Chapter One

The year was 1919, and a young girl named Elizabeth Shelby was tightening her cap against her head as the cool autumn air steadily blew her jacket. Removing her hat, she lifted the inner seam and pulled out a cigarette she had stashed in the lining. Elizabeth put the rolled paper to her lips and pulled a little matchbook from her pocket. There was a small hiss as the match lit, thus, in turn, causing a small bout of smoke to flow from the edge of the cigarette. As soon as she blew the smoke release from her lips, she felt a heavy hand box her left ear.

"Oi," A voice rang out as he snatched the cigarette from the young girl, who, in turn, blanched at his voice. "I thought I told you no more of these," He chided, holding the object in front of her face.

Elizabeth's hand met the back of her neck as her eyes met the floor. "Sorry, Tom," She mumbled under her breath, unable to meet his eyes. Tommy flicked the contraband onto the ground and put it out with his foot.

"No more, Eli," He scolded, putting a hand under her chin so her eyes met his own.

"Yes, Tommy," She said timidly, finding it impossible to hold his icy stare. He released his grip and took a step forward.

"Come on," He tutted, pushing her shoulder forward. The young girl stumbled forward over her shoes. A few strides later, the pair was outside of a tavern, with a sign naming it: The Garrison. The man's hand gently guided the young girl into the building and inside of the first private room.

"Good morning, Tom," A few voices politely rang out through the bar. Thomas nodded his head and took a puff of his cigarette, closing the door behind him and taking a seat on the bench seat. Eli huffed, leaning back forcefully into the back of the chair and blowing a strand of long hair from in front of her face. He looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.

"How long are we gonna be here, Tommy," She asked tiredly. When Eli didn't receive an answer, she continued. "I'm tired and just wanna go home."

Tommy let out a small laugh and pointed his cigarette in her direction. "You wouldn't even be here if you would have listened to your teacher, and I didn't have to come and pick you up early from school." Eli looked down, embarrassed, as she picked at the skin around her nails. "Don't think that we're done talking about that because, like I said, we have a discussion coming tonight." His voice was serious.

"Yes sir," She mumbled, not daring to meet his eyes.

"Oi," He corrected, "Sit up straight and drop the lip. The day is not even halfway done, and my patience is already getting ready for bed. Be careful, Elizabeth Shelby." Tommy warned. Eli swallowed the lump in her throat and corrected her posture, now absentmindedly playing with the ends of her hair.

"Yes, sir." Her voice was clear in response, now not having the courage to complain again. The pair sat in silence as time seemed to move as slow as molasses as they waited for the rest of the family to arrive. Soon, the door opened loudly, and a tall man with a mustache joined the siblings.

"Tom!" Arthur's voice boomed as he went around to sit opposite his brother, next to his youngest sister. "Eli!" He smiled, pulling her close to his chest.

"Hey Arthur," She said, her accent always making itself more pronounced when verbalizing his name.

After a moment, his eyes widened, "Why aren't you at school? Did Tommy come and grab you early?"

Eli looked down and began chewing on her nails. "You know," Her voice trailed off. Tommy sighed and went to put out the light, reaching into his case for another cigarette.

"She got her knuckles slapped by her teacher for mouthing off, so I was called to collect." He motioned with his hand at their sister.

Arthur's jaw clenched, "Lemme see your hands," He more or less ordered, reaching to take her palms into his own.

"Arthur, it's not a big—" Her voice was cut off.

"Bloody 'ell, it isn't a big deal!" His voice resounded. "Some bloody teacher put welts on me baby sister's hands!"

"Arthur," Tommy sighed, putting a hand on his forehead. "Eli," He pointed at her, "Tell Arthur what you deserve those."

"Tommy," She tried, holding a hand up defensively, "I don't have to–"

"Eli," Tom warned.

She sighed, looking up at her oldest brother Arthur, "I told him to fuck off," She mumbled.

"HA!" Arthur laughed, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Well, you are certainly my sister," He grinned. "But I'm serious. That arsehole shouldn't be putting a hand on any Shelby kin." His tone was now deadly serious.

"I know," Tommy responded, leaning back, "I will take care of it."

