Taking It Seriously (China/England group stage)
England vs. China
1 August 2023
71st minute, 4-1
Subbed off.
Lucy Bronze groaned as she made way for Niamh Charles, She had a yellow card hanging over her head, booked not fifteen minutes ago for an alleged handball - which Lucy still thought was unfair, but what could you do if the ref said so. Arguing would just make it worse.
The worst part was that her supposed handball had got China a penalty kick, and they had scored.
Obviously, the Three Lionesses were still ahead...by a lot. And there were only twenty minutes and some extra left. But a lot could happen in twenty minutes, and Lucy wouldn't be there to affect matters.
And she'd been yellow carded. She just bet Millie was going to love that. Not.
Alessia Russo and Lauren Hemp came off with her, and they joined Georgia Stanway in the locker room. Georgia'd been subbed off for Laura Coombs at halftime, and she eyed the two goalscorers and Lucy.
"Alright, why do you look like Millie's going to murder you, Luce?"
Lucy shrugged, dropping down onto the bench beside Georgia. "Got yellow carded for a stupid handball. Wasn't even my fault."
"Right."
"Well, Millie's not going to care," Alessia opined. "VAR says you did it, so you're guilty."
"I'd like to smash VAR in the fucking face."
"You will not," Lauren crossed her arms and glared. "Not unless you want more trouble, Luce. Because that's one way to get it."
Lucy ignored Lauren, changing out of her uniform and into casual clothes. She knew she wouldn't be going back in now she'd been subbed off, and she also had a fairly good idea of what was going to happen to her when the match ended - no matter whether they won or not.
With any luck, maybe someone else would get carded and Millie would forget about her. Maybe Lauren James, she reflected. Cocky little lioness cub, scoring them two of their four goals already - she'd need to be brought down a few pegs. If Hemp thought Lucy had an attitude, she was forgetting about James.
Lucy's phone pinged in her bag, and she pulled it out. England had just scored again, the app said. Specifically, Chloe Kelly had scored.
Lucy snorted and shook her head. Of course it was Chloe Kelly, she thought, rolling her eyes skyward. Chloe thought she was just so damn perfect. All they needed now was for Rachel Daly to score, too.
Four minutes later, Lauren James came into the dressing room, subbed off for Ella Toone. She strutted a little, preening proudly at how well she'd done. Of England's five goals, so far, two had been hers. A brace, rather than a single goal.
"Wasn't I good, Luce?" Lauren asked, beaming at the older Lioness.
Lucy put down her phone and looked at Lauren James, wondering just how she ought to answer that. "You don't want to get too good, James, captains don't think much of arrogance you know."
"You should know, Luce," Georgia remarked. Lucy rolled her eyes.
Before Lucy could dignify that with a response, her football app sounded off again.
"Ooh, who is it this time?" Lauren James leaned over Lucy to see better as she picked up the phone.
"Oh, fucking fuck's sake," Lucy growled. "I was joking, damn you football gods."
"What?" Georgia asked.
"Kelly got it and you know how she is. So I was thinking all it would take now is for Daly to score and it'd be just perfect, wouldn't it."
"I'd call 6-1 pretty perfect," Georgia remarked. "Well, except the 1 of course, obviously. But that's not our fault."
"No, just Lucy's," Lauren James said. Lucy resisted the urge to smack the younger girl.
"What's wrong with Lucy?" Lauren asked Georgia, sitting down on her other side.
"Lucy's not exactly looking forward to getting smacked, so she's taking out her temper on everyone else," Georgia said succinctly.
"Oh." Lauren frowned, swinging her legs slowly. "What kind of smacking?"
"I suppose that depends on how Lucy reacts to Millie when they're all back in here," Georgia remarked. "We'll have to see - well, Cap will have to see. I doubt we'll be watching."
"I want to see Luce get smacked, though," Lauren replied.
"No you don't," Georgia said firmly.
"Millie would only do that if you were next, LJ," Lauren Hemp put in. "Is that what you want?"
"No," was the vehement response. "But Lucy's still being a...well, you know."
"Her attitude is for Millie to sort out, leave her alone."
It was almost another twenty minutes before the final whistle blew (with eleven minutes of additional time to account for) and by then, Lucy was practically ready to tear the dressing room apart.
Millie took one look at Lucy and sighed. "Corner. Right now, Bronze. The rest of you out."
Lucy sputtered indignantly. "Millie! Fuck's sake, I'm not a fucking child."
"Then don't act like one."
"What would La Reina say?" Keira asked, and Lucy blushed.
"Fine," she muttered. "I'll behave."
"Fucking finally," Georgia muttered.
