With his job now finished with the armour Charles moved onto sharpening Maxine's sword. He was a little worried about waking her up due to the sound but he could hear her snoring and it was very loud. He didn't think that sharpening a sword would wake her up so he quickly got to work. He had a sharpening stone in his bag and he was using it for its intended purpose.

There was one thing that he did find odd about the sword. It was not the size of the sword as it was one that required two hands to wield. This was not terribly uncommon as many knights would equip themselves with such swords. It just happened to be that Maxine was large enough to wield it with one.

What made the sword stand out was that there seemed to be a pattern on the blade. It didn't seem like any pattern that a sword maker would intentionally place within the sword. Instead it looked like the pattern was created due to the metals that were used to make it. He found it intriguing and he wanted to ask her about it once she woke up.

For the next half an hour Charles sharpened the sword until he felt like he had done enough. With his word done he carefully placed the sword down by Maxine's polished armour. He knew that likely the first thing that she would do when she woke up was to put her armour back on.

There was still one more task that she had given him before getting her much needed slumber. This was to cash in a small reward that she had been given for capturing the two bandits. He had been told that he needed to go to the Mayor in order to receive the reward, from what he could see on the parchment the reward wasn't too bad but it was nowhere near what they had gotten for William Bellamy.

With a small amount of caution Charles left the building and began to make his way toward the town hall. He noticed that it was another cloudy day but something was telling him that it wasn't going to rain. The clouds looked like they were just going to sit where they were all day and do nothing more. The streets were also a little busier than he expected as people were waking up and beginning the routine of their daily lives.

Such a thing was something that he too had once had. But that was now in the past since he was the squire for Maxine Martel. A part of him did wonder what would have happened if he had remained at the Inn where she had found him. Although he thought that he would leave there soon enough he knew better than to think that. With how the owner of the inn treated him it was unlikely that he would have been able to leave otherwise.

Rather than dwelling on these thoughts Charles continued his way toward the Town Hall and he could see some market stalls being built up. They were selling mostly food and he was sure to look at them better once he had received the reward. He wanted to buy some food and surprise her when she woke up. He hoped to have an entire breakfast ready for her but by the time she would wake up it would likely be passed lunch,

The town hall wasn't too difficult to find as it was the largest building in Teasel. It had only recently been finished so there was still the smell of wet paint that could be smelt upon approaching it. Charles didn't pay too much mind to it as he simply walked inside and was directed to the mayor's office.

There he found the Mayor sitting behind a desk in what seemed to be a basic office. There weren't any real items of value scattered around but since his office had only just been installed there he hadn't had time to move all of his things. Instead he sat behind his desk and was signing some paperwork before he looked up at Charles.

"What do you want?" asked the Mayor in an annoyed tone. "Can't you see that I'm busy right now?"

"Well actually I'm here because I need to cash this in," replied Charles who placed the parchment onto the desk. He watched as the Mayor picked it up and began to look over it. He grunted a little before looking at Charles once again.

"So, she was able to capture two of them." He was surprised at this as he thought that it might be something beyond them. "But from what I've just read they're the small fry, I want the big fish."

"I don't know what to tell you sir." He chuckled to himself as he was a little nervous. "She didn't say anything about it to me."

"Then go and ask her about it and report back to me. I wish to know what she knows as soon as possible."

"Actually, there's a problem with that, she's asleep and already told me that she doesn't want to be woken up."

"And I need you to wake her up. If you don't bring her to me within the next half an hour her reward will be forfeited."

Charles wanted to say something in protest but he knew that it would be pointless. All he could do was quickly make his way out of the town hall and make his way back to where Maxine was sleeping. He walked at a quickened pace and within a few minutes he arrived back at the small building. It was empty besides the sleeping tall woman in the smaller room, he could still hear her snoring.

At first, he tried to wake her by calling to her. But she continued to sleep as if he were silent. He resorted to nudging her with his foot but this still didn't do anything. He took a deep breath before he kicked her arm as hard as he could. Instantly he felt pain as he felt how solid her flesh had seemed to be. He was in equal measures impressed and in agony.

