A New Acquaintance
This story is a translation of the original version I wrote in greek. You can find it in my profile, titled Μια Νέα Γνωριμία.
Α/Ν: This story will follow some of the original issues by Goscinny and Underzo. The new character, Stubbornina, will influence the plot of each issue to some extent. Assuming that the reader is familiar with these stories, this work will omit parts that remain intact and unaffected by Stubbornina's presence.
Disclaimer! Everything recognizable belongs to their rightful creators, including a few lines I took straight out of the issues. I'm just having fun!
The stereotypes about women are based on my impressions from Asterix' orginal issues. The idea that Getafix finds the notion of female druids inappropriate or even ridiculous is found in the issue "Asrerix and the Secret Weapon." Very few historical data are known about Roman Gaul, and these are mainly from Roman sources, so the information available to us is limited. I found sources stating that Celtic women did not have a lower social status than men. They participated in wars and could decide their own fate, just like men. However, these sources referred to later centuries, not to 50 BC, which, as we all know, is the time of Asterix' adventures. Since I didn't see anything like that in the issues, in this work I will prefer to follow the creators' rule, and ignore the scant historical data. I thought it would be more interesting this way.
Introduction: The Conference
It was the eve of midsummer, and the valley stretching out in front of the Forest of the Carnutes was brimming with sounds and scents.
Asterix and Obelix were once again accompanying Getafix to the annual Druid Conference. They arrived at the entrance of the Forest of the Carnutes, the traditional meeting place, three hours before the official start time. The sun had not yet risen over the mountains in the distance, and the peaceful calm of night had not yet released nature from its veil.
Obelix had already set off in search of food before Getafix had even had a chance to settle onto a sun-drenched stone. Asterix busied himself with the fire. They were discussing the day's celebrations when a female voice, tinged with agitation, was heard from somewhere nearby.
The two Gauls immediately went on alert.
"Just listen to me!"
"No, dear girl, no! How many times must I explain it to you?" interrupted a second, male voice.
For a moment, the two men were left looking to the right, where an uneven path separated the forest from the valley below. The voices were not coming from far away, but a mound on the edge of the forest, thirty paces from the two seated men, hid them from view.
"But I'll disguise myself, and no one will notice—" The girl's pleading voice continued.
"Nina!"
"I have so many ideas, so much I could offer!"
"Are you really incapable of respecting something this sacred?"
"Oh come on, uncle!" The dry, contentious tone of the young girl reached Asterix' ears even more clearly than her screeching. "How can you call sacred a practice that keeps knowledge confined to precious few?"
During the brief silence that followed, Asterix could picture them in his head, even though their figures were still hidden behind the tree-infested mound. The girl must have turned her pleading gaze towards the man. The uncle must have sighed wearily, as his next words reached the Gauls' ears only because the wind was blowing in their direction.
"How many times do I have to explain it to you?"
As the man ventured in a tirade of explanations (a well-rehearsed one, Asterix deduced from his weary tone and his readiness to rebuff any argument the girl could muster), Getafix cleared his throat discreetly. Asterix shifted his attention to him. Getafix was stifling a laugh, but with the pair approaching, Asterix did not find it wise to interrogate the Druid for further details. Besides, it seemed that the man accompanying the girl was also a Druid, and Getafix would never gossip about someone who belonged in his order. Nevertheless the unseen couple continued their heated argument. In an effort to tune them out, Asterix let his gaze drift to the valley below, searching for a sign of Oblix' figure despite the lingering darkness.
The voices were now coming from closer. Asterix could not resist and turned his head discreetly to the right. At the curve of the mound, two figures could faintly be seen walking towards them. One was short and chubby, dressed in the white robes of a Druid, and the other was tall and slender, wrapped in a gray woolen cloak that brushed the ground.
The girl walked with large, brisk steps, her hands crossed in front of her chest, as yet another sign of defiance. The Druid uncle had the demeanour of a patient man who was at risk of reaching his limit. He was out of breath from trying to keep up with the girl's longer strides. If Asterix had heard that this topic of discussion had been repeated every day for the past ten years, he would not have been surprised at all.
