unfortunately so you most likely will be considered your son's baby brother. He could however opt out of the responsibility which would land you in an orphanage. When's your son due to visit"

"At the end of the month" he said

"Oh, I think you'll be ok" he reassured the boy "I've noticed that right now your child like tendencies are showing through. Yes you are forgetting how to preform some tasks but for the most part you are still you."

"Whoooooo" Tony breathed out in relief "thank you Mack. I'm glad they left me with you."

"But I'm curious about how you ended up like this." Said Mack "I'd really like to know"

"What all did stone tell you" he asked

"That an age regression spell backfired when you tried to curse an instructor. But I feel like theirs more to it then that. And age regression spell would do this much damage to a 45 year old adult man even the strongest version of the spell. So what are you hiding from them."

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you" he said

"Try me" said Mack

"Promise you won't laugh at me like they did" he said

"I promise but First let's get this cleaned up and put away and sit on the couch" he said

Working together it took less then 20 minutes to get everything cleaned up. Mack sat on the couch while waiting for Tony to finish washing the pot and bowls. He then entered the living area and stood in front of Mack and looked at him pleadingly. Mack looked at him with confusion. "What's wrong"

"Nothing" he said still standing in front of Mack

"Oooook…..why are you looking at me like that then."

"Well, I was wondering since you did such a good job earlier if it was ok if I sit on your lap" he said in a barely audible tone.

Mack raised an eyebrow at this request "you know if you fall asleep I'm not going to be able to carry you up the steps right"

"I know but im cold" he said

Mack threw his legs up on the couch and patted his lap signaling that it was ok for the boy to climb up. Once Tony was comfortable he started his story.

"Would you believe me if I told you that I found the daggers that belonged to the god of youth…..