A/N Yay! At last my technical difficulties are over and I can publish again! Here's the next chapter...
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The characters were created by René Goscinny and Albert Uderzo.
Chapter Seven
It was morning in the indomitable village. The Gauls were very depressed that time and the new day didn't cause the happiness it had used to some days before. There had been no "fish-fights", and even Cacofonix hadn't composed any songs. Getafix spent all his time looking after poor Obelix who was much thinner now. There were only a few little signs of his former corpulence left. He hadn't come to his senses in all this time which was no good either.
Suddenly some revival came to the village: a lathery horse without a rider arrived.
"It's my horse!" Atlantix exclaimed. "I gave it to Asterix a few days ago…"
The Gaul fell silent. The horse was back and Asterix and Dogmatix weren't so…
"So, Asterix didn't make it," Getafix sighed, as though finishing Atlantix's thoughts. He had had a feeling something like that would have happened.
After that the village fell into even bigger gloom.
The day was somewhat lifeless and dim. In the evening Vitalstatistix decided he had to do something. He gathered all villagers under Cacofonix's tree, cleared his throat and said in a sad but solemn voice.
"Gauls! People of our indomitable village! As you know, Obelix fell very ill lately. To find the cure, Asterix went off on a journey… and didn't come back. Due to this, I have to declare mourning in our village".
The villagers began to sigh, someone even cried. Getafix coughed loudly.
"Allow me to say something, chief," his voice was much sadder than Vitalstatistix's and far quieter but everyone heard him. "Obelix… he… he's unlikely to live to see the next morning. You will declare mourning for both of them".
The Gauls couldn't understand why this was happening – things were just going from bad to worse. Sighs and sobs became louder and more frequent.
The druid returned to his hut and entered Obelix's room. He was very surprised to see that Obelix had come to his senses and was now looking at him quite consciously. However, Getafix drove the joy away. "It just means the end is close," he thought.
"How are you feeling?" asked the druid, trying to sound as cheerful as possible.
Obelix just winced in reply. For some time both of them kept silent. The patient was trying to make difference between truth and delusion. Having remembered at last, he shivered.
"Asterix!" he exclaimed. "I've lost my temper again! I miscalculated my strength…" a tear escaped his eye. "Is he alright?"
Getafix doubted for a while but decided not to upset his dying friend.
"Yes, he's fine," he lied.
"He must be mad at me," Obelix sighed. "I've offended him a lot. And he was right after all…"
"No, he is not mad at you at all," Getafix's lip trembled and he could barely hold his tears back.
"Where is he then? I just want to apologize before I…" Obelix fell silent.
The druid thought what to say but then he noticed that the patient had fallen into oblivion again. Something told Getafix that this oblivion was the last one…
* * *
Asterix stopped at the margin of the forest where he and Obelix had used to hunt boar. It seemed to him that the ages had passed since then. It was already dark. Before him, so close, was his native village but to him it seemed to be in a thick mist. Anyway everything seemed misty to him because of the unbearable pain. Having summoned all his strength, he rode forward. Approaching to the village appeared to be the hardest thing he had ever done in his entire life. Breathing became harder every moment. Finally, after moving just a little bit, he stopped.
"Can't… go… any… further," he croaked, coughing and choking as he spoke. Dogmatix whimpered pathetically behind his back. Asterix took the dog out of the bag and hung the gourd on his neck.
"You will go there alone," the Gaul whispered, gasping for air.
Dogmatix whimpered again and licked the Gaul's cheek.
"Now this is not my place," said Asterix, grounding the dog carefully. "My place is by my master's side," he felt disgusted at himself. "Run to the village, you must save Obelix. Farewell!"
After that Asterix turned the horse back and rode away. "So, I won't even see Obelix for one last time," he thought. "I hope he is okay…"
Dogmatix ran to the village, still whimpering,
* * *
Getafix sat by the dying Gaul's side. Now he could only wait… wait until it's over. All of a sudden, he heard a dog bark at his doorstep. He went out and saw Dogmatix with a gourd on his neck. He swept the dog up, took the gourd off, opened it and smelled the content of it. "Exactly what I need!" he thought. "So, Asterix made it! But where is he then?..."
Getafix came up to Obelix's bed and poured the antidote into his mouth. Dogmatix sat nearby, looking at his master with concern. The patient opened his eyes.
"How are you feeling now?" Getafix asked.
"Better," Obelix seemed to be surprised with it himself. "Can I have something to eat?"