As it turned out, dinner sure was awkward. But Asterix felt himself far too focused on the interaction between Phyllis and Obelix to mind. They didn't get along, but it was difficult to pinpoint why. Sure Phyllis was not a typical young lady, but she behaved rather politely. She didn't get on Asterix' nerves at all that night. Obelix however, seemed to be irritated with her from the start.

Asterix had asked about Goliath, how she had found the horse, and why they got along so well, and Phyllis had been quite willing to tell them. She had been ten when she found the young Goliath, a horse of two years old who had frightened the hell out of the people who owned her. According to Phyllis, she must have belonged to other people even before that, who must have been really cruel to her, causing her not to connect well with people, especially men.

Phyllis had sounded very distant at first, and Asterix felt he had chosen his topic rather poorly. But the story took a more positive tone, and Phyllis turned out to be quite an entertaining storyteller. Obelix was listening closely, not commenting much, if anything. It was only when they started to discuss tomorrow's plans that it became really apparent he was moody.

"So how to learn someone those delusional powers you got?" Asterix asked her, once they had fully finished eating. Bravura had been trying to jump on his lap all that time. And he kept not letting her, in an attempt to learn the puppy some table manners. When he finally sat back to let her, she walked right past him, and settled for Phyllis instead, obviously offended. Phyllis was patting her distractedly, and Asterix was quite surprised of Bravura's friendly reaction to her. But she had been in the village before, and she seemed to be good with animals, so he supposed Bravura had just added her to her limited VIP-list.

"Well for starters, not ALL of Mesmerons' and also my powers are mere illusions. I mean, some of them are rather physical, and the effects of an illusion can also be pretty physic."

"Like how you balanced yourself after being hit Goliath with the magic potion."

"She didn't hit me full force, she merely intended to brush my shoulder. It there had been force behind it, I would have been too dazed to recover like that. But yeah, you can see how that could be an advantage while fighting someone."

Asterix nodded.

"So I think it would be best to start there, leaving the illusions be for a day longer, to see if the magic potion is up against an army of Romans with enhanced abilities. If it isn't, there is no point in starting to break illusions that hold you back from fighting."

Obelix picked up here. "What kind of abilities?"

"Strength, partly. Determination. Lack of fear. And something you could describe as 'playing dirty'. Those are things that Mesmeron believes make a strong opponent. He will never share all of his powers with them, he likes to be superior way too much to do so. But physical abilities are more effective on young soldiers than they are on an old man like him. He is far too important to rush into battle anyway."

"Enhanced or not, a roman army has never been trouble to us." Obelix challenged.

"We'll see about that."

"How exactly did you plan on testing that?" Asterix felt obligated to ask. He wasn't sure how safe Phyllis teaching methods were going to be on the village.

"Well, I'm a pretty good example of what you can expect from a roman soldier under Mesmeron's command. Maybe a little less physically strong, but with a lot more other powers. It's safe to say that when someone under the magic potion can win a fight against me, he'll have no trouble with Mesmeron or any of his soldiers, assuming a one to one fight and setting aside the illusions. But we will tackle those when we get there."

"It's a pretty serious breach of Gallic law to pick a fight against a girl….woman."

She gave him a slight glare and he wasn't too sure whether it was because of calling her a girl or thinking it improper to fight her. She obviously didn't like being belittled.

"Call it a training, or a test. But if we want to know where we stand, it will be a fight. No one holding back. The only difference will be stopping before someone gets killed."

Asterix did not answer but his dislike of the idea must have been clear, because she added: "Look I value Gallic laws, and personally I like to respect them as much as possible, but not when it endangers others. Plus, you might find dealing me a blow is not that easy to begin with."

Obelix snorted; "We saw that." Phyllis looked mildly irritated "Since you seem stronger than the rest of the villagers, even when under the effects of the magic potion, maybe you're best for this little try-out," she said to him. And to Asterix: "I know you're the main warrior of the village, but I'll think it will be easier for Obelix to not hold back against me."

"Surprisingly easy" Obelix said. "I can hardly wait."