Charles tried to subside the pain that he was feeling but he also heard Maxine snoring suddenly stop. This caused his heart to skip a beat as he saw her beginning to move and her eyes suddenly open. He gave her a quick greeting as he felt nervous, this nervousness increased further as he watched her stand up in silence. He could see the anger in her face and he could only watch as her head lifted higher and higher as she stood up.

Eventually her head struck the ceiling of the room and she blocked his path to the door. He could see that she was very irritated and she seemed to be on the verge of grabbing him by the neck and squeezing the life out of him. If he could he would want the ground to suddenly swallow him up. But that was just wishful thinking.

"I told you not to wake me up!" stated Maxine in a loud and very angry voice. Seeing her in a rage was almost common for him but it still terrified him nonetheless. "You better have a good reason for this!"

"I'm sorry ma'am," replied Charles. He was terrified and he took a couple of steps back. He looked up at her and it seemed that his apology did nothing to quell her anger. "But the Mayor needs to see you urgently and if I didn't bring you now you would have lost your reward."

"He wouldn't dare do such a thing!" Her anger seemed to be re-directing itself away from Charles and this helped calm him down.

"He seemed very serious ma'am. I didn't want to take the risk." He watched her clench her fist and quickly move it. He closed his eyes as he thought that she was going to strike him, he heard a loud thumping sound. He felt no pain however and slowly he opened his eyes, much to his surprise he saw some additional light inside of the room.

When Charles fully opened his eyes, he saw that Maxine had punched her fist right through the wooden wall beside him. It was now sticking outside and she could feel the breeze outside. This was something that she didn't care about though as she was still enraged but rather than striking him she had chosen to strike the wall instead. He was amazed by what he was seeing and he wondered just how strong she was.

"Get me my armour!" demanded Maxine. Her fist was still through the wall and she seemed to be leaving it there for a few moments. Her voice was still annoyed but quieter than it had been shortly before.

"Y-Yes ma'am," replied Charles.

He was able to get by the towering woman in order to get to the door. He was still terrified but he picked up each piece of her armour and passed it to her inside of the small room. She quickly took it off him and began to put them back on. There were a couple of times where he would have to tighten a few laces for her but other than that she was capable of putting it on by herself.

Within a couple of minutes Maxine had completed her task in putting her armour on. She left her helmet on but she attached it to her waist. Her sword was also secure to her waist and she wanted to ensure that she kept it with her at all times. In Charles's mind he didn't think that she really needed one. He saw how strong she was, it would be easy for her to defeat a sword wielding foe with her bare hands. She hadn't noticed the job that he had done on her armour, it seemed to sparkle with the light but this had escaped her notice.

"Where is the Mayor?" asked Maxine. She was still annoyed but at least she seemed a little calmer now.

"He's in the town hall ma'am," replied Charles. "He's waiting for you there and if we don't get there soon you'll lose your reward."

"You already told me that." She began to walk toward the door with her head bending down so that it didn't strike the ceiling. "Keep up or else you'll regret it."

Charles didn't say a word as he simply hurried toward Maxine. He wanted to keep up with her as he knew if he fell behind that she would be unhappy with him. That would lead to something else that he didn't really want to imagine. Instead he simply kept up with her as best as he could. He had to keep his pace up so that he could walk besides the towering, armoured woman.

As they walked through the streets her height did attract some attention. A couple of people couldn't help but look up at her, one even followed her for a moment before she glared at him. This was more than enough to cause him to step away and go about his business. There was one child who even threw a rock at her. It harmlessly bounced off her armour but it still caught her attention. It caused her to stop her trek for a moment and turn to the child, he looked incredibly small in comparison and he was very afraid of her. She took a few steps toward the child who seemed to be too scared to move. Charles feared what she might do to him but he hoped that she wouldn't hurt him.

