Two weeks later...

Things in the Gaulish village were pretty much back to normal. All traces of battle and siege had disappeared from in and around the village, and it began to fade in their minds; becoming nothing more than a dark memory. All the fear and distress began to slowly dissipate into a steady, natural routine. The villagers went back to their lives. The womenfolk cooked, cleaned, and gossiped, while the men hunted, fished, and sold their goods. Unhygenix went back to selling his less-than-fresh merchandise. Fullautomatix returned to his smith's shop and worked on all many manner of metal ware.

They were finally free of Commander Spacious's terror.

Caesar arrived the day after the battle, led by Anxious. Apparently, it hadn't been easy for the Roman guard to make it to Caesar himself, but he had faced his fears and succeeded. Caesar had been doubtful at first, but with some persuasion, was finally convinced that something was wrong. When he arrived at the village, and saw the damage that had been done, he became furious. Not necessarily because he cared anything about the Gauls; no, far from it. He was just mad that one of his own citizens had gone against his orders.

Spacious was handed over to the Roman's guards. He was to be taken back to Rome and severely punished; which either meant life sentence or working on a slave ship. Maybe both. But the point was he wouldn't be coming back. Ever.

The Gauls found out that Spacious had been in Caesar's bad graces before they had even ever heard of him. He had evidently done some other misdeeds in the past that had put him on the ruler's bad side. That had been his motive for attacking. He had figured that if he succeeded in destroying the one last barbarian village to oppose the Empire, then he would be forgiven of everything, including going against Caesar's word. It explained a lot; his evil, cruel tendencies as well as the madness brought on by his defeat.

They also found out why the Roman Commander had carried such resentment toward Asterix. Apparently, Spacious saw the little, blond Gaul as the very symbol of the Gauls' resistance. Asterix was the embodied hope and courage that the villagers called on to outwit the Roman Empire again and again. And Spacious hated him for it. He loathed them because they were different; because they weren't Romans. He saw them a dirt, not even worth the space they took up on the earth. It was just what his demented mind believed. That was why Commander Spacious hated the Gauls, and he hated Asterix for being the main opposition. The little Gaul should have been easy to defeat; easy to destroy...but when he proved to be far more resilient than the Roman had thought, Spacious's hatred had grown. He saw Asterix as his main opponent. Defeat Asterix, defeat them all. But now, the threat was over, and the mad Roman was gone. Chaos was replaced by peace.

Anxious stayed with the villagers for a few days, helping to get things cleaned up and caring for Cacofonix. He turned out to be a farmer by trade, and assisted Getafix in planting one of the druid's magic acorns, thereby growing a new tree for their bard, to enjoy when he healed. The Roman also helped to build Cacofonix a new tree hut. The villagers told him he didn't have to, but he insisted.

After the few days were up, he said goodbye, wishing them all luck and fare days ahead. He gave Panacea a hug and shook hands with everyone else before leaving. He traveled back to his wife and parents, and, so they were told, later became the father of a dear, little, baby boy. He sent them letters saying that his family would come to visit in the late fall, and the Gauls were very excited.

And so began the long, hard road to normalcy.

Panacea recovered from the ordeal very quickly. Of course, she didn't have any real injuries. All she had gotten out of the dangerous adventure was some bruises and a few small cuts from her run through the forest. Exhaustion was her biggest enemy. She had hardly slept at all throughout the whole calamity. What sleep she had gotten was restless and full of unpleasant nightmares. Now, at long last, she felt she could rest safely.

The Gauls had sent for Tragicomix as soon as possible. Once he had heard what had transpired since his wife had left Condatum, hurried as fast as he could to reach the village. It was a touching reunion. Panacea had grown so accustomed to the ache in her heart that it wasn't until it was filled that she realized just how much she had missed Tragicomix. Oh, she had missed him, that was unquestionable. But she had been so occupied with worrying over her friends and family, that she really hadn't had much chance to think about how scared she was; how much she had needed her husband. Now that he was by her side, she couldn't bring herself to let go of him. She was so relieved to be held in his strong arms again. And he felt the same way about her.

Asterix recovered at a fairly good rate. His battle with the Romans set him back a day or two, but he was a lot stronger then some people would give him credit for. The arrow wound in his shoulder healed at a fantastic rate, sped up by the magic potion he had consumed. Before long he was back to his usual self, hunting for boar in the forest with Obelix and joining in a fish fight here and there when the opportunity presented itself. He was glad that the nightmare was finally over.

