Arthur Hood: the Heir of Robin and King

Chapter Three

'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.