Far from the Home for Enchanted Girls and the home of Little Johnny, another young boy lived, and he was just about to be called up to the front of his class.

'Arthur Hood,' screeched Mrs Fairweather. The menacing history teacher sat behind her desk and a thick layer of makeup, which covered her old and wrinkled face, 'your presentation of the famous historical figure that you chose.'

With a deep breath, Arthur stood up from his chair and started towards the blackboard. But as he began shuffling past other students, the usual snickers growing all around, a leg poked out into the aisle.

Too slow to react, Arthur tripped over the purposely placed limb and began stumbling forward, his arms clawing wildly to gain back his footing, but it was useless. Looking like a human windmill, he fumbled on, picking up speed, until he smashed into the globe resting on Mrs Fairweather's desk. Along with the sphere, he tumbled to the floor.

Laughs, laughs and more laughs filled the classroom. Even Mrs Fairweather joined in with the ruckus until she hacked up a storm and yelled for everyone to shut their traps.

'Quiet, you lot,' she bellowed.

The laughing died instantly and Arthur, who went flush in the cheeks, quickly got back to his feet. He then placed the globe back on the desk before glancing at the culprit of his humiliating feat.

His name was Billy the Brute. He was huge and had always been a thorn in Arthur's side.

'Arthur Hood!' snapped Mrs Fairweather. 'Get on with it. We haven't got all day.'

'Yes, ma'am,' Arthur replied before grabbing a piece of chalk and writing his name on the blackboard.

'Everyone already knows your name, idiot,' Billy called out, getting more laughs.

This time Mrs Fairweather didn't participate in the ridicule. Instead, she snatched a ruler from her side and whipped it down onto her desk, making an ear-splitting noise. 'Shut up.'

Again, everyone went quiet.

'Billy,' Mrs Fairweather continued with a snap, 'detention after school. And your parents will be called this time.'

To Arthur's dismay, Billy looked daggers at him, curled his mouth into a sneer and breathed, 'I'm going to get you for that.'

'Arthur Hood,' Miss Fairweather snapped again. 'If you don't start this instant, you'll be joining Billy.'

That would be a fate worse than death, thought Arthur, and he quickly got to his presentation.

'Today, there are two figures, two of my favorites, that I'll be sharing with you,' Arthur piped up, stuttering with nerves. 'You may already know who they are but I will indulge a lot more of their history.' He pointed to his first name on the blackboard. 'The first is the just and courageous King Arthur, the hero and ruler of Camelot.' He then pointed to his last name. 'And the second is Robin Hood, the great outlaw who stood up for the common folk and fought tyranny.'

Now smiling and his nerves dampening, Arthur turned to Mrs Fairweather, thinking she'd be impressed by his choices – who wouldn't be – but a sagging grimace, as if weights were holding down her face, graced her features as it always did when she was beyond annoyed.

'Arthur,' she muttered softly and calmly, yet her left eye twitched as if her head was about to explode.

'Yes, ma'am,' said Arthur with a gulp, for he knew her composure was a ruse.

'What was the assignment again?'

'To do a presentation about a famous historical figure.'

'Historical being the key word. Real, not mythical.'

'But King Arthur and Robin Hood were real.' Arthur knew the moment he had finished the sentence that he had made a mistake.

'They were not!' yelled Mrs Fairweather, hitting the ruler on her desk again and again until it snapped in two, the end piece rocketing through the air and almost hitting Arthur in the eye. 'Arthur Hood, you have failed your presentation. Detention after school.'

The classroom erupted as Arthur lowered his head and sulked back to his chair.

The school day couldn't have gone any slower for Arthur after that, but when it was time for detention, he wished he was starting the school day all over again. And it was only him and Billy that had to stay behind after final class.

'Sit down and do your homework,' Mrs Fairweather demanded, as the two boys entered her classroom.

Arthur shuffled over to a desk by a window and took his seat. Thankfully for him, Billy sat on the opposite side of the room.

Taking out his homework from his backpack, Arthur looked outside and down to the street below, where he saw a strange looking man wearing a long black cloak standing on the sidewalk. With a very pale face, he almost resembled a vampire.

'How odd,' Arthur said to himself before a pencil eraser came whizzing past his head.

'What are you staring at, weirdo?'

Arthur turned to face Billy, who wore an evil smirk. He then turned to face Mrs Fairweather, to see if she was witnessing him being bullied, but she wasn't there.

'Where's the teacher?' Arthur asked.

'She left for a bit,' replied Billy, getting to his feet. He then thumped menacingly over to Arthur and glared down. 'Time to get you back for getting me into trouble.'

Billy threw back a fist, ready to strike, but Arthur was having none of that. He snatched his backpack, ducked under the incoming punch and scuttled away. And he didn't stop, barging out of the classroom and down the empty hallway.

'Where are you going?' Billy yelled.

Not surprised that his bully had given chase, Arthur sped up. He ran past his locker, which he had no desire to be stuffed inside as was the usual scenario, and past other classrooms, hoping to see a teacher. But there was nobody to save him.

It was time to ditch detention all together, Arthur then thought. It was time to go home. However, Billy was as stubborn as he always was and continued to chase him far from school.

'I'm going to get you,' he screeched from behind, as the two entered down a country lane sometime later.

Arthur glanced over his shoulders and saw that he was still far ahead. 'If I can keep this up, I'm home free.'

But suddenly, Arthur's legs betrayed him for a second time that day. And as he tripped over his own feet, he went flying face first into a muddy puddle.

Billy's laugh was all Arthur could hear as he then sat up and wiped the brown goop from his eyes. Once he could see clearly again, he craned his neck and saw his bully looming above him.

'Got you,' Billy growled, balling his hands into fists.

Arthur closed his eyes, ready for impact, ready to be clocked in the mouth, when a voice echoed above Billy's heinous tittering.

'Leave him,' it barked hoarsely.

'Who said that?' Billy snapped.

Arthur opened his eyes and saw Billy looking at a hedge by the side of the lane.

'Who said that?' Billy asked again. 'Show yourself.'

Out from the hedge came the strange man Arthur had seen in detention. And now Arthur could see a badge pinned to the man's long black cloak, a word etched on it. Deputy.

Both boys cowered back but Billy was quick to return to his bullying courage.

'Who are you, weirdo man?' he yapped. 'You look stupid.'

'None of your business, you disgusting, vile little creature,' the man retorted with a snarl, inching closer. 'Now scram.'

'Or what?' Billy screwed up his face as if the man was just some pesky mosquito.

'Or things will get very ugly for you.'

'Oh, yeah. You and what army?'

'No army.' Then in a flash, the man whipped out a sword. 'But I have this.'

Arthur gasped in horror while Billy turned tail and ran for his life.

When he disappeared down the lane, the man brought his sole attention to Arthur, who was still bogged down in the puddle. 'Tell me your name, boy.'

'Please don't hurt me,' Arthur replied back with a quiver.

'Tell me your name,' the man repeated.

Never would Arthur tell a stranger his name and he shook his head.

The man glared down, his nose crimping into a vicious tangle. 'You will tell me now.'

And what Arthur did next even surprised himself.

With all his might, he kicked out, planting his shoes into the man's knees and sending him back and into the hedge. Arthur then clawed himself out of the puddle while the man tried desperately to untwine himself from his branched trap and legged it back home.