Alex woke up to a strange world. He was in a bed that had walls and a sort of roof. It had frills and even a mobile with little bats above it. The blanket around him and his pillow were incredibly soft but try as he might, he could barely move. He could only move by jerky movements and he felt sluggish. Had he been drugged? With much effort, he managed to get his arm away from the blanket and was astonished. His arm and hand were chubby, short and his fingers refused to unfurl from his fist. He tried to scream out but only a high-pitched baby cry came out. Alex then remembered. His capture, the caterpillar, the vampire, the regression. He was a baby adopted by a vampire, now.
"Hello, darling Gabriel, did you wake up already?"
The figure appearing above him was strange, like a steampunk robot. It was dressed in a nanny or wetnurse attire. She raised him out of what was indeed a cradle.
"Let us see how you are doing, shall we?" she said sweetly.
She checked his diaper and noticing it was not wet, she left him in a playpen in a different adjacent room, among blocks and stuffed animal, instructing him to be good while she got him his breakfast. Alex, now Gabriel, absent-mindedly piled up the cubes until they fell down, for him to start again. It was better than just hugging the soft toys and dolls around him. The robot then set him in a high chair, fed him porridge and washed it down with a bottle of milk. Gabriel only ate and drank because he was famished. But all this meal had to come out and he cried as he felt his bladder and intestines give way without his ability to control them. Mortified, he cried, which prompted the robot to wash him and change his diaper, along with putting him in a bonnet and old-fashioned baby gown. All the while she kept insisting he was adorable. He was left again with toys in the nursery afterwards. That day, his new father was busy, but in the later days, or rather nights, he always made sure to spend time with him. For Alex, now Gabriel, the routine made all nights blend together. It made retaining his adult mind very hard but he strived as much as he could. The nursery was very warm and comfy, with slight gothic decoration but still touches of simple not-too-scary decorations a child would love, but he had not seen the rest of the castle, or mansion. And how could he hope to escape when he could only crawl? He's have to do basic things like walk, jump and actually move his fingers to even hope to get out. Or even leave the rooms he was relegated to!
When his new daddy started spending time with him, he just saw an elaborate staircase and a little living-room and it was limited to that. His father-son time was limited to the vampire lord rocking him, talking nonsense and his love for him and feeding him bottles and baby food snacks. When Gabriel took over, the baby was happy and snuggled happily into the warmth of his carer, basking in the attention and calm tone of voice. When the mind of Alex was dominant, he was angry, cried and screamed. That was when the vampire sighed and did what Gabriel started to call the Funny Finger Dance. The vampire would wave his fingers in circles and little movements in front of Alex's eyes and being a baby and sensitive to stimuli, he was even more powerless to tear his eyes from the fingers. Instantly, his aggressivity slipped away and he felt relaxed. He was all ears for the smooth voice of the vampire who repeated endlessly that he was a baby, an obedient son and that his love and attention for him was real. The vampire was nice and his little songs and sentences reassuring. His entire voice was caressing, in fact. It was nothing to order Alex to close his eyes and sleep after that. The full and warm belly, added to the coziness of the fabrics swaddling him, only made the hypnotising easier for the vampire. Those silly humans were so easy to control! And if his son and heir was too cranky and rebellious, a pocket watch with a soft little tune waved in front of his eyes was even more effective. Over time, just making the boy hear the little lullaby music would sent him into a trance in which he'd obey his father's every word. He wanted a son and heir, a pride in his life, not a brat. As a baby, Gabriel just had to learn to behave and obey. And after hypnotising the babe, the next few days ensured Gabriel was compliant and sweet to a tee. He cooed, gurgled and giggled like the perfect infant. Of course, when Alex did come back to himself, he was mortified but he knew acting out would only bring more hypnosis. But not rebelling meant being dragged more into his baby mindset. The vampire, as any vampire would, made sure he'd ultimately win either way. And Raphael thought that if Gabriel continued that way, well, soon it would be time to show him more around.