author's note: It became apparent to me recently that the village of Tulosa is located near the southern border of France in the Asterix universe, and not anywhere near modern day Nantes – which is where I thought it was located. Whoops! See it as a small tweak to the Asterix canon if it bothers you :P

The map I'm otherwise sticking to is this one : .

I recommend you take a look at it if you're confused about where our characters are.

Meanwhile, beyond the foreboding mountains of Valentia (modern day Lyon)…

Nothing up here moved, or even breathed, it seemed like.

Littlestix sniffed and looked over at her brother – he had been quiet for hours, ever since their kidnapper had yelled at him to shut up. He looked troubled and small, afraid. It was not the first time she and her brother had met with danger, but nothing like this.

They had been carried on horses quicker than lightning, far away from their home. The further they traveled, a little more of Littlestix bravery diminished.

But she couldn't lose face in front of her little brother. He needed her.

Their kidnappers were five unusual men – who looked starved, and yet unyielding to sleep or food. When they stopped, they did not eat – merely sat around and watched the horizon, smoking pipes that emitted a peculiar blue smoke. Her and her brother had been given a little food, but not much.

The kidnappers barely spoke, and shared few words with one another.

Despite this, it was easy to tell who their leader was.

He was a man who wore a wolf pelt across his broad shoulders, sitting apart from the others. A jagged scar ran across his face, deep enough so that it looked like someone had swung an axe into his face with the intent to tear it in half, almost succeeding. There was an eerie white glow about his eyes – the scariest thing about him by far.

Littlestix shivered, and huddled closer to her brother.

"Don't worry. They will send someone to come get us." She whispered to him, trying to remain confident that this was true.

The attempt to murder the two gauls in their sleep thwarted my plans – temporarily. The journey ahead was still long, and I could afford sticking around for a little while longer by their side.

I was not pleased, but the horse – my horse now I guess, was trotting alongside me in a suspiciously happy manner.

Obelix was happy too – but then again, he seemed to always be that way. And he could not stop talking about the events of last night, relaying everything to Asterix in minute detail, who had been asleep through it all.

"You should have seen her jump on that poor roman archer! He looked so scared, I thought he would piss his pants!"

"I think he gets it. I think he got it the first time you told him." I muttered and decided to walk a little ahead of them to avoid looking in Asterix direction. He still hadn't said anything, or even as much as a simple thank you for saving their lives. I don't know why that irked me so much, it's not like I groveled for his approval anyway. The mere thought of it made me scoff. I looked up at the horse at my side and gently patted his neck.

"Come on Horse, you look hungry." I said, leading it to a nearby apple tree. As it stood and munched happily, Asterix deigned to speak to me for the first time in hours.

"Isn't it time you gave him a real name instead of "Horse"?" He asked, crossing his arms across his chest. I took an apple myself and decided to prolong giving him an answer by biting into it, staring him down.

"Why, don't you think it's original?"

Somehow, that seemed to have done it. With a low growl the short gaul took off his helmet and threw it on the ground in a fit of what can only be described as infantile anger and frustration. It kind of came out of nowhere, but then I had also been goading him into this from the start. It was quite amusing to watch.

"Why is everything with you an argument?!" he growled and kicked his helmet into the trunk of a nearby tree. I looked at him from beneath my lashes and hummed thoughtfully.

"Maybe I just enjoy seeing you turn red."

Around midday we came across the stream that ran through this part of the country like a thick vein, deep and dark. It was pretty wide too, and would take at least a couple of minutes to cross. It was widely speculated that a sea monster lived in it, but there had never been proof.

Still, it made all three of us stop and stare down into it – looking for any signs of sharp teeth. Finally I shrugged and lifted my head.

"It's just silly childish rumors – that's all." I said, taking of my travelling cloak and folding it up, so I could carry it on my back in the water.

"Well, it can't hurt to be prepared." I heard Asterix say, followed by the strange crackling sound that came with drinking that ridiculous magic potion.

"Maybe you should have a sip too." He said, sounding oddly humble as he held out the flask to me. It was pretty obvious what he was insinuating. I scoffed and continued preparing for getting into the water, making sure that my knives were secure.

"Don't be ridiculous. I can take care of myself."

"Fine, your loss."

Despite the fact that the water was clear, it was still impossible to see the bottom of the stream. Another odd thing was the current – there was none. The water was perfectly still, peaceful. It made for an easy swim.

Stranger still, I didn't spot any fish – or any life at all in the water. I had to coax the horse a fair bit to get him into the water, and he seemed spooked.

"It's okay big guy, its only a little water." I said reassuringly next to him as we swam.

We had almost reached the other shore, the water just reaching past my knees so I stood up and shook out my hair.

"See? Nothing to worry about." I said confidently. And it would be punished. Asterix looked back at me, his eyes wide.

"Arabel, move!"

But there was no time. Something grabbed hold of my foot with a painful grip and dragged me beneath the surface of the water with impossible force – hard enough to make me loose all sense of bearing. The water was too dark to see anything – I tried in vain to struggle against what was holding me with my knife, stabbing at the huge dark claw that had digged its talons around me. But its flesh seemed hard as stone, unyielding.

I growled into the water – a waste of breath, but what did it matter when you are about to die?

I felt us going deeper, and along with it my lungs constricted and hurt terribly. The last thing I was aware of before succumbing to darkness was the sharp taste of copper in my mouth.

An awful, screeching noise from below that abruptly stopped and became quiet.

I don't know how much time had passed. Or if I was even still alive. I was still in the water, and I couldn't move – my body was shut off. I felt something warm touch my shoulders, quickly pulling me up.

When I fully awoke, it was because droplets of water was falling on my face. I blinked, my chest heaving for breath. Asterix was staring down at me, and I hardly recognized him. I had never seen such an expression on his face before.

"That's it, breathe. You're going to be alright."

I began coughing vehemently, and turned to my side to throw up what felt like buckets of water as he rubbed my back.