Dogmatix could feel the change in Asterix. That intense self-loathing and helplessness was gone, much to the pup's delight. He could sense things returning to normal as old habits became new again. The overhanging cloud of doom was no more. In its place was only calm summer nights and bright, cheerful summer days. The weather had even improved, as if all the earth felt that the danger had passed.

Dogmatix was also pleased that his master was back to his old self as well. Obelix's uncontrollable anger had disappeared, leaving nothing but some unpleasant memories for them all; but especially Obelix. It was not in his nature to get so upset. But stressful, dangerous times had pushed him further then he had ever wanted to go, and he hoped that he'd never be pushed that far again.

Obelix still made sure to keep an eye on Asterix. He didn't want his friend out of his sight until he was sure that Asterix was fine again. As the days passed, and Asterix regained his strength, Obelix slowly began to ease up. He returned to chiseling and delivering his menhirs. It felt good to go back and work in his dear, old quarry. It felt good to go back to normal.

Of all the villagers, Cacofonix was the one who took the longest to heal. But, of course, that was to be expected. After he had passed out on the battlefield, a spear pierced in his shoulder, Getafix had thought they had lost him. Exhaustion, a relapse, possible shock, and a large amount of blood loss were dangerous conditions all and in of themselves; but all of them together...It wasn't good.

Getafix had never been so scared in his life. The bard's breathing was so shallow; barely there. It had been too risky to move him at first, and the druid was forced to treat Cacofonix the best he could right then and there. The others helped; following Getafix's orders to gather certain herbs in the forest. It took a terribly long while but, together, they managed to get the bard stable enough to move to Getafix's hut.

Over the next two weeks, Cacofonix's health slowly progressed from critical to steadily better. He was weak at first, but grew stronger with each passing day. The others helped him every chance they could. The men kept him company and assisted him in regaining his mobility; while the women cared for him by cooking things to help him 'heal faster', and by keeping him up to date on the goings on in the village. Everyone wanted to be a part of the healing process. Even Tragicomix and Panacea insisted on staying in the village until he was well again.

Cacofonix was very encouraged by their kindness, and with such positive feelings all around, began to heal faster. His voice, which he had been certain he would never have again, was put to good use. It took a while before it started sounding normal, as the damage from the smoke inhalation continued to improve. At first it was raspy and he coughed a lot; but slowly, that too gained strength, and, before he knew it, was back in full working order. Getafix had no clue as to how the bard's voice had managed to return, but he didn't care. No one did. Because all that mattered was that it was back.

When Getafix declared Cacofonix truly well again, the villagers planned and prepared a feast. They went all out for it. Boars were caught, as well as fish (courtesy of Unhygenix). Bread was baked, wine casts were opened, and the women made all manner of Gaulish desserts. In other words, a typical Gaul feast. They had them on a regular basis. Whenever Asterix and Obelix returned from an adventures, or won a battle, they would all sit down around a U-shaped table with a fire for roasting boar right in the center. They would eat and tell stories, laugh and toast success. And that's what they were doing tonight. Just an ordinary feast...but with one thing changed.

Usually, during their celebrating, Cacofonix was excluded, due to the fact that everyone was afraid he'd start singing. They'd tie him up, gently of course, and either fasten him to the trunk of a tree or hang him from one of its branches. They never meant anything bad by it. It was just that the bard's singing was practically unbearable. And that was the only surefire way of shutting him up. It didn't happen all the time; there were times when he was included, but those times were few and far apart.

But at this particular feast, one thing was different. Cacofonix was left free. In fact, the feast was in his honor; celebrating his recovery. It was the least they could do; he had saved Obelix's life...maybe all of their lives.

The food was fantastic, as was the wine. The firelight glinted off of the goblets and gleamed against the beautifully toasted skin of the boars on their plates. It was spectacular. Better than Cacofonix had always thought it looked as he hung in the foliage; watching. Now, as a guest at the feast, he was able to actually hear the stories, taste the vittles, and enjoy the company of his friends. It filled him with such happiness, he wasn't sure what to do. He felt he should do something; say something. And so, after the main course had been ingested, the bard carefully climbed up onto the tabletop, as he had seen speakers do in the past. It took a moment for him to be noticed, but soon everyone had ceased their talking and all eyes turned their attention to him.

He gulped nervously and then began. "Thank you, everyone. Thank you, but you needn't worry...I will not be singing tonight."

To say that the villagers weren't relieved would be a lie, but they were curious as to why not. Cacofonix would never have declined to sing before, and the fact that he refused now was worrying. Several Gauls blinked in confusion as they all leaned forward, watching the bard.

