Tales of the Tournaments

Leigh Sports Village, Leigh, Manchester, UK

21 May 2023, Manchester Derby, 41st minute

United 1 - City 0

The referee's whistle rang out, and Ellie Roebuck stopped dead, the keeper prying herself up off the ground, eyes wide.

She replayed the last few seconds in her head - Nikita Parris flying at her, intending to kick the ball in. Ellie'd come out to meet her, moving to block...sweeping Nikita's legs out from under her, landing them both on the ground.

Oh. Oh fuck.

Maybe Nikita hadn't quite been watching where she'd been going, Ellie reasoned with herself, but...even so, there was only one answer for a move like that, and she saw the flash of the red card in the ref's hand.

God damn it, Roebuck, now look what you've done. Her mind spun as she staggered to her feet, eyes blurred with tears.

Steph was going to fucking murder her. 

Steph Houghton did not suffer fools and losing City a woman before halftime had even started, never mind the second half...yeah, that was it, she was dead. Definitely dead, Ellie thought, stomach churning.

She staggered past her teammates on the bench, as Ouahabi ran past her, the Spanish defender taken off to account for the number of players on the field, so that Khaira Keating, their youngest keeper, could take her place. The eighteen-year-old looked mildly terrified as she passed Ellie.

Whether the kid was scared to play at least fifty minutes against United, or scared for what was about to happen to Ellie, the older keeper couldn't quite say. Nevertheless, she gave Khiara a nod, forcing a smile. "It's your time to shine, Keating, you can do it. Go on." 

There wasn't time for anything else, and then she was through the door to the tunnel, heading to City's locker room, dropping down on the bench with her head in her hands.

She was so fucked right now.

The only question was whether Steph was going to come in at halftime and deal with her, or wait until after.

Halftime came and went, with no sign of Steph.

Ellie was sitting in the locker room, alone. Well, nearly alone. Leila Ouahabi was sitting in the locker room with her, but the Spaniard was ignoring Ellie completely, looking off in the opposite direction resolutely.

The other girl's body language clearly said leave me alone or I'll fuck you up to Ellie's view, and she wasn't planning on risking Leila's temper.

It was her fault Leila couldn't play now, after all.

By the time Steph - and the rest of the team - returned to the locker room, it was to find Ellie Roebuck seated on the bench, knees pulled to her chest, rocking back and forth slowly and staring at nothing.

Leila got up and strode toward Steph, snapping out something in Spanish that Ellie didn't quite catch, other than a sneering "La Reina". Steph ignored it. 

"Ouahabi, Angeldahl," Steph singled out the yellow-carded Swede, "go with Greenwood please. Alex, you know what to do with them."

Leila sputtered, swearing, or so Ellie assumed. Spanish wasn't her strong suit. But the tone was telling.

"That's enough," Steph replied calmly to Leila's outburst. "I don't care. You aren't being punished for Ellie's red card, even though you were brought off because of it. You're being punished because you have been nothing but foul mouthed toward me since I walked in here, and you've clearly ignored Ellie enough to let her get into a state. Look at her."

Ellie felt Leila's eyes on her and hugged herself tighter.

"You were in here with her, Leila Ouahabi, you should have been comforting her, not letting her spiral into drop like that. She's a submissive, you know what that means."

Now, for the first time, Leila looked guilty.

She followed Alex and Filippa from the room without protest. With a flick of her fingers, Steph dismissed the rest of the team as well. 

Then it was just Steph and Ellie, alone, and everything went black.


***

Ellie wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she drifted back to consciousness, feeling a cool cloth sponging her forehead and the back of her neck. She whimpered and heard Steph making soothing noises nearby.

"Okay El, little one, easy, easy, I have you."

Ellie whimpered again. "S-Steph, sorryimsorry...."

"Shhh. Take this."

Obediently, Ellie opened her mouth and took the glucose tablet Steph gave her, letting it melt under her tongue. She swallowed, equilibrium slowly returning.

"Sorry Steph, Captain, I--"

"Breathe," Steph said firmly, and Ellie did her best to obey.

"Sorry," Ellie said meekly, once her breathing had regulated. Steph helped her sit up properly, and she clung to Steph anxiously as the other Englishwoman rocked her.

"I know you are, El. I know. Now, you're still in loads of trouble, but we're not going to do anything about it until you're feeling more yourself."

Ellie sucked on her lower lip. "Could...could we maybe...just...not?"

"You know that's not an option, Ellie Jayne Roebuck," Steph scolded.

Ellie started. "That's not my middle name," she protested. "I don't have one."

"No, it's mine. And I know, but this sort of situation calls for one, so you can borrow it," Steph replied, stroking Ellie's hair gently. "Whatever are we going to do with you, hmmm, Ellie? The roster's due to come out in a few days, you know you're on Sarina's radar, probably meant to be number one keeper. She'd be silly not to choose you. But after this..."

Ellie grimaced. "You sure she should have a submissive as number one keeper?" she ground out, eyes filling with tears.

"Stop that." Steph gave her a gentle shake. "She should and she will, and you'll have damn well earned it, Ellie Jayne, do you hear me? You'll go out there and give your best for England, if I have to make sure you do it with a red bottom before every match."

"That's assuming she takes you, too," Ellie retorted, then snapped her mouth shut, colour flooding her face. What had she just said? Steph didn't need more ammunition to kill her.

But Steph just rolled her eyes. "Now I know you're feeling better."

"I'm not really," Ellie said meekly. "Sorry I said that, Steph."

