Birthday Games

21. Once Upon an Afterparty

This bonus chapter is dedicated to Steve, with many thanks to my newest supporter!

I looked down at my little baby girl, squirming on the changing mat. She was beautiful. Even dressed like a childish princess, with her hair tangled by a day of playing and drool running down her chin, she was beautiful. In a way, seeing her like this with her inhibitions unlocked, was more beautiful than ever. Because I was seeing the darkest desires that lay in her subconscious, the curiosities that she'd never had the courage to share with anyone else. And knowing that she was willing to open up to me completely, that she trusted me to help her explore things she would never, ever admit, was incredible.

I changed her as quickly as I could, and watched her eyes starting to focus more completely, her body coming back under her control. She still had some of the awkwardness of a girl in her early teens, but she could help me to make sure she was clean, and she was ready to jump off the changing table and grab some clean underwear for herself. She wanted to show me that she was a big girl now, and for that I couldn't blame her.

"I need to take the trash out," I said, "Can you be a big girl and get yourself all washed and ready for bed by the time I come back? Then I might have time to read you a bedtime story, how would you like that?"

"Oh yeah," she giggled, "One with brave knights and a Prince Charming in it, like you." I had to laugh at that one too. But I had chores to do today, to make my little princess's day as perfect as I possibly could. So I dealt with the diaper pail, and the trashcan, and made a perfunctory effort at tidying the lounge and putting wrapping paper in the pile to be taken for recycling. I didn't think I could get everything tidy in the time it took Karin to wash and brush her teeth, but I could at least make a start, and clear away any spilled food or drinks that might have the potential to attract ants. Sometimes, giving her the time of her life included quite a lot of making sure the mundane chores were done.

* * *

When I came back up to the bedroom, Karin was just slipping under the bedclothes.

"You're back to yourself now?" I asked. I was pretty sure she would be, I'd put a lot of effort into her hypnotic training, and into devising all the possible stories the phone could tell her. I'd thought really hard about ways to make sure that the post-hypnotic suggestions would allow her a quick return to normal if anything in any of the stories unexpectedly made her uncomfortable. She would only ever feel as humiliated as she would enjoy it, on some deep level.

"Yes, 'Daddy'," she giggled, extending both hands from under the covers to make air quotes around the word.

"So you know how old you are? You know who I am?"

"Yes. I'm twenty-six today, like it says on my cards. Not sixteen, or thirteen, or eight, or nearly six, or two. And you're the most machiavellian, devious, insidious, wonderful hypnotist ever to fall into my life."

"Perfect. You really are a big girl. Big enough to play with all of your new toys, maybe."

"Oh? I remember getting a lot of presents suited for a little girl. You were pretty confident about which path I'd end up picking, weren't you?"

"Not that much. There were a lot of practical presents too, like a carrot shredder that looks like a giant pencil sharpener. But when you opened something that's aimed at your adult persona, you just saw a toy that's a primary coloured piece of dishwasher-safe plastic, and then went on to open the next thing. You didn't stop to think about what they were, except for the few age-appropriate gifts." She nodded, and I could see her trying to remember what she'd actually got. As I thought about it some more, I added: "I guess that means you'll be just as surprised on seeing them tomorrow as you were when you opened them. Twice the birthday joy!"

"Heh, I guess so," she wrapped me up in her arms as I slid into bed beside her. "But I'm curious now, half tempted to go and see what I got. Maybe just look at one, so I don't have too much suspense until tomorrow."

"Not now," I wagged a finger at her again, "You should be a good girl and do what you're told."

"Yes Master," she giggled, and carried on exactly how I'd expected: "Or is that 'yes, Daddy'? Which do you prefer? Or 'Your majesty'? I can't believe your ego sometimes. You actually wrote yourself into the story as Prince Charming?"

"No," I shook my head, "just as your father, the king. It's kind of necessary, if a Princess is calling me Daddy. If you gave me a name, you should blame that on your own subconscious."

"That's pretty..." she started, but maybe couldn't find the right word to finish the statement. Was that a good thing or not? It was pretty hard to tell, so I couldn't blame her. She continued with a completely different comment: "So no more presents today?"

"Well, maybe one," I grinned, "I figured you wouldn't know what it was as a child, but you didn't bat an eyelid. I wonder what you thought it was?" I held up the item I'd picked up in the lounge, and grinned as she looked at it with no sign of an answer.

"Probably some kind of baby toy," she answered, but I couldn't mistake the blush on her cheeks, telling me right away that she wasn't really sure. Even looking at it now, it wasn't entirely obvious what the curved piece of brightly coloured plastic was for. At least, until I pressed the button on the remote with my thumb, and a low buzzing banished any lingering doubt.

I was pretty sure this was a present she'd enjoy, too.

The next chapter is chapter 22. As always, I'll post it as soon as somebody requests it in a comment on the first chapter