Author’s Note: This is a ‘missing scene’ from the movie ‘The Sound of Music’. A friend had suggested a fanfic for the movie so I re-watched the movie with an eye out for spanking ideas. I was struck by how lenient the Captain actually was with his kids. In my head I remembered him as quite stern, and on the surface he is, but I believe it’s a case of ‘his bark being worse than his bite’. After the children go to visit Maria they lie to him about where they’ve been, and while he clearly knows it’s a lie he seems more amused than upset. Then he tells them he’s going to tell the staff not to give them dinner because their lie involved eating lots of berries, but then a few minutes later, he tells them dinner is ready. Of course that’s after he’s softened a bit due to their singing, but near the end, we learn that he clearly knows that his children play horrible pranks on every governess they get, and not only does he not punish them for it, he blames the governesses for not being able to control the children. When the children are out playing with Maria she mentions how surprising it is that sweet children could play such horrible pranks, and I believe it’s Friedrich who says “How else can we get father to notice us?” So that line, mixed with the Captain’s apparent dichotomy between stern demeanor and actual leniency brought this story to mind. That and the very token swat he gives Brigitta in the beginning after having them all line up for the first time.
Disclaimer: I don’t own these characters, and I’m not making any money from this story.
Warning: Non-consensual spanking of minors. I do not advocate the spanking of children in real life, only in fiction.

Strict Adherence to Discipline

Maria couldn’t keep the smile off her face while brushing her teeth. Not only had the captain asked her to stay, but he’d apologized for yelling at her. After a month of getting to know the children, Maria had fallen in love with each and every one of them, and over the month her anger towards their father had grown. She’d planned to speak to him calmly and rationally about what the children needed from him once he’d returned, but when he berated them for being soaked before even saying hello, her temper had gotten the better of her. 

She spit and rinsed her mouth before turning off the bathroom light. She had a lot to talk to God about tonight. She’d need to beg forgiveness for her propensity to speak her mind loudly, and thank him for bringing Captain Georg Von Trapp home to his children, and for helping him to see how wonderful they truly were.

Just as she was about to kneel down, there was a knock on her door. She went to answer it, only to find all seven of the children on the other side in their pajamas.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned. After that first day with the thunderstorm, the children generally didn’t get up after being put to sleep. Although while the captain had been away bedtime was not ‘strictly enforced’ nor was ‘discipline strictly adhered to’.

Instead of answering, Liesl and Friedrich shared a glance. Maria stepped back and waved them in. “If it’s that serious, you’d better come in.”

The children filed in silently, and took up residence on her bed. Maria closed the door and looked at them expectantly.

A few seconds of silence filled the air before Liesl said, “First, we wanted to thank you.”

“Yes, thank you,” a couple of the children echoed.

“What for?” Maria asked.

Friedrich said, “For finding a way to make Father notice us.”

Maria’s eyebrows furrowed, while the children nodded.

“For making Father notice something positive about us,” Liesl corrected.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Maria said.

“The signing,” Louisa said with a grin.

“Father smiled at us,” Brigitta said.

“And hugged us even though we hadn’t been punished,” Friedrich added.

“If we’d known, we wouldn’t have gone through nearly as many governesses,” Kurt said.

“We didn’t even put a snake in the baronesses bed tonight,” little Gretl said, only to be shushed by Liesl.

“Or spiders,” Marta added.

“I see.” Maria was torn between scolding them and praising them. “That’s all very insightful, and I’m glad you’ve found a positive way to get your father’s attention, but you mustn’t play any pranks on the baroness whether your father notices you or not.” She put her hands on her hips, “The baroness is a person with feelings, not a tool to be used to gain your father’s attention. I expect each and every one of you to show her kindness. Is that clear?”

The older children blushed, and they all nodded to a choirs of, “Yes, Fräulein Maria.”

Unable to stay cross, Maria smiled and put her arms down. “Good. Now, let’s think of a way to really impress your father. What would you say to putting on a puppet show for him and his guests?”

All the children gave enthusiastic yesses, and the little ones came to give Maria a hug. A loud rap on the door silenced them all. Maria went to the door and opened it to see the captain glaring at her. She heard some gasps behind her and some shuffling as the children got in line to stand at attention.

“Captain?” Maria said.

“What exactly is going on, here?” Georg stepped in and turned his disapproving glare towards his children.

“The children and I were just making plans for tomorrow,” Maria said, closing the door behind him.

His glare went back to her. “Did I, or did I not tell you several times that bedtime is to be strictly enforced?”

She felt her temper rising, and she glared back, “You did, but as I told you several times, they’re children, not military officers. Exceptions need to be made.” To her shock, he closed his eyes for a moment and slowly nodded.

