Matti grabbed the package from the woman's hands. "I-I am not..!" she exclaimed.

"What are you doing here?" Kelsey asked.

Matti froze, mortified, wanting to drop the package, but unable to make herself do it. She expected the girl in white to say something, but, to her shock, when she turned back from looking at Kelsey, she was gone.

"Why are you getting diapers?" Kelsey frowned.

Apparently, she hadn't looked too closely at them, didn't see what was on them, so Matti quickly sprang to action, turning around, stuffing them back onto the shelf, only to see, to her surprise, no trace of herself on it, or any of the packs surrounding it. There was no sign of Bratties anywhere, in fact.

Not even online, after she got back home, somehow managing to convince Kelsey that she'd thought, for a moment, that it would be funny to get for their older cousin, only to change her mind even before Kelsey had arrived to question what the joke was. "I-I mean, she's almost thirty," Matti had told her. "That's kind of old."

"She still has another year," Kelsey had told her. "And if you're going to do that, you should get some adult diapers instead."

"O-Oh, right," Matti had forced a chuckle.

While Matti was grateful to see there wasn't a brand of diapers that was using her as a spokesperson without her knowledge, she was still weirded out by the whole thing, by the fact that they didn't exist at all, as far as she could tell, and by a second person appearing out of nowhere, vanishing just as quickly.

So, she turned her attention to searching for an explanation for that instead. It didn't take long to find the myth of Frau Perchta, a part of some European Christmas traditions, a Christmas witch who could take the form of either a beautiful young lady, or an elderly one. Like Santa, she judged children on whether they were naughty or nice, whether they did their chores or not, rewarding them if they did. If they didn't, however, unlike Santa, she didn't leave them coal. She sliced open their bellies, filling them with straw.

She shivered as she read it, a part of her mind telling her she was being silly, that it was nothing but a story, another part reminding her that she'd thought Sierra was a story, along with magic and other dimensions. Was it really that strange to think that Frau Perchta might also be real. Although, if she was, did that mean Santa was, too? She had encountered two women, both of whom fit the descriptions of Perchta's forms quite well.

The stories didn't mention anything about Perchta mocking her victims, though, particularly not in her 'nicer' form. Then again, she was supposed to be a witch, so it made sense that she could have made Matti see things that weren't there, and she did seem to have been testing her. It hadn't been entirely fair, since it was true that she wasn't a model, not intentionally. Some of those pictures had definitely been from real events, though, so that part, anyway, had been a lie.

She'd been debating saving her last diaper for Christmas Eve, or, more likely, Christmas night, since she'd probably be up early on Christmas and wouldn't want to take the time to change in the morning before going to open presents. After reading all of that, she couldn't help herself, however, putting it on that night to try to make herself feel a little better.

It was, again, a stupid idea to go back out to the tree. She wasn't going to do anything, though. All she wanted to do was to get another dose of that feeling she'd gotten, staring at the tree in her PJs and diaper. She'd probably be tempted, but she was determined not to give in, not when she knew the potential consequences of not behaving.

She barely made it into the living room before she heard the sound behind her. She winced, turning around, seeing Frau Perchta there, once more in her old woman form. "I-I didn't do anything!" Matti stammered, speaking as quietly as she dared. "I-I wasn't going to shake anything, I promise! Pl-Please!"

But Perchta advanced on her, holding out her broom, handle first. Matti backed away, carefully dodging the tree's branches and the presents, heart pounding. She forgot all about the large sign standing on the other side of the room, the one they'd had for years, in the shape of an octagon, saying, 'Santa Stop Here,' on it until she bumped into it, sending it crashing to the floor.

She stopped in her tracks, then felt the handle of the broom press against her tummy, peeking out beneath the bottom of her PJ top. She gasped, having another accident, this one far bigger, soaking her diaper as she braced herself for the feeling of her stomach getting sliced open. She could hear doors opening down the hall, knew her family was coming, but doubted they'd get here in time to stop the inevitable, to do any more than find her, stuffed with straw, wearing a diaper, her secret exposed at last.

And then she heard a laugh, one that sounded far too young to belong to the old woman threatening her. She barely realized she'd closed her eyes until she peeled them open, seeing, standing in front of her, not Frau Perchta, but Serena, her crop pressed against Matti's stomach. "Wow," she chuckled, "I guess I really tricked you, huh? I guess it's a good thing you were in your diaper." Her crop slid downwards, tapping against Matti's diaper, letting the smaller girl know that her accident had not gone unnoticed.

"S-Serena?!" Matti gulped, not sure how much better this was.

"Hello, Mathilda," Serena gave her a playful wave. "Nice to see you."

"H-How did...?!" Matti shook her head.