They were so engrossed in their argument that they did not realize they were not the only ones who had arrived so early.
"Women," continued the short Druid, "especially young women, do not get involved in such matters. For centuries now, they have borne the difficult task of managing the household. It may not be as interesting and thrilling, but how many men have you met who can cook, wash, and raise children? And if that's not enough, why can't you be content with this bow and arrows you strut around with? Or aren't you aware of how much trouble just the sight of them has caused you?"
"You can't be telling me that it's my fault that men—"
"Yes, Nina, it's your fault. It's not merely your fault, but you're not helping the situation either. Remember that inn two days ago? Was it necessary you bring all your gear to dinner?"
The young girl was choking with injustice. "Mygearand my skill with it are the reason you allowed me to accompany you! My job on this trip is to protect you!"
"Stubbornina..." The Druid sighed. He stopped and gently took the girl's arm, bringing her to a halt as well. "You think that if I wanted a companion, I wouldn't be able to find one? A person more experienced than you? A fighter?"
The brief silence that followed was filled with contemplation and the beginnings of a disappointment that seemed ready to explode. "So why am I here then?" The girl spoke so quietly that Asterix almost didn't hear her.
The Druid placed both his hands on the girl's arms and rubbed them in an attempt to comfort her. "Because I don't like to see you upset, my child. It's a fact that Ican'ttake you with me to the conference. And that is non-negotiable. But-!"
The uncle emphasized the last word, preempting yet another wave of arguments and pleas. "I took you with measfar as I could."
From the corner of his eye, Asterix saw the girl relax a little; her shoulders loosened, her hands uncrossed, her fists unclenched. She was about to say something to her uncle, but he preempted her once again.
"If it were up to me," he smiled affectionately, "I would take you along just to see you smile, to see your eyes widen at the wonders you would witness." He caressed her cheek. "You know that."
The girl's posture softened enough to match her uncle's affection. "Because you know how good I am." She said, sounding more like a plea than a statement.
The Druid nodded affirmatively, but his next words were a mix of teasing and encouragement. "And to make you see how much better you can become."
The girl let out a small scoff at her uncle's gentle jab, but none of her earlier aggressiveness remained. Her uncle's words seemed to have appeased her.
"This thirst for knowledge of yours is praiseworthy, my girl, admirable, and I hope you never lose it. Be patient, and in the future, only Belenus knows where you will end up."
They smiled at each other, the uncle encouragingly, the niece reluctantly.
"But until then, why don't you run down to the stream? We need water."
The girl initially hesitated to leave him alone. However, the Druid insisted that there was no danger on the outskirts of the sacred forest, especially since the presence of a fire in the distance suggested that some of his colleagues had already arrived.
"But I didn't smell any fire." The girl countered, glancing towards Asterix and Getafix.
"With the wind on our backs, you wouldn't, my dear. Now run along."
Asterix relaxed his back against the stone, gazing abstractly at the sky, where the visibility of the stars was already beginning to diminish. He felt a bit embarrassed for the girl, whose personal matters had been exposed to strangers before making their acquaintance.
When the girl left in search of water, the plump figure approached Asterix and Getafix.
The greetings and embraces that followed were the traditional and customary ones, repeated annually, and unfolding as if the Druids had not been apart for a year but for ten. It turned out that Benevolentix, the uncle of the girl named Nina, was an old friend of Getafix. So the two Druids settled by the fire, while the nightingales began to herald the start of the day. It did not seem to concern him much that their private conversation had been overheard. Specifically, he directly asked, albeit with some fatigue, how much of it had reached their ears.
