To say that I was surprised when I saw the little warrior pick up and punch a man twice his size is a big understatement.

Like he weighed no more than a feather.

Was that even possible – could a potion do that? It was honestly shocking. As I was thinking this, Asterix turned to look at me with a smug expression. But rather than giving him the satisfaction of being impressed, I sheathed my sword and rolled my eyes.

The two remaining romans were standing to the side, shaking with fear in the process, letting us pass. As we did, I heard them whisper to each other.

"I told you they were going to come through here sooner or later!"

"Oh man, this is the last time I request for a shift change..."

It would take us at least a week to reach Rome. More than enough time to find a good opportunity to leave these two behind. In the meantime, the two didn't exactly sprint on our journey – walking along the road like they had all the time in the world.

"You don't seem too worried about the children..." I remarked, to which Asterix shrugged one shoulder and looked off into the distance with a strange expression on his face.

"We have a history with rome and its ruler. Most people there know who we are." He said, and then looked at me closely with that suspicious expression again.

"It's odd that you don't know."

I met his gaze, but, afraid of what he might see, I dodged and looked away after a moment.

"I've...had other things on my mind than what passing rumors say."

As if on cue after I said this, we saw something up ahead on the road – a black creature that leapt across it like a phantom.

"What was that?" Asterix asked aloud, and oddly enough, the feathers on his helmet lowered – like an animal being cautious.

"Maybe a boar – a really huge one!" Obelix exclaimed enthusiastically, but somehow I doubted that.

When we came to the point in the road where it had moved, the tracks in the ground made it easy to tell exactly what it was. And sure enough, in a nearby clearing there it stood.

It was a magnificent black horse, with flanks that glowed near-white where the light hit it. But it stood with its head lowered, its legs shaking. It had a bridle and saddle, but no rider. It was both a welcome sight, but also another omen of what was to come.

I began to edge my way closer to it slowly, feeling that it might bolt at any minute. But it had run for quite a while, I could tell – it was exhausted, the poor thing. When I got closer, I also saw that there were red and irritated scabs on its hindlegs. It looked mistreated, and when I stepped on a branch, the horse reared its head to look at me with wild, terrified eyes.

I stilled, and observed how fast it breathed.

"Shhhh, it's okay now. It's going to be okay. " I said slowly, calmly. Then, pretending as if the horse wasn't there at all, I sat down on the grass and took out a small apple from my satchel. I bit into it, making sure that it was heard.

After a minute of this, the horse slowly laid down on the grass too –mostly because it was exhausted enough as it was - but ears still perked in my direction – its nostrils flaring. It would fall asleep soon, but I could tell that it was hungry.

Carefully, I walked silently over to it, holding up the apple.

At first it flinched, moving its head away almost violently, growling slightly. I didn't let myself be frightened or intimidated.

"Hey, there's no need for that. Come on."

It scoffed loudly, as if in disbelief and I smiled. It had a quite distinct personality. I laid the apple down right in front of him, and waited.

"Go on – it's for you."

It hesitated a bit, its eyes darting between me and the apple several times before it reached down, angling its neck to grab the apple, making a quick meal out of it. While he ate, I stroked its mane downwards and spoke softly.

"You are done serving any masters. You are free to do as you choose."

I had frankly quite forgotten about the two gauls, and was reminded again when I heard them approaching from behind.

"It sure looks like you know what you're doing." Obelix commented, sounding for once like he had a scrap of intelligence.

"I grew up around a tribe that lived their lives around horses. Spent a lot of time interacting with them, as it were."

We ended up camping for the night not far from where we found the horse. The horse followed in our wake, but several paces behind.