"May I ask why you through a rock at me," said Maxine. Her tone was calmer than everyone had expected but that only seemed to make the situation terrifying for the little down.

"I-I don't know," replied the Boy. He thought that he was going to be punished and he couldn't help but look up at her. She was by far the tallest person that he had ever seen and it scared him.

"You best not do such a thing. Provoking the actions of others, especially those who are much larger than you is not wise. There are those who wouldn't give a second thought for striking you for your actions. You're lucky that you did it to me and not someone else like that, there are plenty of other games that you can play. Throwing rocks at strangers should not be one of them. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes."

"Good, now run along and do something safer."

The boy didn't say anything as he dropped the rock that he had been carrying and quickly ran away. He knew that he had been fortunate that she simply hadn't struck him for what he had been doing. Now he had to find a new game that would not provoke others, it had been a one that would not bring the attention of a nine-foot woman.

Only a few minutes later Maxine arrived at the town hall but rather than having a member of staff there point out where the Mayor's office was she simply walked inside. She was expected so no one tried to stop her but it was unlikely that they would have succeeded anyway. Charles just told her where she needed to go and shortly thereafter she opened the door to the office and stepped inside.

There she could see the Mayor sitting at his desk. He was looking at something in his hand, she couldn't tell exactly what it was but he saw him look up at her. There was also a pouch of gold on the desk as well which she thought was her reward money. Rather than staying inside Charles thought that it was best to step away for the time being since he was sure that she was going to explode with rage.

"Ah you're here and according to my calculations you had two minutes to spare," said the Mayor.

"This better be important," replied Maxine. "I was asleep and I don't like to be woken up before I'm ready."

"It's funny how someone like you can think that they can speak to an official like me. But I'm going to let it slide this time as I do need information from you. When you tell me everything that you know then I'll give you your reward."

"Fine." She gave a sigh. This mayor wasn't a high born but he had the means of making her life a little more difficult. "What do you want to know?"

"Last night you captured a couple of bandits responsible for so much trouble in my town. Since it would take more than two people to make the impact that they have I'm assuming that there are more of them. Did you see any other bandits and did you get any information from them?"

"I was able to extract some information out of one of them but he knew very little. But the there was a little girl with them."

"A little girl?" This peaked his interest as this was something that he had not expected to hear. "Tell me more about this girl."

"She looked cute and innocent but believe me she's anything but. How she spoke to the other two made it sound like she was in charge. Her speech and mannerisms didn't come across as that of a child. But instead an adult trapped in the body of a child. It is one of the oddest things that I have ever seen."

"Hmm so it seems like the rumours are true." He scratched his chin for a moment as he thought. "I had heard of whispers about a woman who had somehow turned herself into a little girl again. I don't know how it happened but from what you're saying to me it must be true. There is still some magic in this world and it seems like we've come across another case of it.

Maxime stayed quiet about it as she knew too well about there being magic in the world. If it hadn't been for magic her mother would have died as a baby and would never have reached the heights that she did. It was magic that had given Maxine her great size along with her that of her sisters. If there was magic that could do that then she was certain that there was magic that allowed someone to become younger.

"I've told you all that I know," said Maxine. Her voice was calm despite her fatigue. "Can I have my reward now?"

"But you didn't say the magic word," replied the Mayor. He could see this bubbling underneath Maxine's skin.

"Please." He then passed her the pouch which she quickly picked up. She felt its weight and it was less than she expected.

"Seems a little too light if you ask me."

"You only got the small fish, catch me the big fish and you'll get what was promised. Now go on and do whatever you normally do when you're not working. Just as long as you don't cause any trouble."

Maxine didn't really respond as she was still in a bad mood. Instead she just turned around and walked out of the office. She saw Charles who had remained outside for the time being, he had felt that it was best to not be in her way during this conversation. But he did begin to walk beside her when she had stepped out. As any good squire he kept up with her as best as he could. He could see that she was still annoyed so he knew better than to try and speak to her. Instead he just followed in silence and awaited her to give him some kind of command. As her squire he would do practically anything that she wanted him to do.