“Yes, you did.” He turned back to the children, and his glare fell back into place. “Tell me children, is tonight an exception? Have you been to bed on time every other night since I’ve been away?”

After a short pause Liesl said, “No, Father.”

“And have you been following any of the other rules of the house since I’ve been gone?”

“No, Father,” several of them admitted sadly.

“Then I’d say punishment is in order, wouldn’t you?”

Maria shook her head and opened her mouth to protest, but the children beat her to it. Various protests chimed in from all seven at once.  

Georg held his hand up to silence them, and the protests died down.

Maria crossed her arms and said firmly, “Punishment is out of the question.”

The full force of his displeasure turned back on her. “Out of the question?”

She nodded with resolution in her eyes. “The children were following my directions. Punishing them for obeying their governess is out of the question. Especially when your rules are ridiculous.”

His eyes widened at that, and Maria suspected she’d gone too far with her last statement. His eyes narrowed and he took a step towards her. “You make a very good point Fräulein Maria. Maybe the children aren’t to blame. Maybe you’re the one who deserves punishment since you were left in charge.”

She took a step back and her lips pressed into a thin line. “Should I pack my bags?”

The children all protested again, but the captain silenced them with a stern look before turning back to Maria.

“No, I told you that I don’t want you to leave. But there must be a balance between discipline and chaos. I agree that there should be exceptions to the rules, and I’d like you to help me see them. But blatant disregard of all the rules won’t be tolerated. Surly the Abby had rules that you followed.”

“Yes of course, but the children didn’t blatantly disregard-”

“Did you enforce a bedtime while I was gone?”

“Well, no but-”

“Did you enforce their daily marches?”

“No, but-“

“Did you keep up with their daily studies?”

“Not daily, but we-”

“I don’t want excuses Fräulein Maria. You and the children disobeyed me while I was away, so you may either pack a bag or accept your punishment along with the children.”

Frustration and guilt warred in her chest, and on top of that his mere presence made her body feel things that she didn’t want to feel. “What punishment?” she asked.

“The children will be spanked.”

Marta and Gretl began to cry softly.

“The children do not deserve that,” Maria said, glaring daggers at him.

“Yes they do.” He turned to the kids and said, “Don’t you children?”

Both Liesl and Friedrich answered reluctantly, “Yes, Father.”

He nodded. “And you, Fräulein, will be made to watch. Hopefully this will make you think twice about disregarding my orders in the future.”

Maria looked at Liesl, worry in her eyes, and the young woman gave her a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. We did know this is what would happen if we broke the rules.”

Georg walked to the end of the line to stand in front of Gretl, and motioned her forward. Once she was in front of him he knelt down on one knee to be at eye level. “Did you follow all the rules while I was away?”

“No, Father,” she said tearfully. “I’m sorry.”

“Hmm.” He motioned with a finger for her to turn around.

She leaned against his raised leg, and he gave her bottom one mild smack that didn’t even produce a yelp from the child.

To Maria’s surprise, the captain then picked Gretl up, set her on his raised thigh, and pulled her into a hug. He patted her back, kissed the top of her head, and mumbled soothing words.

“There, there. All done. You took that very well. You’re going to be a good girl now and follow the rules, aren’t you?”

“Yes, Father,” Gretl said, her tears gone as quickly as they’d come.

He held her for several more seconds, before finally lifting her up and setting her on her feet. He wiped the tears off her face with his thumbs and said, “Go wait on the bed.”

While Gretl climbed up on Maria’s bed, Georg scooted over half a foot to be in front of Marta and motioned her forward.

“Did you follow the rules while I was away?”

“No, Father. I’m very sorry.” Marta said with sincerity and tears.

He patted his thigh, and she leaned against it. And again, after one mild swat he picked her up, pulled her into a hug, and said soothing things.

Maria watched all of this with a growing understanding of why the children purposely got into trouble. She suspected the benefit of receiving solid affection for the first time in a month strongly outweighed the light punishment he was dishing out.

Once he sent Marta off to the bed, he shuffled over in front of Brigitta, who came forward a step before he gestured. “Did you follow the rules while I was away?”

“No, Father,” she answered softly. “I’m sorry.”

After he pointed to his thigh. She turned and leaned down to put her hands on his thigh. He put his left hand over hers, and then used his right to swat her twice firmly.

The first smack made Brigitta wince and a soft, “Ow,” escaped her lips with the second.

He put his hands on her shoulders and maneuvered her around to sit on his raised leg. As with the youngest two, he pulled her into a solid hug and spoke gently to her. “All done. I expect you will do better the next time I’m away, won’t you?”

“Yes, Father,” she answered, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and holding on tight. “I love you, Father.”

