I'm sharing this one a few minutes early, so that I can start writing for Camp NaNoWriMo on the stroke of midnight. This bonus chapter is for Eladon; I hope you enjoy!
As they opened some more of the presents from under the tree, Tess found that she was getting unusually impatient. All the presents were fun to play with, even the silly ones, and she wanted Gabby to take a picture of her every time she tried on a new pendant, or a hairclip with a giant plastic flower on it. But she could only play with each one for a couple of minutes before she wanted to know what was in the other boxes as well. Somehow, boxes in shiny paper were more interesting than even the fanciest of toys.
It wasn't just that she was greedy, or that she wanted to have everything. After a while, she started to realise that she was more excited to see what Ffrances was getting next than about her own. And once she spotted that, she could understand better. It was the magic words she'd said before; she had agreed that they would get really excited about each other's presents, and want to share all the fun. That was really interesting, because the curiosity building up inside her felt completely natural. When she thought about it, Tess could imagine that this was an artificial emotion placed in her head. She couldn't analyse the details, she was too little for that, but there was something exciting about knowing that she was being manipulated and controlled. It was amazing to find that her feelings could be changed like that; and somehow knowing that she was the one in control made it even more fun. She could see what was happening, but her emotions ran away with her and she was starting to realise that she couldn't stop it if she wanted to.
She was helpless and in control at the same time, her thoughts being changed only in the ways that she had agreed to. And even if it was weird, she loved that feeling. It was like being able to have your favourite sweets and try new things all at the same time, the best of both worlds. She liked feeling herself changing, and she loved being the one making the plan, so she could enjoy this twice as much.
She used the magic words again a few times while they were opening the presents, and each time felt like more fun than the last. She made Ffrances a little clumsier, so it was easier for her to need help opening the presents; and she said that both of the little girls would see be surprised but enthusiastic about their presents, meaning that every box they opened was just as much fun, even if it was a repeat of something they'd had before. There were a few things where they got one each, like an executive toy with swinging pink marbles on, and Tess found that they both got just as excited about the second one. It was amazing and entrancing, and she wanted to see what it did even though she had been watching her own, identical, one a couple of minutes before. Knowing that it was going to happen and stil feeling exactly what she'd expected was the most wonderful thing ever, as far as Tess was concerned.
But as the pile of presents slowly got smaller, there was still one big one, with the bottom branches of the plastic Christmas tree resting on top of it. And the more they opened, the more Tess wanted to know what that big one was. She found herself wondering if she could try opening it, and say that she hadn't been able to read the name, Ffrances was probably too little to read, and Gabby might believe it because she really wanted Tess to be littler. But Tess still wanted to be good, and she was taking pride in looking after the baby. She was curious about the the bigger box, and excited to open it. But she was sure that craving was because of the things she had agreed to feel earlier, the magic changing how she thought. And that just made it more exciting. She could keep on playing, and see if she could find a way to see it soon without pushing Ffrances too much.
Another present, and again Tess was looking at the big box. It was her turn to open something, but she wanted to see what her sister had got. And once she'd realised that it was the words from earlier making her want it, every time she tried to resist it just made her want it more. Her mind was filled with thoughts that she couldn't even put into words, and she knew she wouldn't be able to fight those suggestions for long. It was like magic. So she turned to Ffrances and asked if she wanted to see what was in the box; hoping it was something they would be able to play with together. It could be a game, she thought. The box was about as wide as some board games she'd played, but it was a lot taller. Could it be a whole stack of games? But she didn't know if Ffrances was old enough for those, and if there were a bunch of them she thought that they would have gotten a couple each. What else could it be?
"I bet it's a doll house!" she exclaimed as the next idea came to mind. She wasn't sure the box was the right size for that, but she knew it was bigger than all the dolls, so it kind of made sense. Made sense to somebody as little as Tess, anyway.
"I don't think you'll be able to play together with that one," Gabby said, teasing just enough to get Tess even more excited about whatever was inside. "It's something that's only for one little girl. This one was supposed to be a special thing for the little sister, but Ffrances can decide if she wants to try it out, or if she wants to let you have the first turn."
Ffrances didn't seem to be too excited; she was happy enough with the toys in her hands right now. Tess barely even thought about it before she heard the words "I wanna try it!" come out of her mouth. She told herself that it was Ffrances's toy, and Ffrances should have the first try, but her instincts had already become selfish like a little kid. It was kind of funny, and she found that it felt good, knowing that it was completely up to her whether she was going to be a good girl or a greedy girl today.