The oldest sibling nodded and ruffled his baby sister's long, curly chestnut brown hair. Eli leaned into his arm, casting an anxious glance in Tommy's direction. The two brothers continued talking as the family slowly started to shuffle in. John, the third oldest sibling, came next in with an exhausted expression on his face. For he was overwhelmed with his children, and as he had no wife, they consumed his day. Ada, the fourth eldest, came in next, exchanging polite greetings with her brothers. Ada and Eli were the two women in the Shelby family and, thus, probably the most protected girls on earth. Aunt Polly was next to arrive and hauled in a fur coat behind her. She was legally the children's aunt, but in all ways acted as their mother and only active parental figure. Finn, Eli's "twin," Finn, who was actually two years older than her, was still in school, thus concluding the attendance for the quickly thrown-together family meeting.

"Alright," Tommy began, clearing his throat. "Thank you all for coming. I just wanted to throw together something quickly and go over some minor details."

"What's on the table, Tom?" Polly's voice chimed in, blowing smoke from her lungs.

"Firstly, since this is only the second official family meeting since we returned from the war, I just want to make known that the Shelby betting business is on track for huge profit this weekend," He grinned internally. "Thank you again to our lovely Pol for continuing to make profits in our absence." He paused momentarily, opening the small window leading behind the bar, "Harry! Whiskey. Irish." Thomas soon had a bottle of Irish whiskey in his hands and was distributing it around the table. "So," He began again, "To Pol." The toast was simple as everyone, but Eli raised a glass to their aunt.

"Thank you, Tom," She smiled, "And to you boys for fighting in France." Her accent was thick with the words as she glanced around at all of the men in the room. Putting the glass to his lips, Tommy nodded.

"Alright, Tom began, "I feel good about this next chapter," He took a puff from his cigarette. "This," His hand motioned around the room, "I have a good feeling. Maybe even one day hopes to turn this into a legitimate business."

"Here, here," Arthur raised his glass once more, and the rest of the family members followed.

"Alright," He cleared his throat. "As I said, just a few minor details to go over for this weekend of betting, and we can be done." The meeting continued as the youngest Shelby did her best to conceal the marks on her hands. Normally, Eli would give anything to be in a family meeting, as usually she and Finn weren't yet allowed to attend all gatherings, but today, well, she just didn't want to have to answer any questions.

"Eli," Arthur nudged her shoulder.

"Huh?" She asked, snapping out of her thoughts. "'m sorry, what did you say?"

"Pol asked you to leave for a moment," Tommy repeated.

"Aw, but Polly, why can't I stay?" She questioned, looking up at her aunt. "Imma Shelby too!"

"Because you're not supposed to be in this meeting in the first place," She raised her eyebrow. "Where are you supposed to be right now, Elizabeth?" Polly questioned inquisitively.

Eli looked down and stood to her feet. "At school, Pol," She mumbled.

"Head back home," Tommy added in. "We still have things to discuss about certain choices that were made today." Eli's face turned bright red, and she looked around the room at her family members. Nodding, she tried her best to slip out the door without getting stopped again.

The youngest sibling could hear the sound of her family's voices as she exited the Garrison. The roads of Small Heath were dirty and barren but still full of life. Eli kicked a rock and somehow managed to escort it all the way back to the Shelby family home, located at 6 Watery Lane in Birmingham. Sighing to herself, she opened the door and made her way upstairs to the bedroom she and Finn shared. The bed squeaked as she jumped atop it, and Eli sighed as she laid on her back, looking up towards the ceiling. Her eyes began to flutter closed as the day's aftermath finally came to full realization.

Eli wanted nothing more than to be a Peaky Blinder like her brother Thomas – in fact, that was why she had gotten into trouble at school.

Earlier That Day

Eli's chair squealed as she stood to her feet, standing face to face with Mr. Clark.

"Sit down, Miss Shelby," He warned, clutching a ruler behind his back.

"Fuck off!" She said deadly, moving closer to him. "You don't mess with a Shelby and expect to get away with it." Eli's voice was quiet, so her words were only heard by the teacher and not the rest of the class.

"I'm warning you, Elizabeth, sit down and take the consequences of your actions." Mr. Clark stood taller so that their bodies were essentially touching.

"Not until you apologize to Oliver! He didn't even do anything! It was all Daniel! He's the one who passed the note. Why don't you smack his knuckles instead." She was trying to channel authority, but it came off as a whine to the teacher.

"Daniel did nothing." He said simply. "Oliver, and you did. It's simple, Miss Shelby. So sit down and listen, or else I am sending you to Mrs. Robinson's office."

Eli sighed, essentially shoving her body down into her chair, and looked over at her best friend Oliver. 'I'm sorry,' She mouthed towards him. Although she finally listened, Mr. Clark stood over her, ruler in hand.

