The next morning Charles began to feel something strike him, at first, he tried to ignore it as he wanted more time to sleep. Eventually it became too much for him and he began to open his eyes. Standing above him was Maxine who was glaring down at him and prodding him with her very large foot. She had her arms crossed and she was not wearing her armour, the size difference between them made him think for a moment that he was a child and that she was his parent.

He did look into the sky and from the colour of the sky he could see that it was very early morning. Too early for most people to be up and about, they were all still comfortable in their beds and nothing would wake them up too early. Especially a nine-foot woman who was probably one of the most intimidating people in the land.

"Wake up Charles," said Maxine with a sternness to her voice. "It's time to get moving again."

"Five more minutes," replied Charles who would have loved nothing more than to fall asleep again. He then began to shut his eyes again but the next thing he felt was a large hand grab onto his right ankle. Then he felt himself get lifted up by his ankle as if he didn't weigh anything at all. This caused him to open his eyes and he could see the mid-section of Maxine who was none too happy.

"When I tell you it's time to wake up you better wake up." Her voice was annoyed and if he could see her eyes he would have seen how they would angered she truly was. "You got it?" She continued to hold onto his ankle and if she closed her hand tightly she could break it with ease.

"Y-Yeah, I got it." He was in too much shock to argue against her. Instead could do nothing but agree with her.

"Good." With that she released him and he fell to the ground. The impact wasn't enough to cause him any harm but there was a loud thud that could be heard. "Now help me put my armour back on and we'll be on our way."

Charles said nothing as he scrambled up to his feet. With some reluctance he began to pick up pieces of Maxine's nearby armour and place them onto her body. For the legs she stood up for but when it came to her torso she needed to sit down. She knew how tall she was and that he wouldn't reach her if she stood up.

It took several minutes for Charles to finish the task but by the end of it all the armour was secured on properly. Even Maxine was impressed as she expected him to get at least one thing on it wrong. He had observed it last night and with taking it off he also learned how to put it back on.

The last thing that was attached to Maxine was her sword, Charles had been able to feel it in his hand and like her armour it too felt incredibly heavy. Any normal man would require two hands to wield it but not Maxine. To her it was like a standard sword and she could swing it around with ease.

She also strapped her helmet to her waist as she felt like she didn't need it at that moment in time. It was also the only way that she could still look like a woman while wearing her armour, if one did not see her head they would assume that she was a man. The armour hid all her other feminine features. This didn't bother her too much as she preferred to have the right protection over being seen as a woman.

With Maxine's armour back on they stripped whatever meat was left on the deer and left the rest to the wolves who were no doubt creeping nearby. Charles placed the meat in a bag that he had picked up before leaving the inn. He wanted to use it to carry important things that would serve them both over their time together.

One thing that was also in the bag was a journal that he planned to use to record everything down in. Despite his relative low birth, he was able to read and write which would be more use to Maxine than she realised. He wanted to record practically everything down in there no matter how insignificant it might be.

With them both ready Maxine decided that it was time to move. She began to walk forward and Charles had to quickly catch up and walk at a steady speed. Each movement that she made the sound of her armour plates striking against each other was constant. She would not be able to sneak up on someone but then again, she was too big to be doing something like that.

As they walked her expression continued forward and every now and again they would walk by other people. They would all look at her in absolute astonishment but she ignored them, she had more than gotten used to such stares so it was no difference to her. There were some people who thought that she was a man despite her feminine facial features.

One thing that Maxine did have to look out for was low branches. They weren't an issue for Charles or normal people but for her it was a completely different story. She had to steer clear of trees as she didn't want to strike her head. Not only could they cause injury to her but they were also a source of great annoyance for her.

Eventually they found themselves walking down a path that stretched for as far as the eye could see. There were some trees on either side but nothing that was too close for Maxine to have to take note of. Charles was getting tired as they had walked for some miles without stopping. He was struggling to keep up with her and he focused on his fatigue. One thing he did decide to do was to try and take his mind off of it so that he wouldn't feel so tired. Walking right next to was a nine-foot distraction that he was more than hoping would serve his immediate needs.