"Fine. That's settled then."

"Asterix, I'm taking my dog for a walk right now. Would you like me to take yours too?" Obelix said, standing up.

"She seems pretty comfortable Obelix," he answered; too put off by his friends' strict tone to point out Bravura was not his dog. Oficially.

"Okay then." Obelix walked out without even glancing at Phyllis, who seemed equally unfazed by his rude behavior. Still, Asterix felt the urge to defend Obelix. "He's not usually this unfriendly. I guess he's just …." he trailed off, not really knowing the cause for Obelix being he was tonight.

"….Tense." Phyllis finished for him. "He wants to know what he's up against more than to respect laws. I can understand. No to worry about that."

It made sense. Asterix was pretty sure she was right. But it changed Obelix into someone he was not, and Asterix didn't like that. It was hard not to see the likeness in his behavior with the woman in front of him, who was certainly happy to have her horse back, but who he certainly would not qualify as happy in general. When she was talking about her past, she seemed to be talking about someone else, who no longer existed. She had survived battling Mesmeron this long, but it had no doubt changed her. He saw glimpses of a different, more open and friendly person now and then, but they lasted so short that he doubted she would ever completely return.

Phyllis had gotten up to collect the dishes, and they worked on them in near silence.

"Bravura seems fond of you," Asterix said to lighten the mood. "She's a tough little puppy." Phyllis said, somewhat affectionately. "Quite a fitting name you gave her too" "Obelix named her," Asterix murmured. He was not planning on telling her the whole story behind that. He considered the real Bravura a friend, yes, but it was not a very comfortable friendship, and it reminded him that he had once had no trouble casting aside Gallic laws either. He was sure that Phyllis would not mind pointing out that enormous irritation was a lot less of a good reason to do so than mortal peril.

Obelix was gone for quite some time, it was pitch-dark by the time he returned, and Asterix felt seriously tired, having not slept all that much while he was away. He showed Phyllis the top-floor. She eyed the double bed with suspicion as he pointed out it was hers. It was easily the most awkward moment of the evening "Who normally sleeps there?" she asked. "No one. I mean, It's my parents' old bed, but they moved to Condatum. They visited just a while ago, so we restored it a little."

Phyllis nodded. "Okay…..Well, I'm going to get changed then," she announced. "Feel free too….." she stopped when she noticed that Asterix was already well out of sight. Smiling, she shook her head. She was used to having to make firm demands for her privacy. It was nice not having to do so for a change. She lit a candle, pulled some nightwear from the sack that contained her belongings, and settled on the bed with one of her father's medicine books. She had hidden the small knives she carried around her middle under the blankets, not wanting to be insulting or threatening. It was just a habit she had been forced to pick up in the past, and she was not going to let it go with Mesmeron on their necks. She called down that she was ready, and Obelix and Asterix appeared moments later. They exchanged goodnights and soon the room was completely silent.

Despite the strange company in his house, Asterix was asleep quite fast. But he slept lighter than usual and woke up a few hours later. A glance to his parents' bed told him it was empty. He kept staring at it for a few more moments, hoping against hope that Phyllis would spontaneously reappear. Of course he was not that lucky. "Great," he thought, "so much for keeping an eye on things." And he got up quietly, trying not to wake Obelix as he crossed his hut. But Obelix was already awake, murmuring "She's been away for hours, you know."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"She's probably checking up on her horse."

That made sense. But he needed to be sure. So he went down, and headed for the stables. Sure enough, Phyllis and Goliath were there, both fast asleep, Phyllis lying rolled up, as close as possible to Goliath. She seemed a bit cold. He went back to fetch a blanket, and Goliath was awake when he returned, but she didn't move as he placed the blanket over Phyllis. Apparently he was entitled to a truce as long as Phyllis was around.

He should have known that she would want to be close to Goliath, she had not seen the horse for years. But she also could have told him. Getting her to open up was not going to be easy. He did not know about evading illusions, dark powers and healing powers, but he did know a thing or two about battles, and trusting your allies was as important as arms and physical strength. There was a lot of work to be done on that department before they would stand a chance.