"Did you really think you could hide from me?" Serena asked, her crop sliding back up Matti's body, all the way to her chin, lifting it up so Serena could stare her in the eye. "Or Ms. Emily?"

Matti blushed, flashing back to that trip through the portal, to her time, however brief, at the Interdimensional Daycare. "Y-You know about that?" she squeaked.

"Of course I do," Serena snickered. "You don't really think you were able to open that portal on your own, do you? I just thought it would be fun to send you there, if you didn't want to be my little dolly. I was really looking forward to peeking in at you and seeing how you were doing after a few months, so imagine my surprise when I found out you'd managed to escape. Such a naughty girl. To be honest, I'm curious to see how Ms. Emily punishes you when she gets you back. I'm sure it will be very entertaining. Maybe she'll take it a little easy on you since it's Christmas. I wouldn't count on it if I were you, though."

"I-I'm not going back!" Matti shook her head again.

"Y-You're not going back?" Serena mocked in a high voice before returning to her normal one. "You don't get it, do you? The only reason your family isn't here right now, seeing you like this, is because I froze time for everyone other than us. As soon as I let the spell drop, they'll all be here, and they'll all know you wear diapers. And that you do more than that in them." She gave Matti's diaper another swat with her crop. "At least at Ms. Emily's, you won't be judged for it. I'll even be nice and make them all believe that you're away at a boarding school or something. They won't suspect a thing."

"N-No!" Matti sniffed, feeling trapped. What was she going to do?! She couldn't go back to Ms. Emily, but she also couldn't let her family find out about this. And she was completely helpless right now. Maybe Serena was telling the truth, and she'd been the one to send her to Ms. Emily's to begin with, but she had managed to get away. The picture book she'd used to do that was all the way in her room, however, and if she even could use it anymore, she had no clue how.

"That's not an option," Serena told her. "You should be grateful I had enough fun with the whole Frau Perchta charade to make me feel charitable enough to give you a choice in the first place. But you do still have to make the choice. Are you staying here, or going back?" Matti whimpered. "Or we could do both," Serena shrugged. "We could let your family find out all about your little secret, and then I could make sure they find out about this great new place they could send you, since your grades have been getting so bad lately."

"N-No!" Matti whined again, stomping her foot.

"Sounds like you want option C," Serena smirked. "Works for me." She raised her crop, ready to cast a spell, then paused, a grin growing on her face. "You know what? Maybe there is one other thing we could do."

"Y-Yes!" Matti nodded. "A-Anything!"

"Anything, huh?" Serena's eyes twinkled. "Well, if you insist." She flicked her crop, a new batch of wrapped presents appearing all around Matti. "Looks like Christmas came early! Go on, open them."

One of them was absolutely huge, and Matti started with it, tentatively tugging at the paper, tearing it open, finding, inside, a large, plastic rocking horse. It looked like a reindeer, its nose red and blinking. The words 'Baby's First Christmas' were written on the rocker. It was big and blocky, and looked very much like a baby's toy, blown up in size, if not for the metal rings on it, two on each side, one set on the legs, the other on the neck. There were a couple more on the ankles and back of the reindeer as well, though they looked slightly different.

"D-Do you want me to ride this?" Matti asked anxiously.

"Eventually," Serena nodded. "Let's see what else you got first!"

The next biggest box was far smaller, but perhaps worse in its own way. She saw the dress first, her nose wrinkling at the sight of the red checkered top, the giant green bow at the waist, the poofy, tulle skirt, two layers, one red and one green, snowflakes stitched onto each. It looked so babyish, so girly, especially paired with the thick tights underneath, one she could tell instantly would be itchy and uncomfortable, with rows and rows of ruffles on the backside. And, beneath that, there was a bulky Bratty diaper, printed with the doll version of herself, and her name in baby block, far thicker than the one she had on now.

Serena was more than happy to help her into the new outfit, to smirk as Matti tugged at it, blushing at how far the diaper forced her thighs apart, how snugly the tights held it to her crotch, how, no matter what she did, the skirt was too short, too puffy, to cover the diaper. To complete the outfit, the next box had a pair of green Mary Janes, bows on the toes, and a hair clip that looked like a red gift bow.

"There," Serena declared. "Not that your PJs weren't cute, but this will be much better for your family to find you in."

"Wh-What?!" Matti gasped, looking down at the outfit, one of the last things any self-respecting tomboy would allow themselves to be caught in, even without the diaper. "N-No! I-I thought you said...!"

"Oh, you don't want them to see you?" Serena said, as if she were shocked by the news. "Well, I guess I could help you with that, but you'll have to open that last present first."