"Ms Martel may I ask you something?" asked Charles. He looked up at her and he could see that she was still focusing her vision on the path ahead. She didn't look down at him at all or slow down her pace.

"What is it?" replied Maxine.

"I was just wondering how far it is to our destination."

"If we keep going at this pace we should be there by day's end. We'll rest and then track down Bellamy starting in the morning."

"Oh, I see and what do you plan to do with the reward morning?"

"Why would you want to know that?"

"Well as your squire so to speak handling your money is one of my responsibilities. I'm going to record down any money that comes in and out. Just so you know exactly how much you have to spend. If I have some idea what you're going to be paying out it'll give me a better idea on how to save and spread the money."

"Very well, there will be essentials such as food, inns and some left over for more pleasurable activities."

"Like what?"

"Like none of your business. Just know that I need some gold point to one side for certain activities. I'll tell you how much I'll need in some advance, for now that's all you need to know."

"As you wish ma'am and if I need to buy food is there anything that you don't particularly like?"

"I'll eat more or less anything. Except for onions, I despise onion in every shape or form. If I had the choice of starving to death or eating an onion I'd rather starve. So, take this as a warning, never eat onion in my presence and never buy any onion with my gold. The consequences of such an act will not be to your liking."

"I can imagine ma'am." He didn't mind onion that much but knowing now that Maxine hated them he would be willing to cut them out of his diet. It wouldn't be too big of a sacrifice for him, especially if it meant that he didn't get on her bad side. This was something he wanted to avoid at all costs.

The walk continued on for a couple of hours more and fatigue was setting in for Charles. He wanted to ask to stop for a rest but he dared not request such a thing from Maxine. Her stern demeanour had more or less put him off asking her for anything that she might disagree about.

One thing that he still couldn't get over was just how much taller he was in comparison to her. He was average height but in comparison to her he felt like a child. If she was six feet tall he still would have noticed, seven-foot people would stare in awe, eight foot and she would have been in a league of her own. Nine feet however seemed to defy his comprehension, if he wasn't seeing it now he would have thought that it would be impossible for a human to reach such heights.

Charles had seen particularly tall people before and one distinctive factor about them was that most had very deep voices. However, whenever Maxine spoke her voice was the usual pitch for a woman, whenever she spoke there was no doubt that she was a woman although her tone did intimidate him.

Eventually they did come across a tavern that seemed to be located on the path that they were travelling. Charles hadn't realised that there was even one there but Maxine had planned for them to come across it. She knew that it would make an excellent place to stop for a much-needed rest. Her stomach was also growling as it demanded food and she wasn't going to ignore it any longer.

The tavern itself looked like it had seen better days but more than fit to host weary travellers. Charles couldn't see the name but he watched as Maxine stepped toward it, as usual she needed to duck the door in order to get through and when she was inside she didn't fully stand up.

This was not the first time that inside of this inn and she remembered from last time that the inn's ceiling was too low for her to stand up properly. She still had a bruise where it happened the previous time and she didn't want to repeat the experience. She was annoyed by the low ceiling but now had grown accustomed to such a thing.

When Charles looked inside he could see that the tavern was about half full. There were people eating and drinking while there were a few who were singing along to someone who just happened to be playing a fiddle. Everyone seemed to be in good spirits so he hoped that there wouldn't be any other fights.

There was a wave of silence that suddenly hung over as everyone noticed Maxine. Like Charles before them, none had seen a woman of her sheer size. Some even began to think that it was some kind of joke. Underneath her armour it was simply a person sitting on the shoulders of someone else. Some knew that this wasn't the case as the length of her arm was to be expected of someone of her height. Unless the person sitting on top of the shoulders just happened to have arms long enough that they almost dragged onto the ground.