"I said, all of you get out," Millie ordered. "Go through to the ice baths. or wherever. Just don't stay here with me and Luce."
"Fine," Keira echoed. She squeezed Lucy's shoulder before following Laura Coombs and the Laurens out.
When the room had emptied of the rest of the Lionesses, Millie turned to glare at Lucy.
"What the hell was that?"
“What the hell was what?” Lucy fired back, arms folded.
“I told you to get in the corner and I meant it.”
Lucy laughed, looking at her younger captain. "What are you going to do about it?"
Millie raised her eyebrows. "One, Lucia Roberta."
Lucy didn't appreciate being called Lucia Roberta. "This isn't fucking Barca and you're not Alexia."
"Oh, you want Alexia to hear about this? That can be arranged."
"What do you mean, 'that can be arranged', Millie?" Lucy paled, taking a step back. Ominous footsteps sounded in the tunnel outside the dressing room, and Lucy fled to the corner at last, pressing herself into the safety of the two walls' coming together, just before the door opened all the way and the newcomer arrived.
"Lucia Roberta."
Lucy's insides froze.
Not Alexia.
Irene.
She straightened up, hearing the disappointment in the older defender's voice. Irene Paredes was not one to be fucked with. Not, she admitted to herself, that Alexia was either, to be sure. But she and Irene shared a position on the team, Irene was, effectively, her mentor at Barca.
"I-Irene?"
"Not just me, Lucia."
Lucy started to turn around, but another voice stopped her.
"I don't think we said you could come out from the corner, naughty girl."
That was Alexia.
Lucy winced and hastily resumed her position. "Sorry, lo siento, Reina..."
"Oh, you will be. The three of us came to watch you and Keira, we didn't expect you to put on that kind of a show."
"T-three?"
"Three. Isn't that right, pequeñita?"
To Lucy's horror, it was Salma who answered. "Si, Reina."
"Come here, Lucia," Alexia ordered.
Relieved to finally be out of the corner, Lucy approached the Barca captain. "You were watching the match, Reina? You saw that handball was unfair," she appealed.
"Be quiet."
Lucy stared, taking a step back as Alexia and Irene glared disapprovingly at her.
"Am I to understand that you have been ignoring Millie's efforts to discipline you for your deserved yellow card? You are not taking her seriously?"
"VAR was wrong alright, I want to punch it in the fucking face. Reina," Lucy added belatedly.
"VAR was not wrong, and you need to mind your manners, Lucia," Alexia retorted.
"Even if and that's a big if, VAR was wrong, your attitude has been deplorable and absolutely disrespectful, Lucia Roberta."
Lucy sighed.
"I'm sorry, Irene. Can we just--"
Alexia raised an eyebrow.
"No we cannot just."
She took Lucy by the hand and sat down on a chair, pulling Lucy down over her lap, moving too quickly for Lucy to fight back. Even if Lucy had tried, though, Irene was right there.
And Salma, watching everything. Lucy blushed crimson as Alexia pulled her bottoms down, baring her.
"Reina--"
Alexia's hand connected with her bottom, and Lucy squirmed as Alexia continued to smack her like a little girl. Alexia didn't have an implement to hand, but then, she didn't need one right now.
Lucy tried to twist away as Alexia held her down, taking the relentless smacks. She wasn't even sure what number they were on, just that Alexia wouldn't let her go and Alexia wasn't going to stop until Alexia thought they were done.
The worst part was, Lucy thought, that Alexia could reduce her to tears with just her hand. She hadn't taken Millie seriously, not at all, but Alexia was...Alexia.
Alexia couldn't help but be taken seriously. Lucy had almost laughed at the idea of Millie handling her, but this was no laughing matter.
Alexia moved her hand lower, and smacked Lucy's sit spots and undercurve several times, increasing the urgency of Lucy's struggles. "Ow, fuck, please Alexia, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, just stop, please!"
"Will you take your smacking from Millie like a good girl, then, Lucia?"
Lucy froze. What?
"Reina?" she squeaked out. "I thought..."
Alexia laughed harshly. "Oh, I see. You thought this was your punishment for the yellow card? Oh no, Lucia, this was for fucking around when Millie told you to be a good girl. You're still getting it from her. She's your Captain today after all."
"Thank you for warming her up for me," Millie said, and Lucy jumped, having forgotten Millie was still in the room.
"No problem. Although I think I'll leave Irene with you, make sure Lucia here doesn't give you any more problems. I have a kid to get to bed."
"But Reina!"
"You want to be over my knee next, pequeñita?"
Salma gulped audibly. "No ma'am."
Alexia helped Lucy up off her lap, switching places with Millie. The English captain pulled Lucy back over her knee, and this time Lucy went meekly, knowing Irene was watching.