"Maybe you should then," Gabby suggested. "If Ffrances will let you. I can imagine you'd be excited about it at your age, and you'd get really excited and do your best to make sure you can use it. Either of you would, but I hope you can decide before you get excited so you don't wind up fighting over it." Ffrances babbled a little, but Tess couldn't make out any words in there. And she knew that Gabby was trying to make it easier for her, but she didn't need the help. If this was something that only one of them could play with, she should say the magic words so that only one of them would be super excited and not stop to think. She could say that Ffrances was that young, and the baby would have the time of her life. Or she could be selfish and enjoy it herself, so she would be better at helping her little sister after.
She did her best to put what she was thinking into words, laughing when she couldn't quite come up with the ones she wanted. She said that it was Ffrances's choice if she wanted to use her new present, but if she wasn't eager to try it out right away then Tess would get as excited as Gabby had said, trying her hardest to test out this new toy as soon as possible.
"I am that little," she said, hoping that she wasn't being too selfish this time; either by taking her sister's present, or by putting pressure on Ffrances to make the choice when she'd already said she wanted Tess to be in charge.
Ffrances was still playing with her dolls, and Tess could see that she was having a lot of fun. But it wasn't long before the little one turned around and stretched an arm towards the big present. Tess was about to pass it over, but then Ffrances came closer and Tess realised she was reaching out for a hug first. She put her arms around her baby sister, and ruffled her hair like Gabby liked to do with her. It was strangely satisfying, even moreso when she saw how Ffrances was smiling. This was perfect.
A few seconds later, Ffrances was pulling at the shiny paper, while Tess loosened some of the tape around the other side of the box so that it would come apart more easily when Ffrances tried to open it. Tess was curious what was in the package, but she enjoyed watching the little one having fun more than doing it herself, so she wanted to make sure that the process would go without a hitch. It took a couple of minutes to get the green wrapping paper pulled aside, because Ffrances was grabbing random parts and pulling them, not looking which bits were connected together. Half the time she was just tipping the box over, pulling at bits that were already open, but she was clearly having as much fun with the paper as they had with any of the actual gifts, so Tess saw no reason to stop her. The joy in a child's eyes was the biggest gift she could hope for.
"Aww!" Ffrances gave a theatrical pout, staring at her present as she finally managed to remove enough layers of the wrapping paper that she could see what was underneath. On the other side of the box, Tess couldn't see what had dampened her enthusiasm. But she was still eager to know, hoping somehow that she would be more interested.
"Aww, silly Gabby!" Ffrances giggled. "I'm a baby, that's for big girls!" Tess's heart leapt again; did that mean that it was something she would be able to play with without taking the fun away from Ffrances? Maybe even a chance to prove that she was a big girl in spite of all the magic words? Now that she knew those commands were influencing her, she could frame it as some kind of game where Gabby's goal was to make her littler. She could really imagine that Gabby would want to give Ffrances a toy for older girls just so that Tess would feel like the little one; but she'd underestimated how much Ffrances wanted to be the baby.
"I don't know if Tess is big enough for that," Gabby said with a laugh; and Tess found that the curiosity she'd cursed herself with earlier wanted to reply before she even thought about her cousin's motivations.
"I can!" she said. "I'm big enough. I'm gonna be really excited about trying a big girl thing, and I'll keep on trying until I can do it." And then she thought about how silly it might feel if she was stuck trying something that she knew she was really old enough to do easily; she didn't want the day to be spoiled by misplaced embarrassment. But there was a way around that: "And I'll have fun like a kid playing with one for the first time, and be really proud when I can do it. That's how little I am." Not the exact words that she was supposed to say, but she knew it was close enough when she felt the magic take root in her mind. She was determined to prove she was big enough for this big-girl toy now. She didn't know what it was, but she knew that it would seem new to her; that she wouldn't know how to play with it until she'd had a few tries. And using the magic words like that would make it a game, so that she didn't need to be embarrassed if it was something really simple. She was proud of that choice, but she was still wondering what kind of toy this might be. She couldn't think of anything this size that needed much coordination or intelligence.
She grabbed the edges of the paper and pulled it back. The present was mostly open on the other side, so when she threw the shiny covering aside it was entirely visible. The side she was looking at was pink at the top and baby blue at the bottom, with white lettering and all kinds of official legal words on; probably what government standards it was manufactured to, and rubbish like that. Tess didn't care about that, and she didn't want to read lots of words. So while Ffrances grabbed the wrapping paper and pulled it over herself like a cape, Tess spun the box around to see the present, and find out what she would soon be big enough to use.
The box was mostly pink oon this side, with photographs partly covered by cartoon pictures and illustrations clearly meant to enthral a little kid with how much fun it could be. And Tess realised why she hadn't been able to think of what it was. She'd been thinking of the toys, but this wasn't a toy at all. It was just something that only a child would need, and that Ffrances was quite certain she wanted to be too young for.
A plastic training potty.