Maria saw the smile on Georg’s face, and wondered if he needed the affection just as much as the children did. Maybe he only allowed himself to give affection after punishment, because of some notion about spoiling them and keeping up appearances. If so, she vowed to make it her mission to change that. And apparently she was on the right track with getting the children to sing for him. After a performance he would have a good excuse to show affection.

The captain sent Brigitta to the bed with her sisters, and moved to face Kurt.

Once Kurt had taken a step forward, he said, “I’m too old for this kind of spanking, Father.”

Maria noticed Georg’s lips twitch up for a second, before nodding solemnly, “I see. Last time I checked, you were still eleven. Did you turn thirteen while I was away?”

Frowning, Kurt muttered, “No, Father.”

“And did you behave like a mature young man should while I was away? Following the rules, and helping the younger ones to follow the rules as well?”

Glaring at his feet, Kurt shook his head. “No, Father.”

“No.” the captain reiterated, while patting his thigh.

Sighing dejectedly, Kurt leaned down and put his hands on the raised thigh.

The captain put one hand over Kurt’s, before giving his bottom two firm smacks.

Kurt winced, but kept quiet for it.

As with the girls, Georg turned Kurt around, sat him on his thigh, and pulled him into a hug.

“You took that very well. I’m proud of you, and I know you’ll follow the rules the next time I’m away.”

Kurt hugged his father tightly, and whispered, “I missed you, Father.”

Maria could see the captain’s arms tightening around his son for a few brief moments before patting the boy’s back and lifting him off his leg.

“Go wait on the bed.”

While Kurt got situated, Georg stood, straightened his suit jacket and moved to face Louisa. Maria was relieved to note that the thirteen-year-old didn’t seem frightened, just unhappy.

Her father motioned her forward. Once she was in reaching distance he said, “Did you follow the rules while I was gone?”

“No, Father.”

“Did you help the little ones follow the rules?”

“No, Father.”

“Hmm.” He tilted his head to the side once, gesturing for her to turn to the side and lean forward. When she was in place, he wrapped his left arm around her back to hold her, and she grabbed a fistful of his pant leg. He raised his right hand and smacked her bottom five times in rapid succession.

Louisa let out a loud “Ooow!” and tears sprang to her eyes.

He took his arm off her waist, and once she was upright her hands went back to rub her bottom. He pulled her into a hug, and after a few seconds of comforting words and reassurances from him, she wrapped her arms around his waist. 

“I’m sorry, Father,” she said softly.

“I know you are, darling. And I know you’ll do better next time, won’t you?”

“Yes, Father.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Alright, go wait on the bed.”

When he moved to stand in front of Friedrich the teen stepped forward before being asked and said sincerely, “I’m sorry, Father. I didn’t follow the rules while you were gone, and I didn’t encourage the younger ones to follow the rules either.” His eyes darted to Maria’s before going back to his father’s. “I don’t believe it will happen again.”

“Good, boy,” Georg said. “I’m proud of you for admitting it.” He tilted his head to the side, and Friedrich complied by turning to the side and bending slightly at the waist. As with Louisa, the captain wrapped an arm around the boy’s waist to hold him still, and swatted his backside five times.

Friedrich grunted and hissed through it, but didn’t yelp. Once he was upright, Georg pulled him into a hug. Friedrich put one hand back to rub out the sting while the other clutched his father’s suit jacket. Georg rubbed his back and kissed the top of his head. “You took that very well. I’m proud of how much you’ve matured this past year.”

“Thank you, Father.” Friedrich put both arms around his father, holding tight. “I will do better the next time you’re away.”

“I believe you.”

Georg waited until Friedrich dropped his arms, before letting go of the boy and sending him off to the bed. Then he moved to stand in front of Liesl.

She pouted, but stepped forward when he gestured.

“Did you follow the rules while I was away?”

“Most of the time.”

“Liesl,” he said, frowning.

“No, Father, I didn’t follow all of your rules, and I didn’t help the younger ones to follow them either. But we did listen to Fräulein Maria and follow her rules.”

Georg’s eyes narrowed. “I see.” He turned to Maria and said, “It appears that my children have decided that your rules supersede mine.”

Maria shook her head, but couldn’t actually protest, because she had led the children to disobey their father’s rules while asking them to follow hers. The difference was that her rules were much less exact or strict.

“I’m sorry, Fräulein, but we will have to reestablish the chain of command before the night is over.” He turned back to Liesl, who was glancing back and forth between the two adults with worry.

Turning back to his eldest, the captain said, “You, young lady, do not get to decide to disobey me simply because you like someone else’s rules more.” He gestured with his head for her to turn to the side.