"I...I don't think that what I have to say can be captured in song," Cacofonix continued. He glanced down at the table, obviously very uncomfortable. "It's just that...Before the whole disaster with the Roman Commander; before my tree was burned down...I...well, I wondered if I really mattered to anyone."

The Gauls' hearts sank with these words; no one more than Fullautomatix and Unhygenix. They all remembered the times they had teased the bard; made fun of him. They thought back to when they would kick him out of the village whenever he sang. Or hit him. But now, after all that had happened...It was a painful memory for them all.

Cacofonix paused, looking up from the table at their guilty faces. No one met his gaze. "There was a time I thought I was useless; a burden to everyone. I thought that no one cared about me; that if I left, or something happened to me...no one would even notice."

Everyone sank lower in their seats with shame. They couldn't imagine how much they had hurt their friend, for him to think such things about himself. It was almost worse then anything else they had experienced two weeks ago. They felt as though they didn't deserve to be at the feast at all. The food on their plates suddenly didn't look all that appetizing anymore. Just the sight of it made their throats feel tight, and their hearts feel heavy and achy. No, they didn't deserve any of this.

The bard let out a soft sigh. "I thought that was true...But I was wrong."

Blinking, the Gauls returned their attention to Cacofonix, their eyes wide as the bard continued.

"If that had been the case, then I would have died up in my tree house as it burned to the ground. If that was the case, no one would have risked their lives for mine. No one would have helped me, and treated my injuries. No one would have cared for me; trying with all their might to save me. If that had been the case...If I really didn't mean a thing to anyone...I wouldn't be here." He swallowed, and his eyes started to mist, shining in the firelight. "And I just want you to know...That if...If there ever were a way for me to show you half the kindness and love you've shown me...I wouldn't hesitate to return it with everything I have. Be-because you all mean a lot to me...And...And..." He closed his eyes as the emotions swept over him and he stood there, head bowed and hands clenched at his sides.

There was a long, silent pause. No one moved as the entire village population sat, eyes wide and , in some cases, mouths agape in surprise. They looked up at their bard, and their hearts slowly filled with a new feeling. Something much stronger than the guilt and the shame. It was a warmth that spread from their souls to every tip of every finger and toe. Cacofonix's words chased away the last traces of darkness, that they hadn't even known were still clinging to their minds. Everything felt clearer, more real; as though they were truly healed from the scars of two weeks before. Things were normal again. Better than normal.

...But no one knew what to say. Cacofonix had just poured his heart out to them, and all they could seem to do was gaze up at him; dumbfounded. They looked at him, really looked; and for the first time they saw more than just a bard. More than just another villager. Cacofonix was a brother. They all were. The Gauls weren't a village...They were a family.

Panacea sat beside Tragicomix to the bard's left. As the silence continued she carefully detached herself from her husband's arms and climbed up onto the table. Every eye watched her as she gently crept closer to Cacofonix, whose eyes were still clenched shut. She lightly placed a hand on the bard's shoulder, and Cacofonix jumped slightly. He looked into her deep, glittering, blue eyes. He almost looked apologetic.

"I...I just wish there was some way I could show you all how much it means..." he whispered.

Panacea gave a gentle smile and spoke. Her voice was soft, like a downy feather on the wind, but everyone found they could hear her. "You already have." She then pulled him forward, gripping him in a firm hug. It seemed to take the bard by surprise at first, but then, after a moment, he returned the embrace.

That snapped everyone out of their silence. Before Cacofonix and Panacea had separated, they were surrounded by villagers, all smiling, laughing, and showing their affection in the form of hugs, handshakes, and friendly claps on the back. Before long, there wasn't a person left around the feasting table; instead they were all on top of it. So that they could all be together; as close as a family.

The rest of the feast was wonderful. The Gauls ate until they were stuffed. They danced until their legs gave out. They smiled and laughed until their faces hurt. And they stayed up until their eyes slowly slid shut on their own accord. They could rest easy; knowing that they were all safe within the confines of their wall. Dreams would be filled with pleasant thoughts instead of worries and fears. The night in the forest became dark and quiet, but that didn't matter. Because, after all they had been through, and until the next adventure found its way to the village of indomitable Gauls, everyone was...

...Safe and sound.

THE END

...

There it is everyone; the end. I hope that you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Would you believe that this story originally started as just a little something I wrote with no intention of continuing? I didn't plan on sharing it. I didn't even know how to continue! But with your encouragement and reviews you inspired me to continue. You are as much the creators of this story as I am. So thank you very much from the bottom of my heart.

I will no doubt write more Asterix stories sometime in the future. ;)

THANKS AGAIN!