Micky decided to go see a room at random, on his own, to show how brave he was. He wasn't scared! A daycare was just a stupid daycare, no matter how haunted it was supposed to be. As he opened a door, he saw it contained two rows of cribs. They were all dusty and broken. As he stepped forward into the room, the door snapped shut behind him. Micky cursed and went up to it, grabbing the handle and pushing his shoulder against it. He cursed even more under his breath. Then, his flashlight went out. Now Micky really started to get scared. Really, really scared. He shouted out for help but no one came at his rescue.
Luckily, the lights turned on above him after just a few seconds of total darkness. And if the door was still locked, the rest of the room had utterly changed. It was painted in soft colors, mostly pink and blue. And there were big butterflies and dragonflies painted upon them as well. The cribs were painted white and each held a babyish teddy bear. The covers were fluffy and the pillows did look comfy. But then he saw a woman with a frilly apron that had appeared. Miss Mary Bottom in person. Her ghost. She did not look like a ghost at all. All the same, Micky yelled in complete terror. He cowered in a corner as the ghost approached him. Even if nothing indicated outwardly that she was one.
"Poor baby," she said softly as she reached him. "You are so upset without your parents, aren't you? Well, do not be so fussy. You'll see them real soon. And they just can't wait to see you!"
With that, she sprinkled a sparkly green powder over him and Micky felt himself go to sleep, slipping into unconsciousness and powerless to stop it. But as he drifted into a deep slumber, he could see the world becoming inexplicably larger.
"Here he is! The little darling!"
"One minute, dear, I need to speak with Mrs Bottom."
Micky stirred, bothered by the noise.
"But he moved! The little darling is awake!"
"Of course you can go and see him," chuckled a female voice.
Micky recognized that of Mrs Bottom. The ghost! He was still in that awful room! He had to bolt, scram and run far away and... He forced his eyes to open and was greeted by a most disturbing sight. From his vantage point, he guessed he had been placed in a crib. A crib! Mrs Bottom had even tucked him in! The shame! But thew most unusual sight was the shape bent dow to peer at him. It was absolutely immense, with a nose that was made of a hard horn-like material and that spread into actual horns upon his skull. Its fur was thick and blue. It looked like a humanoid goat. With large clawed paws and a lot more teeth when it smiled. Its fur was whiter around its face and it had ears resembling that of a deer. Those teeth! The monster was going to eat him! Micky tried to shout in horror but all that came out were whimpers, jerks of his limbs and ultimately wailing. Why did he act like a baby?
"Oh my," said the monster, looking truly abashed.
He quickly picked up Micky, with the blanket which he expertly wrapped around him and held him close to his chest. Protectively, as if Micky was the apple of his eyes, the most precious thing in its life. Actually, the fur was really soft and silky and listening to the pounding of the monster's heart made Micky relax instantly, as of by pure instinct.He stopped bawling, just hiccoughed with wet sounds and without realising what he was doing, he started sucking his thumb. Actually... When did his fingers get so tiny and pudgy and useless? How could he fit in the crib? And why was the ghost so much bigger than before he woke up in the crib? And why was his body covered in baby fat and so feeble and uncoordinated? And then he understood. The world had stayed the same. He was the one who had drastically shrunk! He was a baby! No! That couldn't be true! He didn't want to be a baby! He fussed a bit but a kiss on the head by the blue-furred monster calmed him down instantly. He wanted to cry and lash out but it was like new thoughts imposed themselves upon him.
"Look at him, Redflame!" gushed the monster holding him. "He's so adorable! How can anyone resist such a darling babe!"
"Yes indeed, Sky," said Redflame with a note of indulgence in his voice.
True to his name, he had red fur and red sharp spikes along his spines. Part pf his fur was white and he had big blue eyes. His face was more human-like but deer antlers grew out of his skull. He had long sharp claw-like nails too.
"His memories should regress back to infancy over the next moon," said Mrs Bottom. "He'll have forgotten all of his life until three months of age and you can raise him at your leisure. I've added the horns, wings and tail as you requested. They are mere nubs for now. His fur and the rest shall grow in due time. His ears will be pointed, of course."
"Have you ever seen a more perfect fay infant?" cooed in adoration Sky.
"He is a real cutie," admitted with sincere affection Redflame, both for his mate and for his new adoptive son.
Mrs Bottom smiled. Offering transformed humans to the fairylands meant hat after a certain number, she'd be allowed to have her own nursery dimension and be much, much more powerful. But she had a long way to go yet. Never mind. Plenty of young people willing to enter her domain on a dare and even more fay families, same-sex or not, that wished to have transformed humans with looks at their convenience and to be molded as they desired as children. Transformed humans meant new blood for the fay and more children for those who desired them so sorely in their shrinking population, not to mention the same-sex couples that had no choice but to adopt. Trying would not help them here. Young Micky himself was transformed so that he could pass as the biological child of either of his adoptive parents. eEvidently, Sky was the one that had pushed to adopt a baby but Mrs Bottom had no doubt his husband would warm up to their new little one in no time. Micky was already drifting off to sleep while Sky made him drink a bottle of rich creamy milk, deciding that Micky's new name would be Mirth and gushing at how his blue eyes were just the most adorable and how the few freckles he had kept on his face were the cutest in all the Fairylands. Such an enthusiastic and happy father! They left for the Fairylands, Sky thanking profusely the ghost. As for Mirth, formerly Micky, he barely registered that he was leaving the human world forever. A full belly, a warm blanket and the security provided by a strong doting father was certain to make him sleepy and off to the land dreams. Micky would have liked to protest but his new baby impulses told him that sleep was imminent and where he was was perfect, warm and safe and secure. Was it really worth the effort? If Micky left, then the soft strong arms, pats, tickles and delicious creamy milk would be gone too. And what was the use of that, truly. He was so drowsy, he should take a little nap first. And the light brushes of the claws of Daddy were just as soothing as the beating of his strong heart. A real lullaby, his heart... Surely just a few minutes of relaxing would not change anything? As soon as they crossed the passage to the Fairylands, Mirth was already more than half asleep and forgetting why the human world was so important.