Just then she stopped for a moment and went into the pouch of gold that she had been given. The bag was a lot emptier than she would have liked but she took a few of the coins out and passed them to Charles. He was a little confused at first but he had noticed that they had stopped outside of a tavern.

"Go and buy yourself something to eat," said Maxine. "Then wait for me here until I'm done."

"Ma'am are you going to be buying ale again?" replied Charles who almost instantly began to regret asking this question.

"And what if I am?" Her words were sharp and angry. "I earned this money while you were sleeping peacefully. Besides it is not the duty of a squire to question a knight." She seemed very annoyed by what he was saying and she was definitely not in the mood to be dealing with such things.

"But is it wise ma'am? Saving some of that money will work wonders, don't forget that we still owe your friend some money and you still need food yourself. I'm just suggesting that with this money that you have to only spend a small amount on ale. Then feed yourself and give back what you owe. In my opinion it is the wisest thing to do." He expected her to berate him again but instead she took a few more coins from the pouch. Rather than keeping the pouch she gave it to him which did confuse him a little.

"Keep that safe and don't you dare spend anything in there." She wasn't admitting that he was right but she was doing the next best thing. "I know how much is supposed to be in there and if even one coin is missing I'll cut your hand off for being a thief. Got it?"

"Yes ma'am." He felt happier but he didn't want to seem overconfident. What he was dealing with was some good fortune but he didn't want to spoil things by being smug about it.

With that Maxine lowered her head so that she could get through the tavern door while Charles went to buy himself so food. He had not been given all that much but it would be enough for him to get something that would fill him up. He was also vigilant as he thought that the bandits might be in town. However, stealing in broad daylight was always a bad idea and he still had some of his injuries from the last time he was held up.

One thing that he did consider buying when he had enough money was a small dagger. This wasn't so that he could rob people or pick a fight. It was for his own protection as with times like these he didn't have Maxine's protection. His smaller than average stature did him no favours either.

He did eventually come across a baker who sold him a couple of bread rolls which he devoured relatively quickly. From another he bought himself a small glass of wine, just so that he had something slightly enjoyable. He imagined that Maxine was probably drinking ale by the barrel load. She would likely be drinking it as if it was water and still not even act the slightest bit drunk.

Just as Charles was thinking about returning to the tavern he felt a raindrop on his head and then suddenly the rain had come crashing down. The day had been threatening to do this for a while and now it was happening. He wasn't too surprised as it rained almost every day in Angleland so people had gotten used to it by now.

He did run fairly quickly so that he could enter another shop. This one was one that he hadn't been expecting to see. This was filled with supposed magic potions; the place was filled from floor to ceiling with bottles of odd coloured liquids. He knew that magic was a real thing but these kinds of shops were quite infamous.

The potions that were offered could help people in almost every way possible. Like a man who was balding could drink a potion and have a full head of hair again. Normally it wouldn't work and people would experience what was cooled a mind trick. If a person believed that it would work then they would see some positive results. However, this was all in the mind.

"Ah a customer," said a voice. This caused Charles to turn around and he saw a man standing not too far away from him. He was wearing somewhat fancy clothes and had short brown hair. "Welcome, do you see anything that you like?"

"Actually, I'm just taking shelter," replied Charles. "I'm not really interested in anything right now."

"My man you're mistaken. Everything here has some interest with someone. All I need to do with you is figure out what exactly it is that you desire." He stayed quiet and began to think. "I know, you're not the tallest character I've seen around here. I have a potion that will make you taller."

"Not interested in that."

"You don't look all that strong, how about a potion that will make you stronger? Might even make you more popular with the ladies."

Almost instantly he regretted entering this shop. One thing he did find a little funny was the thought of Maxine drinking one of these potions. He had already seen how tall and strong she was, if these potions were real (which he highly doubted) he could only imagine what would happen to her.