Charles felt nervous as he knew that everyone was looking at them. He thought that this was a bad sign as it meant that there was a greater chance of trouble. But he knew that if he stayed beside Maxine that no one would hurt him. If he purposely provoked someone he thought that she might leave him to his fate but if it was unwarranted she might step in.

Behind the counter of the inn was a woman who looked to be in her early fifties. She was a short but round woman and she looked up directly at Maxine when she approached the counter. Unlike the other patrons of the tavern she didn't seem to be too bothered by the size of the woman before her.

"Ms Martel," said the Tavern Owner. "It's been a while since you last came in here." Her voice was a little croaky as she was suffering from a cold.

"That it has," replied Maxine. "Have you begun serving warm food yet?" Her tone was somewhat different to what it had been before. It was less commanding and instead felt more like she was talking to an acquaintance.

"I see that you've picked up a travelling companion there, I didn't think that you would be the kind to have a companion."

"Oh him." She looked down at Charles for a moment before looking back at the Tavern Owner. "He's my temporary squire who is indebted to me, as soon as he has worked off what he owes me he's free to go wherever he pleases."

"Very well then, may I ask if you want to have anything to eat or drink?"

"That you may, I want to have a barrel of your best ale and three of your streak pies. My squire can have what he desires."

This caught Charles by surprise as he had expected Maxine to simply order something for him. The fact that she was allowing him to order what he wanted was a positive sign in his mind. However, he didn't think it was best to waste any time just in case she changed her mind.

"I-I'll just have some water and a chicken pie if you have one."

"Very well," replied the Tavern Owner. "That will be fifty gold coins in total." She didn't have to wait long until Maxine placed the gold down onto the counter. The owner then took the coins before filling a cup of water for Charles. She then brought a small barrel of ale and put it on the side. "Take a seat and I'll bring it over to you when it's done."

"You have my thanks." She then looked down at Charles who looked back up at her. "Come along now."

"Yes ma'am," replied Charles.

Without any question he followed her to a table that was completely unoccupied. There were two benches at the table and Maxine sat down on one of them. There was a loud creaking sound as it struggled to support her weight. For a moment or two she thought that it might break but thankfully its strength held.

Charles sat down on the other side of the table and took a sip of his water. He then took out his diary and wrote a couple of things into the back of it. Maxine continued to sit there with her small barrel of ale which she opened and began to drink. She swallowed the ale with mighty gulps and Charles didn't want to calculate just how much she was drinking per gulp. Instead he continued with what he was writing and this peaked Maxine's interest. She looked at him and placed the barrel onto the table.

"Squire what are you doing?" asked Maxine. Her tone suggested that she wanted an immediate answer but it wasn't aggressive.

"Well I'm just writing down how much has been spent," replied Charles. "I want to buy a book in he near future so that I can write it all down but for now my diary is all that I have. I must admit that this little stop is costing us a fair amount of gold that we have. We only have around thirty gold coins left after this."

"That's fine, when we capture William Bellamy we'll have enough gold to last us for a fair while. It's only a matter of time, besides I wasn't going to walk by this place and not have anything to eat."

Charles wanted to say something that might annoy her but for now he wanted to keep it to himself. The last thing he wanted was for a nine-foot armour clad woman to be angry with him. He thought that her way of thinking was flawed but he did admit that it was nice having someone make his food for him for a change.

The pair had to wait a relatively long time before the food was finally brought out to them. Charles' chicken pie was placed in front of him and he thought that it smelled really nice. He looked over to Maxine and saw the three pies that were brought to her. Each was larger than his and he was surprised if she could eat it all. He did notice that when the pies were placed in front of her that she broke a small smile.

Before he could do anything else he watched as she cut large chunks of the pie and ate them quickly. The smile on her face remained and he could see that was thoroughly enjoying what she was doing. More than her body were currently showing, he made this observation quiet for the time being and he began to eat his own pie.

Charles' chicken pie was a relatively nice tasting pie although it wasn't the best that he had ever eaten. It would still get him by as a source of nutrition, he would glance toward Maxine every now and again. Each time he did more and more of her pies disappeared. She was eating them at a rate that was faster than he thought was possible.

