As Asterix and Obelix approached the village gates, they could see a gathering of villagers. Asterix raced the last part of the way filled with trepidation, Obelix on his heels. However, once they were amongst the crowd, it soon became clear that there was no immediate danger. Everyone was chattering excitedly, laughing and joking. Their return wasn't even noticed. Not even by their perceptive druid, Getafix. It soon became clear why. The friendly, beardy old man stood right next to the source of all the commotion: A simple chart with two white horses in front.
A young woman was petting the horses, while some villagers were unharnessing them. She gave them something from a leather pouch that hung around her shoulders. Suddenly, she looked over her shoulder and right into Asterix' eyes. Her eyes travelled his face for a moment, then she looked up and discovered Obelix, recognition in her glance. She started smiling, and walked towards them.
"You must be Obelix and Asterix," she greeted, with a warm and melodic voice. "I've heard from you and it is a real pleasure meet you. My name is Bonny." She extended her hand.
From the corner of his eye, Asterix could see his best friend colour slightly. He couldn't really blame Obelix, since the woman he was now shaking hands with was really quite a pleasant appearance.
She was of average height, not as long as Mrs Geriatrix, maybe a head shorter than Obelix. Her hair was a deep, golden blond, slightly wavy and it went half-way down her back. The sun gave it a beautiful shine. The first part of her hair was braided and went round her head, keeping the curls from falling into her face. A good thing, because her slightly almond shaped-eyes were not shielded from their view. They were a warm brown, with golden speckles in them, and meeting the woman's eyes made the bad feeling Asterix still had from their earlier meeting in the forest float away to a distant corner of his mind.
Obelix thoughts seemed to have floated away completely, all of them. Still, he managed to extend his hand enough for Bonny to capture it with both hands and shake it for a moment. Every gesture she made felt soothing, warm and friendly, and Asterix could not help but feel that this was a bit unusual; it was normal to associate people you knew well with feelings like that, but he was completely sure he had never met this young woman before. Her clothing was not quite familiar to him either: a long white skirt and a loose shirt with a v-shaped neck, and wide sleeves, framed with brown borders in the same hue as the top she wore under it and the small brown belt around her waist. It was a simple outfit, but this did not make her appearance less radiant.
Asterix approached Getafix, and to his surprise, he spotted a second woman with similar clothing standing close to their druid. Only her dress was completely white, with a blue belt and a travelling cape draped over her shoulders. She looked like the female version of a druid. She was much older than Bonny, her white hair was fastened in a bun at the back of her head (which reminded Asterix of the way his mother wore her hair) and she had numerous wrinkles. However, her eyes were a radiant blue and she looked at him with the same perceptiveness as Getafix often displayed.
From his shield, their chief beamed at them and started his well-known introduction:
"Yes, Yes, Asterix and Obelix, My two very best warriors. The very best in the world, I might add. They have shown the courage that marks my villagers to every part of the so called 'conquered' world and far beyond. They have travelled the seas to confirm that our freedom has no borders and that we still and will always defy the Eagle's hegemony…."
The rest of Vitalstatistix' speech was drowned by the chattering that slowly over tuned him, as it always did. Asterix turned to Getafix, looking for the second part of the introduction. The part that would explain who the ladies were.
Getafix put a hand on his shoulder and much quieter than their chief, he started his own introduction:
"Manilla, my dear friend, meet Asterix, He and Obelix are indeed excellent warriors. The magic potion may have given them strength. But the strength of their hearts is their own. They have used it wisely for the majority of their lives."
Manilla extended her hand to shake hands with Obelix, who did so carefully. After that she took Asterix' hand. He felt her eyes linger while Getafix continued talking:
"Asterix is, as you know, my brightest student. His wit may have saved our village more often than my potion. He is also one of my closest and most trusted friends. Whatever may have caused you to visit us on such a short notice, you and your student are in good hands here."
Asterix was so used to hear their chief boast about them, he got distracted like the other villagers. But Getafix compliments, a lot rarer, created a deep pool of happiness and pride, maybe a little shyness. He knew Getafix considered him a friend, and Asterix fully returned the sentiment. But Getafix had led a whole life before he was even born. He had also travelled the world, studying and meeting people in every corner of it. To be placed on such a high shelve by someone like their druid, was an extreme honor. It also created a certain responsibility. It would have been easy to linger on the joy of the moment, but Asterix had neither missed the slight worry in the last part of Getafix'statement -A short-notice visit that made their druid suspect something was wrong-, nor the amount of effort their druid made to inspire trust in their visitors.