"Stick out your palms, Eli," He ordered, waiting for compliance. Eli shook her head, biting her tongue.

"Fuck you," She mumbled. The instrument came down hard on her desk, causing the young girl to flinch at the sound.

"NOW, Miss Shelby." He demanded. Biting her lip, Eli slowly extended her hands, and the ruler came down hard on her knuckles. It reigned down six times before Mr. Clark decided she had enough. "Since you insist on not wanting to listen. Maybe you'll have an easier time in Mrs. Robinson's office."

"You can't!" Oliver yelled, his ruler-stricken hands extending in disbelief.

"You can join her." Mr. Clark said simply. "Both of you get out of my classroom." A few minutes later, the best friends were shoulder to shoulder in the Headmistress' office.

"Elizabeth Shelby," The front office staff called out after a beat.

"Good luck," Ollie whispered, shooting her a sympathetic smile, "Thank you for standing up for me." And there it was – the only words that Eli ever wanted to hear: 'Thank you for helping me.' She smiled and looked back at him.

"See you, partner," She said with her best country accent.

"See ya, partner," He smiled back and replied in his own Western tone. Eli's feet begrudgingly marched into the older woman's office.

"G'day, Miss Shelby," The older woman with white hair smiled.

"Hello, Mrs. Robinson," Eli replied respectfully.

"This is the third time I've had you here in three weeks," She raised an eyebrow at the young girl.

"I know," She sighed, "But please don't call my home. I promise it'll be the last time. I was just sticking up for me friend, I mean, Mr. Clark was being –" Mrs. Robinson held up a hand.

"Elizabeth," She interrupted. "If it weren't for your family, I would have called home the very first time you got sent down here." The Headmistress said honestly. "But three times in three weeks isn't something that is tolerable, even for a Shelby." She stood up and walked over to the phone that was mounted against the wall in her office. Turning the dial, Eli chewed at her nails anxiously.

'Please, please, please.' She thought to herself, 'Anyone but Tommy answer the phone.'

"Hello?" Mrs. Robinson's voice spoke through the line. "Yes, this is Anna Robinson. I'm calling on behalf of Elizabeth Shelby. I am the Headmistress here at her school." There was a mumble on the other line. "Oh, hello, Mr. Shelby." Eli swallowed the lump in her throat, praying that John or Arthur had answered the phone. "Yes, I'm afraid that Eli will need to return home due to suspension for the rest of the week and will be able to return on Monday. She will need one of her family members to come and collect her today." There was another low rumble through the phone. "Yes, goodbye," She hung the phone on the wall and returned to her desk to take a seat. "Your brother will be here shortly," She smiled sadly.

"Uh, do you know which one answered the phone?" Eli replied worriedly, tugging at the collar of her shirt.

"Thomas."

Fuck. Eli thought to herself, looking down at her legs. Silence ensued as the pair waited anxiously for the second oldest Shelby to arrive. Soon, there was a rap at the door, and Tommy walked into the room, placing his hands on his sister's shoulders, and squeezed them forcefully.

"G'day Mr. Shelby." She greeted timidly.

"Good day," He replied, "So why is Elizabeth being sent home early?" He questioned, and Eli internally groaned at the use of her full name – she was screwed.

"Well, this is the third time she has been down to my office in three weeks for disrespecting her teacher," Tommy's grip on her shoulders tightened even more.

"Third time?" He questioned tiredly.

"Y–yes," She stuttered, "We sent home a note both times. Did you not receive them, sir?"

Eli could feel both sets of eyes on her, and she internally cursed herself for throwing the notes away and not giving them to her brother.

"Where did the notes go, Elizabeth?" Tommy asked with silent rage in a way that only he could do.

"I…I threw them away," She said silently, not daring to look up at her brother.

"I had figured," Mrs. Robinson said truthfully. "Mr. Shelby, this cannot continue to happen. Mr. Clark is…"

Tommy held up a hand at the woman and tapped his sister's shoulder. "Yes." He said simply. "It will not happen again. Please forgive my sister." He took out his pocketwatch and looked down at the time. Sighing, he tucked it back into his suit pocket and looked back towards the Headmistress. "I will deal with my sister, but I am late for a meeting."

"Of course," She stood to her feet. "Thank you, Mr. Shelby.

"Alright then, yes, thank you. Eli," He motioned, letting go of her shoulders and leading her out the door. Tommy leaned down to whisper in his sister's ear as the two passed by Oliver. "Say goodbye to him because you're done hanging out with him for a while."