"Lucia, you behave yourself or I'll be letting my Lucia have you when we get back to Barca."
Lucy's eyes widened and she shook her head hard. Irene's wife being upset with her was not something she wanted. "No ma'am, Irene, I'll be good, I promise."
"Get me the England paddle, would you please, Irene?" Millie asked. It didn't take much for Irene to spot it, and she had it down off the wall and in Millie's hand in a few moments.
"Funny, England having one of those. Daly bring it back with her?" Irene remarked conversationally.
"Mmm, don't remember. Her or one of our other NWSL players, not that Daly's one anymore. Definitely more typically American, sure, but it's what some of our girls get used to, and it's more portable than a cane," Millie replied in the same tone as Lucy squirmed ineffectively.
"Lie still, little girl," Irene said firmly. Lucy stopped squirming on Millie's lap, blushing bright pink.
"M'not little..."
"Right," Irene said. "Then you'll take your swats like a big girl ought to, and not put your hands back, got it?"
"I got it, Irene," Lucy sniffled. "Millie...Captain, please, Alexia already smacked me a lot..."
"Then this shouldn't take long, if you behave," Millie said firmly.
Defeated, Lucy nodded. She yelped at the first burning swat of the paddle, but didn't struggle or try to squirm away again, just lying as still as she could as her smacking continued. It didn't take long to bring Lucy back to tears, and soon she was sobbing over Millie's knee like a contrite little girl.
"O-owww, sorry, I'm sorry Millie, sorry I fucked up, sorry about the handball, sorry I didn't listen...." she babbled, and she didn't even notice when the paddle stopped falling.
Millie rested her hand on Lucy's reddened bottom briefly before tugging Lucy's knickers and shorts back up. "Okay, Luce, shhh, I've got you, I know you're sorry. I know."
Irene sat next to Millie on the bench and gently pulled Lucy upright into her lap, so Millie could fetch a water bottle for her. "Alright, Lucia, you want to avoid all this, you obey Millie the first time, got it?"
"Uh huh," Lucy said tearfully, sniffling. Millie was two years younger than her, she shouldn't be able to make her cry like that, Lucy thought, but it had happened. Maybe it had only happened because Alexia and Irene had got involved, but it had happened. "But Irene, it's hard sometimes."
"Having la Capitana be younger than you? I know," Irene agreed. "But oldest doesn't always mean best for the job. And besides, when you're older than your Captain, she's going to be looking to you for wisdom and experience - if you can pull yourself together enough to give it."
This, more than almost anything else - even the spanking - cut hard. Lucy actually cringed, covering her face. "Millie wants me as an example?"
"If you're willing to be one for her," Irene said. "She knows that when you've got yourself together, you've got her back. Try not to make trouble for her too often, won't you? Even if it is practically your middle name."
Lucy Roberta Tough Bronze, Lucy thought. Tough by name and tough by nature. Except, apparently, when her England and Barca captains got her alone.
She accepted the water that Millie handed her, and looked at her Captain. “I’m sorry, Captain. I’ll do better.”
“Alright, Luce,” Millie said quietly. “It’s forgiven. Why don’t we let Irene go, and get you back to Keira?”
Lucy nodded, accepting Irene’s hug when the Spaniard offered it.
“I’ll see you back at Barca, Lucia. Remember what we talked about.”
“I will, Irene,” Lucy promised, and they parted ways, Lucy going through to the ice baths with Millie. She sought out Kiera, and got into the water beside her.
“What happened back there, Luce?” Keira stroked Lucy’s hair lightly, and Lucy leaned into her, shuddering.
“Alexia and Irene turned up, with Salma…”
Slowly, as Keira lent a sympathetic ear, Lucy told her all about it. “And Irene says Millie should be looking to me for advice?”
“She should. She does, sometimes,” Keira pointed out. “More times, if you would behave. You think you can pull it off?”
“I’ll try,” Lucy conceded.
“That’s all the Captains ever ask of us. It’s alright now, Luce, we can move forward from here. Remember, we won.”
“It wasn’t like China was actually playing,” Lauren James said in the next tub over, and Millie grabbed Lauren, ducking her under the water and bringing the young striker back up, sputtering.
“Don’t say that.”
“Sorry, Cap.”
“Cut the arrogance, kiddo, or you will be sorry,” Millie warned. “Do it again and I’ll make what happened to Luce in there look like a few lovepats.”
“I’ll behave for the rest of the tournament,” Lauren promised.
“Swear to me?”
Lauren nodded.
Lucy, watching, snorted under her breath. Oh, she just bet their little Lioness cub was headed for trouble - eventually.
What it was remained to be seen.