She bit her lip as she turned and bent. “Sorry, Father.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist, and applied his hand to her backside five times. She winced and hissed through it. Then instead of letting her go, Georg said, “I do hope this isn’t the beginning of a rebellious streak, Liesl. I won’t stand for it.” He swatted her twice more, making her cry out, more from surprise than pain.

He stood her up and looked into her eyes for a few seconds.

“I’m sorry, Father,” she said with sincerity.

Georg’s expression immediately softened with a smile, and he wiped the stray tears off her face before pulling her into a hug. “Alright then. All is forgiven. It’s not entirely your fault for being led astray in the first place.” He glanced at Maria with reproof.

Liesl shook her head and looked up at her Father to protest. “It’s not Maria’s fault, Fath-”

He put a finger against her lips to silence her. “It’s time for the adults to talk, and the children to behave.” He nodded towards the bed.

Liesl looked over at Maria once, eyebrows furrowed with worry, before following her father’s directions. She sat on Maria’s bed with her brothers and sisters.

The captain moved to stand directly in front of Maria. “Tomorrow morning after breakfast, you and I will have a short discussion about a new set of rules of the house. I will take all of your ideas and suggestions into consideration, but the final decisions will mine. Is that clear?”

Smiling in spite of his dower expression, Maria said, “Oh, yes Captain. Yes, I’d like that very much. I have several ideas for-”

He held a finger up to stop her. “I’m sure you do. But that’s for tomorrow. Tonight we need to take care of the fact that you disobeyed me all month. I can’t simply let that go and then expect my children to respect my authority. So if you want to have that meeting tomorrow and help me make changes to the rules, you must first accept punishment for the rules you’ve already broken.”

Her face heated up. His proximity and intense gaze her made it difficult for her to think straight. “I-I thought watching the children getting spanked was my punishment.”

“I thought so, too, but now I doubt that will suffice. I’d say you’re due a spanking as well.”

Some of the children gasped, while Liesl protested, “Father, you can’t.”

Turning his head toward her he said, “I assure you, I can.” Turning back to Maria he tilted his head to the side, using the same gesture for her as he had the children.

Maria bit her lip, wondering if she should comply or not. She definitely wanted to be there to help him make new rules tomorrow, and she had basically flaunted all of his rules while he’d been away. Her eyes darted to the children, and she could certainly tell that they were concerned. But maybe that wasn’t a bad thing. Watching each of them getting punished had made Maria determined not to let it happen again, and maybe the same would be true if the children saw her punished. It wouldn’t hurt for them to have an extra incentive to obey the new rules they came up with. And a very, very small voice inside Maria’s heart wondered if perhaps she’d get a hug once the punishment was over. The thought of being in the captain’s arms made her stomach feel as though there were butterflies in it.

Georg cleared his throat and tilted his head to the side again with growing impatience.

Swallowing down all her internal protests and reasons to say no, she gave him a slight nod, and turned to the side. She felt his arm slip around her back and waist, and he snugged her up tight against him. Unsure what to do with her hands, she grasped the leg of the captain’s trousers, and felt her entire body tingling from the close contact. A solid smack landed on her backside, and her eyes opened wide with shock at the sting. More swats landed and she held her breath to remain quiet.

Once five had been delivered her entire bottom stung, but it was by no means intolerable. However, the captain didn’t stop at five. He went all the way to ten, and by the time he was done the sting in her bottom had turned into a burn, and Maria was having trouble staying quiet.

She felt him letting go of her waist, and then a hand was on her arm, pulling her forward against his chest.

One of his hands rubbed her back while the other cupped the back of her head.

“I trust we won’t have to go over this again,” he said gently.  

Closing her eyes, she let herself enjoy being in his arms. “No Captain, we won’t.”

He held her for several more seconds, until Maria suddenly came to her senses. She was standing in a man’s arms. Her eyes popped open and she immediately took a step back. She cleared her throat, tried to regain a small measure of composure, and said, “It won’t happen again Captain. I promise.”

Georg appeared to be at a loss for words for a few seconds, before slowly nodding. “Very good.” He turned to the kids and said, “Alright children.” He waved them forward. “Say goodnight to Maria and then straight to bed.” 

They all climbed off the bed and rushed to give Maria hugs and say their goodnights. She gave them each a reassuring hug and a smile to let them know she was alright.  

Liesl was the last to go, and soon Maria and Georg were alone.

After an awkward silence, the captain said, “Right. I suppose I should bid you goodnight as well. We’ll talk tomorrow after breakfast.”

“Goodnight,” she said with a nod as he went out the door. She shut the door behind him and leaned against it. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then walked toward her bed with determination. Her conversation with God was going to be a lengthy one tonight.

The End

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