He moved back up quietly, as not to wake Obelix in case he had fallen asleep again. But his large friend was wide awake, which was highly unusual.

"So was she?" he asked.

"Was she what?" Asterix replied.

"With Goliath?'

"Yeah. Should have seen that coming shouldn't I? I mean, it must be really uncomfortable staying here, and she hasn't seen her horse for years."

"I don't think she looked uncomfortable. She made herself right at home."

They stayed silent for some time. Asterix was thinking about tomorrow. Yes, he was curious to discover more about what they could expect from Mesmeron, but he knew better than anyone just how strong Obelix really was. It would take something truly…mortal to stop him.

"You really don't mind?" he asked. "I mean, getting into a fight with Phyllis?"

"No."

When Asterix did not reply, Obelix tried to explain. "I want to know what you…what we're up against. I mean, what if the magic potion can't beat it?"

"We have more than the magic potion Obelix. We have ourselves, two expert healers and a dark witch at our side. We'll figure things out."

They were silent again, while Obelix wondered whether he could tell Asterix what else was bothering him. He felt that it was a secret. But then again, Phyllis had never asked him to keep quiet about it, and even if she had done so, Asterix really was entitled to know.

"Phyllis did not transfer her healing powers to her horse. At least, certainly not all of them."

This caught Asterix' attention immediately. "What makes you say that?"

"She healed Bravura while you where away."

"But I thought Bonny…."

"She started limping again. And Phyllis removed a rose thorn, and then she held her hands over her paw, and they glowed blue just like they did when she was patting Goliath. But that was before her horse was back." He paused a little. "So why didn't she say Manilla was wrong?"

"Well that explains why she looked so surprised. I think maybe Phyllis did not even know it was possible to transfer powers. In that case, Manilla probably gave her an idea instead of keeping her from doing it again."

"Great," Obelix commented, sounding a bit sarcastic.

"Obelix, why are you so angry with her? I admit she's not the friendliest girl in the world but you have to realize she went through a hard time. And she was pretty civil today. Having her around is not nearly as uncomfortable as I thought it would be."

"She's not around, she's sleeping in the stables. Was she sleeping?"

"Yes…"

"Good, she needs to if she wants to stand a chance tomorrow."

"Obelix…."

"She didn't even thank you!" Obelix exclaimed, sounding extremely indignant. "Doesn't that bother you?"

I hadn't bothered him at all, but Obelix seemed to think Phyllis was really ungrateful.

"She has been through a lot."

"You said that already. That's no excuse."

"Maybe not, but still, how can you think she's ungrateful? She could have run off today, gone home to her family. She kept you company, she healed Bravura. And everyone describes her as a secretive, lonely plotter, but she told us ten times more about how to defeat Mesmeron than Manilla already. I think that's worth a lot more than a simple thank you."

"I know…..I know….I try my best Asterix, but I just hate this adventure. It already went wrong before."

"It's going to be different now. Phyllis has always had to do everything in secret, and because of that, mostly alone. She's probably so used to not telling things, working on her own that it has become a habit. When we act like we don't trust her that will never change."

"…I guess you're right. But I'm not sure I really do trust her. I mean, she was acting pretty normal tonight, but before…"

"Yeah those powers of hers are rather creepy. But you just need to remind yourself why she picked them up."

"I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask."

"It's good to have you back, Asterix."

"Well, I'm glad I'm back too. It was nice to have Dogmatix, but travelling without you is really boring. Not to mention I forgot to have lunch twice…"

"What? No wonder you look so skinny! And on top of that, you fed all of the magic potion to a horse! What a terrible waste."

"She was hurt."

"You could have carried her home if you had drunk it yourself."

"Now that wouldn't have caught attention," Asterix said, rolling his eyes.

They were both imagining it for a moment, and suddenly burst out laughing. It broke the tension and after chatting for a while more, they both fell asleep, all thoughts of witchcrafts and wizardry not forgotten, but effectively silenced for the benefit of sweeter dreams.