By the time that he had eaten half of his pie she had eaten all three of her own. Not a single crumb was left behind and she even gave out a small belch although she tried her best to mask it. She gave a sigh as she seemed disappointed that her pies were gone. But she was satisfied by what she had eaten.

One thing that did cross Charles' mind was the question of whether Maxine was still growing. If she was it would go some way in explaining why she ate so much as she had done just. The thought of her growing was somewhat terrifying to him as she was tall enough already. If there was the possibility that she could grow even taller only meant that she was going to become stronger and more intimidating. She was already nine feet tall, he thought there was a possibility that she could reach ten.

"Are you going to finish that?" asked Maxine. She had noticed that he hadn't eaten his pie and had barely touched it for the last several minutes.

"N-Nah I'm good thanks," replied Charles. He could see what she wanted and he began to push the pie toward her. "Did you want it?"

"If you don't mind." Her armour-clad hands quickly grabbed onto the pie and then dragged it the rest of the way toward her. As soon as it was close enough she used the nearby knife and fork to cut it up and then eat it. This one last no longer than the other pies, it was only a couple of minutes before it too was completely devoured. "That was delicious, well worth the coin we spent."

"Yes, I can see that you've eaten your fill."

"No there is room for more. But since you've stated that we don't have too much coin with us I'm going to have to reluctantly allow what is left of my hunger to continue. But if we had the coin then those fantasy pies would be as good as devoured." The small smile returned and this got Charles' interest.

"What's our plan for after we leave?"

"We continue onto our destination, find who we're looking for and then bring him to the closest law office. Collect our reward and then onto the next job."

That was somewhat of a relief for Charles. He knew that a wanted man could be taken to any of the law offices in the land. There he would be held until he could be transferred to where they needed to be prosecuted. It meant that they wouldn't have to take him there themselves which would waste a lot of time. They would still get their reward although if law office didn't have it at the time they would have to return a few days later in order to collect their gold.

"Oh, I see," said Charles. "As soon as we've gotten the reward I can buy that book I mentioned earlier and then I can keep a close eye on the finances."

"Of course, as my squire you will be entitled to a chunk of the reward money, not as large as my take of course but enough for your efforts. I don't care what you do with your gold as long as you don't go crawling to me for more. But from what I've seen of you so far I doubt that'll happen."

"Yes, well it all depends on how much gold I earn, hopefully it'll be enough to keep me going for a while."

"Maxine Martel!" said a rather loud and slightly aggressive voice. This instantly caught the attention of the extremely tall woman as she turned her head toward where the voice was coming from.

This also drew the attention of Charles who could see a man wearing full armour much like Maxine. He didn't wear his helmet and he could see that he had somewhat long black hair with a short beard. He stood around six and a half feet tall and was an intimidating sight. His expression looked to be aggressive and this got Maxine to stand up from her bench and bow her head a little so that it didn't hit the ceiling.

"Gregory Helms," replied Maxine in a tone she took a couple of steps towards the man and he did the same to her. They squared off as he had to look right up at her, Charles was nervous as he had seen her in action before. He thought that she would easily win the fight but there was always that chance that he could get a lucky blow. "I didn't expect to see your ugly face here."

"And I thought you'd remember what I told you the last time we met."

"Oh, I didn't forget you frog man."

"Overgrown bitch."

The pair glared at each other and Charles thought that the fight was going to begin at any moment. He wanted to be sure that he didn't get into the middle of it. However, what happened next surprised him. Rather than the two combatants lifting their fists or drawing their swords they both began to laugh.

This confused Charles more than anything as he was sure that they were mortal enemies but it began to dawn on him that this wasn't the case. Maxine and Gregory weren't enemies, they were friends. He watched as they both shook hands, it was also the first time that he had ever heard her laugh. It was a pleasant laugh but he thought it could quickly turn to violence if needed.