Despite all this, Manilla did not look like a typical person in immediate need of saving, and neither did her attractive student (though Obelix, probably wouldn't have minded if she did).
So Asterix just smiled back at her and expressed his welcome.
"I have heard a lot of you indeed, my dear boy." Manilla smiled. Coming from someone easily twice, maybe three times his age, it lost every belittling sense.
"But since I know Getafix guards other peoples' secrets like his own, you should have no idea of who we are," she continued.
"I don't," Asterix confirmed.
Suddenly Obelix jumped back to life, for the second time that day: "I sense a long, detailed story coming up," he said, rubbing his hands. "We should give it full credit, with a proper feast and dinner." "And since we're not telling the story, we'll have more time for the dinner part of the feast," he whispered to Asterix, who started to look irritated already. Luckily, Getafix interrupted them before an argument could come up, and surprisingly, he sided with Obelix:
"Indeed, a story like that can use a more comfortable setting. Luckily we are well-prepared for occasions like these. Obelix, maybe you could guide our guests?" Getafix gestured towards the clearing where they usually held their banquets.
A moment later, both guests and Obelix were gone for a tour of their village Asterix was left with Getafix.
"Getafix, did you know…" he started. Getafix shook his head.
"I had no idea they were coming, Asterix, I would have told you if I did. It is highly unusual for Manilla to leave her students behind…But I might be wrong. After all, she has shown up on some of our druid conferences as well."
"So, is she a druid then?" It seemed odd to Asterix. Not that the thought of a woman being a druid itself, was that strange to him, but Getafix had treated it as a ridiculous idea only a few years before. Also, as far as Asterix knew, druids only picked one student at a time, since becoming a druid was a long and intensive process.
Getafix shook his head again. "No, not really, though her wisdom is certainly similar. For example, she can brew the potion I gave to the roman back at that divided village, the one that healed him and caused his amnesia. In fact, she is an expert healer, Manilla." Getafix paused, somewhat distracted.
Asterix waited to hear more, but when Getafix did not continue, he commented: "I thought only druids were allowed in the sacred forest".
"Yes, well that didn't stop you or Obelix, or the Romans from entering," Getafix answered dryly. "That rule seems to be valuable only if you àre a druid." After a moment he continued. "I will let Manilla tell you more; she will like to properly introduce herself and her students. Just let me say this, my potions can cure a lot of things, but when I call her an expert healer, I do not mean just by brewing potions or physical knowledge." They had almost reached the dinner tables when Getafix stopped Asterix in his tracks. "You are very quiet. Is something wrong?" The inquisitive stare Asterix knew so well was there.
He frowned: "Well, just that we met someone else back in the forest. And if you say Bonny and Manilla have special powers, the old man we saw in the forest, he seemed to have some sort of controlling powers that I suspect had nothing to do with potions either. They left me immobilized even under the effect of the magic potion."
Getafix looked pensive, a slight crease forming between his eyebrows. "Did this 'old person' introduce himself?"
"Not really, and he left before I could ask"
"Yet you seem to consider him as a possible threat,"
Asterix started to feel uncomfortable. He could not explain why he had not been able to follow the stranger, nor why he felt so bad about the meeting. He tried to express those feelings: "He … just had some strange effect on…the forest in general I guess. Though I'm not sure Obelix felt the same."
"Hmmm." Getafix fumbled his beard for a moment. "How do you know that Bonny has special powers? I do not believe she had the chance to tell you that?"
"I just assumed…" Even as Asterix started to say it, he realized it was not a satisfying explanation. And it was not entirely true either. "Well she seems to radiate some sort of …soothing…." His words sounded so stupid to himself that he trailed off. But Getafix looked satisfied, even a little content.
"Well, I already assumed this would not a leisure visit," he soothed his smaller friend. "Let's just hear them out first. Manila may be a bit of a character, she has my trust. And Bonny is not just a random student to her. Now, Obelix seems to have saved us seats. Let's go there, because I doubt he will do the same with the food."
Asterix smiled. There were some certainties in life, and Obelix was just one of the biggest ones.