Eli turned around and was about to fight with her brother until she saw the look of coldness in his eyes. She nodded slowly and turned back around. "Bye, Ollie," She whispered.

"Bye, Eli," He replied, not daring to meet Tommy's eyes. As the two siblings made their way out of the building, Tom grabbed his sister's shoulder.

"Stay here. I need to handle something quickly. Say goodbye to sitting comfortably for a while, Elizabeth, because when we get home, your arse is having a conversation with the strop." He threatened. Eli's face turned white in fear as she saw him walk back into the building. Pulling a cigarette from the hem of her hat, she puffed at it, anxiously awaiting his return.

Presently

Eli exhaled, opened her eyes, and stood to her feet. Taking note of observations normally aided her in settling down, so walking over to the mirror, she took inventory of her appearance after the bombshell of a morning.

Eli began with her eyes: deep blue, she thought to herself, just like Tommy's. She then focused on all of her brother's favorite features of her face - her freckles. They roamed across her entire head, most prominently under her eyes, curving onto her nose. These were real, genuine, authentic English freckles that moved at the moment of her birth and had taken a permanent residency to their liking.

She took a step back, still deep in thought about the day and events to come. Eli took note of how the tan trousers with blue patches were baggy around her legs. Not only was she smaller than most of her peers, but being born premature, she had other issues. Though Eli had a strong English fighter frame, her body had not fully developed those muscles as a baby; thus, she appeared weaker. Standing at only 5'4, her brother's old pants fell lower than they were made to; thus, she took the time to cuff them at the hems, tucking her navy blue crew socks up underneath them and adjusting her chestnut shoes into place on her feet. Her shoes were the only clothing article that belonged to Eli, as everything else had previously belonged to her brothers or sister.

Suddenly, the young girl glanced at the top of her head. She ripped the peaked cap off to inspect her hair. Eli's hair was not like the other girls – but she liked it that way. She had a long head of very curly, thick brown hair that came down to her hips. No one knew where she got her curls from, but they all loved them. Eli loved them, too. She ruffled her curls into her hands in admiration and then snuck the cap back onto her head.

Staring into the glass, Eli pondered. If she wanted one thing in the world, it was to be like Tommy. Eli would quite literally kill to be called a Peaky Blinder like her older brothers. In fact, she often had dreams about cutting her hair like her brother's and pretending to be like a Blinder. However, those dreams would often end in one way – her being stropped by her older brother for putting herself in danger. Eli cringed at the idea and dismissed it – for now.

As time passed, she began to chew her nails as the thought of Tommy coming home made her stomach churn in anticipation. Eli was not often met with the business end of the belt as just the threat of it usually made her straighten up. However, this was the first time since Tommy came home that she was in serious trouble with him – that's why she worked so hard to cover up the fact that she had gotten in trouble at school because she didn't want her brother to be frustrated or angry at her. Pacing around the room, she reflected on the first time Tommy had used the razor strop on her. Eli cringed, praying that he might reconsider.

Hours passed, and Eli finally settled down enough to read a book on her bed. Out of nowhere, there was a rap at the door, and Eli's head shot up in fear.

"Eli," Tommy began, opening the door to her and Finn's bedroom.

"Yeah, Tom?" Her voice cracked as she sat up on the bed quickly.

"We need to have a talk about today." His voice was serious as he rolled up his sleeves to the middle of his arm.

"Tommy, I'm so sorry. I just didn't want you to be upset because you haven't really been angry at me since you came back from France. I just didn't want you to thrash me because I thought that maybe you wouldn't have to anymore." She blurted out rapidly.

Tom smiled to himself as he took off his cap and set it down on the dresser. "Eli," He said, exhaling. "I wasn't expecting you to be all grown up when I came back from France. Actually, I was hoping that you weren't." Tommy laughed to himself and moved to sit next to his sister. "You know, when I got off the train with Arthur and John, I was looking around for the little girl that I had left, but then I saw you standing there in her place. I mean, you dress like Finn," He said, motioning to her choice of clothes, "But underneath, you are growing up." He paused, looking over at his sister, who was fully listening to his words. "I know this may be wrong, but I'm glad that you didn't grow up all the way while I was gone. I mean, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to bring you over my knee anymore, like I'll have to do today," Eli blanched at his words, "But I'm happy to see that you're still my little sister."