Asterix sat aside and let the two old friends speak of youth and rebellion, stubbornness and defiance. Benevolentix spoke nostalgically of his sister, Nina's mother, who had been taken away by illness when the girl was not yet ten years old. Having no other relative to take care of her, the child had passed to his care. His eyes sparkled as he recounted snippets of the girl's achievements over the next eight years and the worry that that crumpled his face was worhty of an actual, not adopted father, when he recounted how Nina, despite all her talents, was rather lonely and had trouble making friends.
"And you still teach her, old friend?" Getafix asked. "As I recall, you had your doubts at first."
Benevolentix sighed in a way that matched his name. "If you saw how she persisted, you would have set aside your doubts as well, Getafix." Instead of finding the girl's attitude irritating, he regarded it as something entertaining, even admirable.
"I've set my limits on anything related to Druidry, potion-making especially," he continued with as much sternness as his round and cheerful face could express, "but tell me, what's wrong with a person learning a couple things? Knowing how to distinguish herbs, for example, or making remedies?"
"And a bit of history and mythology, perhaps some strategy as well?" Getafix teased good-naturedly.
"I see where you're going with this, old friend," Benevolentix replied with a sly smile, "but Druids are much more than dry knowledge and the services we offer. We are our white robes and our red cloaks. We are priests and sages and honoured members of our communities."
"And the girl can never become such a thing, no matter her talents."
Asterix had known Getafix since the time he was in diapers (Asterix himself, not Getafix, of course). Today, after thirty years of close contact and friendship, he was one of the few people in the village who did not often face difficulties in decoding the subtler nuances of the Druid's behaviour. Yet, in this case, he was unsure what feelings truly hid behind his mysterious smile. Or behind the friendly teasing, or the penetrating gaze that accompanied these last few words to his old friend and colleague.
Did his comment carry an undertone of severity or even disapproval? Or was it a subtle way to express sympathy and understanding for a de facto father who had to crush the dreams of a young soul before they even began? Or perhaps Getafix was merely trying to warn his colleague about the boundaries imposed by their order, now that it had become apparent that he was already flirting with irregularity?
The shorter Druid, however, seemed to face no such difficulties as Asterix, for no sign of doubt appeared on his face. He only returned Getafix' stare with a mix of emotions too tangled to be captured in words.
Asterix felt as though he were a child again, watching his parents converse in gestures and glances, sharing a kind of omerta that could never include him.
The arrival of Obelix with three wild boars under his arms and the little white dog trotting alongside him broke the spell that had bound the two old men. The attention of the warriors shifted to the food, with Idefix curling up beside them, while the Druids sat aside, organizing their bags, eagerly awaiting the sunrise that would mark the beginning of the conference and murmuring quietly among themselves.
The two wild boars had already been placed over the fire before the young woman returned. She arrived from the opposite direction of where she had left, climbing up a slope already green with the last summer grass. Her dark hair was the first to appear, long locks woven around her head.
"But, Getafix, are you really sure?"
These were the first intelligible words that came from the Druids; direction since Obelix returned.
"Of course, old friend, don't mention it, there's no trouble at all..." said Getafix's voice as the girl called Stubbornina spotted where her uncle sat and began to approach. In one hand she held the freshly filled water-skin and in the other a dead squirrel, probably the first catch of the day. Asterix agreed with Obelix in this case: who in their right mind would kill a squirrel? Those cursed rodents were too difficult to catch, and you needed five or six to gather the meat of the day.
"She'll stay with the boys until the end of the conference and then, if she agrees, I'll take care of her personally."
Asterix' head snapped to Getafix' direction, before the latter had time to complete his sentence. The words rung ominously in the morning twilight. Whom else could the two old Druids be referring to but the approaching girl, and who were the "boys" if not Asterix and Obelix?
Gallic courtesy was something non-negotiable, of course, and Asterix would not leave a young girl alone in this wilderness, but there was a difference between making sure she was safe enough or ate her lunch, and having to look after a stubborn teenage girl who had more opinions than hair on her head. Vitalstatistix' nephew from Lutetia came to his mind, and Asterix sighed silently. That's why he remained a bachelor despite his mother's ardent wishes, so he could avoid dealing with such things.