"I know," Steph sighed, tucking her arm tighter around Ellie and cuddling her. "I know, Ellie, sweetheart, shhh. It's going to be all alright. And if I don't go with you, there'll be someone. Alex, or Laura, or Mary, even."

Ellie winced at the last one. Mary Earps had been her opposite number in goal; the Manchester United keeper was her friendly enemy, her rival. One of them was sure to make the roster, even if they didn't both make it, but if one of them was left off, surely it would be Ellie now because of this stupid red card. 

"Don't think too much about it," Steph cautioned her. "That's a problem for future you, and it's Sarina's decision, so whatever happens it's out of your hands."

Ellie's shoulders slumped. "Okay," she agreed quietly as Steph rocked her gently. "Steph...I'm really sorry I fucked up."

"I know." Steph rubbed her shoulders. "This isn't about you being sorry, Ellie, sweetheart, it's about making sure you don't do it again. I could send you for the paddle or the slipper, I suppose," she added, and heard a keening whine as Ellie's only answer, the keeper clinging tightly to her. "No? So I'll get creative, then."

Ellie looked up, alarm in her eyes.

"Breathe for me," Steph ordered. "It's not going to be something that's going to harm you, Ellie. You're still safe with me. Always safe with me."

Obediently, Ellie took shuddering breaths, burying her face in Steph's shoulder.

Finally, Ellie was completely calmed, sitting in Steph's lap with her body relaxed against her captain's chest as Steph stroked her hair.

Steph paused, looking down at the keeper curled up against her, almost asleep. "Feeling a little better, Ellie?"

"Yeah," Ellie yawned, snuggling closer. 

"Wake up, Ellie, I need you to hear me, okay? We need to deal with that red card."

Ellie swallowed, looking up as the memory of what she'd done returned. "B-but Captain, I thought you weren't going to smack me any more."

Steph snorted. "Good try, sweetheart."

"You said you weren't going to send me for the paddle, or the slipper," Ellie protested.

"I did say that, didn't I? And I meant it," Steph confirmed.

"Just your hand?" Ellie asked hopefully.

"For a red card? Keep dreaming, Ellie Jayne," Steph shook her head at that. Still holding Ellie, she reached over and fished a spare shin guard out of her things.

Ellie watched Steph warily, freezing as she caught sight of the shin guard. "With...that?"

"With that," Steph confirmed. She gently pried Ellie's hands off her and adjusted the goalkeeper, settling her facedown over Steph's lap on the bench.

Ellie gulped as Steph tapped her hip. "These are coming down right now, Ellie Jayne."

Meekly, Ellie lifted her hips a little to make it easier for Steph to bare her, though she wasn't happy at all to feel her shorts and knickers being tugged down to mid-thigh. Then she was settled back in position properly, squirming over Steph's lap.

"Stop that, brat," Steph said, giving her bottom a firm pat, though she didn't sound really angry. Reluctantly, Ellie held still.

Steph pressed one hand on her teammate's back, holding her still, and the other fell more sharply, bringing out a pink handprint on Ellie's pale bottom. Ellie choked back a cry, but Steph didn't stop, smacking firmly for a couple of minutes, until Ellie's whole bottom was an even shade of rosy pink.

By then, Ellie was crying hard and promising never to fuck up again, absolutely never, if Steph would just please stop.

Miraculously, Steph did, even giving Ellie's bottom a gentle rub. Ellie started to push herself to her feet, but Steph's hand guided her back into position.

"Don't think so, sweetheart. You took your warmup so well, but we're not done," Steph said, and Ellie swallowed hard. 

"Steph?"

"Yeah, El?" Steph responded automatically to the change in the timbre of Ellie's voice, softening her tone and not reaching for the shin guard quite yet, one hand still on Ellie's back and the other on her bottom. 

"It's going to be horrible....because I got a red, I got a red in the Derby, and keepers shouldn't get reds, and this was an important game," Ellie whimpered.

"And we lost 2-1," Steph added, making Ellie sob. "Though that was not on you," she added. "United were only able to score past you once, and we had every chance to equalise, even a woman down."

"But it's still going to be horrible because it was red," Ellie whispered.

"Yes," Steph said, unwilling to sugarcoat it. "But it's also going to be over soon, if you let me get on with it instead of whinging about it. I've got you, I'm not going to let anything damage you."

"Yes ma'am," Ellie said reluctantly, settling back down.

"Good girl," Steph said softly, and she pressed her hand on Ellie's back, picking up the cloth-covered shin guard with the other.

Then the shin guard smacked down on Ellie's already well heated bottom. The impact was more of a thud than a sharper sting, but it still felt like it was lighting a bonfire on her backside as it continued to rise and fall.

Steph, for her part, watched the colour in her teammate's bottom deepen and darken from rose pink to bright scarlet, a proper England red across both cheeks. Ellie was sobbing pitifully by the time it was done, not trying to choke out apologies, but just clinging to Steph as to a lifeline.

She set the shin guard aside, caressing the punished flesh with a soft, gentle hand.

"Breathe."

Ellie gulped back sobs as she was pulled up into Steph's arms, catching her breath as ordered and burying her face in Steph's shoulder. Her Captain rocked her gently, soothing her, and slowly, Ellie settled down.

"I'm going to be sore until the World Cup," she sniffled.

"Don't be dramatic, it's only May," Steph rolled her eyes. "It's alright Ellie, little one, all's forgiven," she made sure to add.

This got a fresh round of tears dampening her shoulder, but this time they were tears of relief.

"All's well, my little Lioness. Easy now, all's well."

Because Steph had said so, Ellie thought, it was.