"You…you don't have to, uh, p-put me over your knee," She said timidly, pleading almost.

"Yes, Eli, I do, and you know why," Tommy replied seriously, looking down at her. "I mean, you purposefully lied to Pol and me by not bringing us those letters." He raised an eyebrow.

Eli nodded, looking down at her hands. "I'm sorry," She mumbled.

"You will be," He shrugged, reaching out to grab her hand.

"WAIT!" She shouted, scooching away from his palm.

"Elizabeth," He said evenly, icy blue eyes cutting into her own warm ocean-hued ones.

"Tommy, please," She pleaded.

"No. Come 'ere." Eli hung her head and slowly inched closer to Thomas. As soon as she was in arms reach of him, he reached out, grabbed her wrist, and pulled Eli's body over his knees. Smacks began to fall slowly, not nearly as hard as she was expecting. Eli shifted her body to try and get away from the assault, but Tommy pinned her body against his leg.

"Why are we here, Elizabeth?" He paused, tugging at her pants.

"Tommmmy," She whined, "No, please leave them up!"

"Eli," He warned calmly. She sighed, moving her legs so that only her underwear remained intact. Another smack fell harder this time. "Now. Why are we here?" He asked again.

"AH!" She shrieked. "AH! I'm sorry! B–because I lied to you and Pol about getting into trouble at school, and I hid the letters and got suspended." Her eyes scrunched together in pain.

"Good." His reply was simple, and the smacks began to reign down harder. This continued for a few minutes until Eli's please finally became more pronounced.

"TOMMY!" She shouted at one particularly hard smack. "Please!"

"Eli," He paused, rubbing her back. "Why did you hide the letters from me?"

"W…what? I – I already told you." She replied through small tears and hiccups. "B–because I didn't think you would thrash me anymore, and … and I was just trying to avoid you being angry at … at me because you haven't really been angry at me since you've been back." She admitted.

"Eli," He said quietly. "You're only thirteen years old. There's plenty of time left for you to be on the business end of my belt." Thomas said seriously. "Next time," He said, emphasizing his point with a swat, "Don't hide things from me." Another swat. "Lady or not, grownup or kid, you're still my sister, and it's my job to keep you in line."

Eli nodded through tears. "Y…yes, Tommy,"

"Eli," He began again, sitting her up so that she was now trapped standing in between his legs. "I'm back, and I'm not going anywhere. So, the next time you mess up, I'll be here to hold you accountable. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, Tommy," She replied quietly, looking down at his legs with tears.

"Good." Tommy stood to his feet and walked over to the dresser. Eli heard a clink and looked over at him, horrified.

"Tommy, please," She pleaded, seeing the razor strop in his hand. Eli didn't see that he had brought that in with him and was hoping that he had forgotten about it altogether.

"Bend over the bed, Elizabeth." He said emotionlessly.

"Tom…"

"Now."

Eli nodded sadly and collapsed into the mattress, tears now fully streaming down her face. She hated being in trouble, but she hated having Tommy upset at her even more.
"You're getting thirteen." And with that, the strop fell down on her seat.

"AH!" She exclaimed, shooting up and off of her stomach. "Tommy!"

"Eli…" He warned, "Get back down."

"Tommy, please don't," One look from her brother was all it took for her to drape her body back over the mattress. Eli lost track after eight, and the last five fell hard and fast on her sit spots. She was now openly sobbing and didn't even know that it was over until she heard the strop clink on the ground.

"You're all done," He said gently, pulling her into his body.

"I'm so sorry, Bubba," She cried into his shirt as he rubbed her back.

"Come 'ere, little Fillie," He said affectionately, using a nickname from her childhood.

Elizabeth curled into his body, and Tommy laid her down on the bed, "Why don't you close your eyes until supper." Tommy said gently, running a hand through her hair. "I will come and get you when it is time to eat."

"Yes, Tom," She said quietly, pain shooting through her whole body. "I'm so sorry, Tommy," She said, still tearful.

"I know," He nodded, "It's all done, okay?" Eli nodded and brought her knees close to her chest, lying down. "Get some rest, Fillie," His tone was gentle as he dropped a kiss on her forehead.

Eli closed her eyes as she heard her brother pick up the piece of leather and close the door behind him. Sniffles echoed throughout the room, and soon enough sleep overtook the youngest Shelby. With sandman sleep surrounding her, she dreamed of the young thing she always dreamed of — being just like her brother, Thomas Shelby, a Peaky Blinder.