Anyway... he thought, feeling the curious gaze of the girl upon them.If this is to happen, let it happen. And he gave himself up to the conversation with Obelix, always a beacon of calm, fun, and simple familiarity.
"Nina," Getafix exclaimed as the girl approached. "You probably don't know me, but I hear about you every year from your uncle."
More greetings followed, and the young girl surprised them by displaying a taciturn nature, limiting herself to nodding whenever she could avoid speaking. She didn't smile, giggle or snicker as one would expect from a girl her age. She seemed to hold herself with a strict demeanor, not exactly sulky but with a seriousness that amused Asterix because it was so unexpected for a girl who had just a short while ago begged her uncle to let her dress up as a Druid to sneak into the conference.
Only when Obelix began to blush from head to toe, as he always did in the face of a new female acquaintance, did Nina's façade started to break. At first her eyes widened at the sight of the towering warrior who became too flustered to meet her gaze, and she turned slightly pink herself. Asterix looked for any sign that the girl was taking his friend lightly, but soon she started to gaze upon him with suspicion, as if Obelix' sheepishness was some cunning ruse she couldn't quite work out.
However, it was mostly Obelix' behavior that aggravated the underlying irritation he already felt, for reasons Asterix had chosen years ago not to analyse too deeply. So, for a while, he remained silent, mostly listening to the Druids discussing. Obelix did not take long to realize that his friend was not his usual self, as Asterix was usually the opposite of grumpy, and hurried to reassure him that the wild boars would be ready soon.
With the wild boars roasting, the sun flirting with its appearance behind the mountains, and Nina's dead squirrel forgotten for now, the light smalltalk about simple and everyday matters, the greetings with other Druids who had slowly begun to arrive, Idefix wagging his tail enthusiastically, sniffing the bones he would soon enjoy, gradually calmed Asterix down. It also helped that the teenager had bent over a densely written scroll and had devoted her attention to it with all the piousness such a rare and costly thing should inspire.
Everything was fine until Getafix, taking advantage of the privacy that would not last much longer, brought up the subject of the day and invited Nina to stay with him in their village for a few weeks.
The girl, energetic by nature to the point of nervousness as it seemed, reacted as if she were an oyster and someone was trying to steal the pearl she hid between her jaws. Her attention bounced restlessly between the two Druids, and she even cast a few glances toward Asterix and Obelix.
"Why would you want to host me?" she asked in genuine puzzlement.
"It was actually my idea," Getafix replied with a kind smile. "Your uncle told me that you're not very fond of Lutetia and spend a lot of time in the forest, so I thought you might like our village."
Something in the young girl's expression softened, but when she turned her attention to her uncle, she appeared upset.
"I've worn you out, haven't I, Uncle?"
"What nonsense you speak, my girl?" he scolded her kindly, taking her hand. "I just thought you would be excited to spend some time in a new place."
The girl forced a hesitant smile, more for his sake than her own. "And our lessons?" she asked, already beginning to frown as she anticipated her uncle to announce that it would be in her best interest to take a break for a few weeks.
"I'll take care of them if you are amenable." Answered Getafix, and Asterix was as surprised as Nina at the sound of his words.
Asterix had to admit that he didn't see that coming. It was one thing for an uncle to indulge a persistent niece, and another for Getafix to willingly accept to continue the irregular behaviour of his colleague.
Nina's whole demeanour brightened, momentarily forgetting her campaign to appear serious and measured. Even if she didn't know Getafix, his white robe was enough to convince her that he had much to teach her. Was this enthusiasm that made Benevolentix unable to refuse her?
As Nina's tongue began to unravel while they discussed the details with Getafix, another thought crossed Asterix's mind. Maybe their Druid had made this offer so he could control what information the girl would have access to and ensure that her uncle wouldn't exceed the already lax boundaries he had set.
A/N: Crossposted on Ao3. The first 11 chapters are already writen and the plot is mapped out to the end.
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