Matti gulped when she saw what was in it, not quite sure how it all fit together yet, but knowing this wasn't going to be easy. "For this to work, you're going to have to be very, very quiet," Serena warned, lifting the wrist and ankle restraints out of the box, locking them onto Matti. "Do you think you can do that?"

"I-I...." Matti squirmed, eyes firmly locked on the other object in the box.

"Well, you're going to have to be," Serena shrugged, picking it up, giggling as she put it into place, running the remote's cord up and out the waistband of Matti's diaper and tights, attaching the remote to the girl's thigh with a red ribbon, tying it into a bow that matched the one on her hair clip before turning it on.

Matti gasped, eyes widening, thighs squeezing together, as the vibrator rumbled to life. She let out a moan of pleasure, unable to help herself, despite knowing how dire this situation was. If anything, the looming threat, particularly of being sent back to Daycare for Ms. Emily to do as she pleased with her, only made it all more hot, somehow, as embarrassing as that was to admit.

"No, no," Serena scolded. "I said you were supposed to be quiet, remember? Here." She pulled a pacifier, a reindeer's face drawn on the shield, from her pocket, slipping it into Matti's mouth. Matti began to nurse it automatically, as her head spun, trying to think clearly. "Up we go!" Serena lifted her up onto the rocking horse, clipping Matti's ankles and wrists to the rings on the side, trapping her there, the hard, plastic saddle pressing the vibrator even closer to Matti's diaper, earning another moan from her, the paci only slightly muffling it.

"Remember, quiet as a little mouse," Serena told her again. "If anyone notices you, my enchantment is going to wear off, and then you're going to have a lot of explaining to do."

"Wh-What ench...?" Matti began to ask, unable to even make it all the way through the second word before it devolved into a squeal of bliss.

"I guess that is a big word for such a little girl as you," Serena teased. "Let me show you." She flicked her crop, and suddenly, Matti was, indeed, a little girl, far littler than she'd even felt, coming down to look at the tree in her train PJs and diaper. She was positively tiny, Serena looking more like a mountain to her than even a giant as she bent down to pick her up, able to do so with just a pair of fingers.

It wasn't until Serena took out the ribbon, tying it to the loops on top of the horse, that Matti realized what had happened, though, her powers of deduction greatly decreased by the constant buzzing of the vibrator, making it hard to concentrate on anything else. Serena picked her back up by the ribbon, the horse, with Matti restrained to it, dangling beneath her fingers, rocking back and forth when she gave the rocker a flick before hanging the new ornament up on the tree.

"If none of them notice you before going back to bed, you'll be freed, and I won't tell Ms. Emily where she can find you, though I wouldn't count on staying hidden from her forever," Serena told her. "If they do, the enchantment wears off, and you're on your own to try to talk your way out of it."

And, with that, Serena was gone. The lights on the tree began to twinkle again as Matti's family piled into the room. Matti whimpered into her paci, face so bright red she was certain they'd notice the glow, no matter how small she was.

"I thought it was Matti," her mother said. "I know she was out here last night." Matti squirmed, the horse rocking slightly at the motion, making her feel all the more babyish. She hadn't been that obvious last night, had she?! She supposed she ought to be extra glad nobody had come out to investigate.

"I think it was," her dad replied. "Look, she knocked the sign over." He walked over, brushing past the tree, too close to Matti's branch for comfort, to pick the sign back up.

"I didn't see her in the hall," her mom frowned. "Unless she went the other way to the kitchen before we got out here."

"I bet she did," Kelsey rolled her eyes. "She's such a brat."

"She can be," her mom agreed, Matti pouting. "She's the youngest. That's how it goes. I really thought she'd outgrown this, though. I suppose I'll have to start hiding her presents again."

Matti was mostly fine with that. If they weren't there, she wouldn't be tempted, anyway, and that might win her some points with Santa, if he was real. After all this, she probably was cured of peeking, regardless. The only problem with them taking the presents away would be if they did it now, got closer to the tree to hear her struggling to stay quiet behind her paci as the vibrator kept going, relentless. At least it would get them out of the room once they had the gifts, though.

"We should wait here," Kelsey suggested. "She'll have to come back out sooner or later. Let's just sit down and watch the hall, and see what she has to say for herself when she shows up."

Matti groaned quietly as her parents agreed, as they all sat down and waited. They'd give up eventually, of course, maybe feel bad about assuming it was her, and not the sign just falling over on its own. Perhaps they'd even be extra nice to her tomorrow to make up for it.

All she had to do was keep herself quiet long enough, no matter how good this felt, no matter how squishy her diaper got as she squirmed and moaned, rocking horse swinging gently back and forth, knowing that, somewhere, Serena was watching all of this, surely quite pleased with herself, no matter what the end result wound up being.