For the next few days Charles tended to the very large Maxine as she still recovered from her encounter with the bandits. He was sure to bring her food and water and tend to her needs whenever she wanted. At one point he did have to rub some lotion on her chest where the small cannonball had struck.

That area of the chest was badly bruised and he could see her wince in pain as he applied the lotion. It was supposed to make the healing process move a little faster but he could feel the skin and flesh around her chest. Although she was fairly muscular it did feel warm and soft but he didn't really get much opportunity to look at it.

Under Maxine's command Charles had to look up at her face as he applied the lotion. She could feel the coldness of her hand and the lotion but she didn't want him to feel like this was some kind of sexual act. He was merely helping her and that was that, there was nothing more to the task in her mind.

On the evening Maxine remained in the room by herself, she needed to only wait a few minutes before he did eventually return. In his hands he was carrying a small barrel of ale. Thankfully he had not paid for it as the Mayor had given it to them as another gift for saving his daughter. Since her armour wasn't going to be repaired through his coin, he felt that it was a small substitute.

"Your ale as you requested ma'am," said Charles as he passed her the barrel. One thing that he noticed was that when she took it off him, she only needed one hand. He had required two to carry it but she was more than capable of performing the same task with one hand. It was hard for him to believe that such a person like this existed in Angleland and the fact that she was a woman as well.

"Thank you, Charles," replied Maxine as she cracked open barrel. She watched as he went to pick up a nearby cup but she shook her head. This caused him to stop what he was doing and he watched as she placed the barrel to her lips and began to drink. He watched in amazement as she continued to swallow the contents of the barrel. Within less than a minute the ale inside of the barrel was completely gone. It was soon placed on the ground and she unleashed the loudest belch that Charles had ever heard. It was loud, deep and lasted for several seconds before subsiding. "That hit the spot."

"D-Do you require more ma'am?" He was sure that she had just drunk enough to make a normal man heavily intoxicated at the very least.

"No, I'm fine. Besides, we need to have an early night tonight."

"Why do we need that ma'am?" He was confused but he did think of one reason. In his mind it was ludicrous.

"Because we leave at dawn in order to travel to Morgan. If we make good pace we should be there in a couple of days."

"You want to leave tomorrow?" This surprised him enough to make him almost at a loss for words. "B-But you should rest, you still haven't fully recovered from your injuries ma'am." He was concerned for her but he realised that he might have made a mistake, he thought that she would probably get angry at him for questioning her. It was not the place of a squire to question but perform his duty.

"I appreciate the concern but I assure you that I'm fine." Her voice still remained calm and this was a relief for Charles. "I'm made of stronger stuff than the average person, I've taken all the time that I need to recover." She cleared her throat as she wanted to change the subject. "And how are we doing with our gold count?"

"Let me just check ma'am." Quickly he went to his own satchel that was close by and pulled out his note book. He turned a few pages until he eventually came to the information that he required. "We have a healthy sum, the payment for bringing the bandits to justice has given us a decent windfall. Plus, the fact that we're not currently paying for anything has also helped us greatly."

"Exactly how much do we have?"

"According to my count we have around four thousand gold ma'am. A decent amount if you ask me."

"Yes, that money should last us a while."

"And might I add that it is more than a replacement for the money that we had stolen after your last job."

"Don't remind me." She lifted her hands in front of her and gave out an annoyed grunt. "If I find the bastard who stole our money, I'll crush his skull with my bare hands." Charles watched on in some fear as he thought that Maxine was simply exaggerating. But as he stopped and looked at her, he realised that she might just be able to do it. There was more strength in her one arm than his entire body and this scared him. "But enough about that, there are a few things that I need to go through with you when we reach Morgan and eventually meet my family."

"And what is that ma'am?" He wanted to be sure that he didn't do anything that could insult Maxine's family as he feared the consequences.

"First of my mother is a bit of a sensitive woman. Plus, like me she is very tall so try not to be intimidated. If she tries to give you a hug don't back away, allow it to happen and everything will be alright. My oldest sister Carrie thinks that some lord will take her away to his castle and make her his lady. She will probably try and make you comment on her beauty, do not do this." Charles was about to question this but he kept his mouth shut as he knew that it was for the best. My next sister Denise is like you, more interested in her books than anything else."

"Do you mind if I write this down ma'am?"

"If you wish to." She waited for a moment while he got his book and pencil. "Do not insult her intelligence and you'll be fine. My eldest brother Adam like me wants to be a knight and he might be jealous of you for being my squire. Tell him that you have a life debt to me and he should be fine. Jane is my next sister, she's got more heart than brains and looks like she was placed on a rack. Be kind to her or else you might very well regret it."

Charles gave a nervous chuckle as he continued to write these down. From what he could see Maxine had a very large family. It was not terribly uncommon for large families with numerous siblings. Maxine's seemed to be no different but he listened on and continued to write down.

"My youngest sister Alison spends all of her time drawing," continued Maxine. "She'll likely want to draw you when we arrive, let her do this and compliment her no matter how bad said drawing is. Then you have my youngest brother Jaime will likely run rings around you and shout to get your attention. Be calm with him and he will eventually calm down himself and whatever you do don't give him anything with sugar."

"As you wish ma'am," replied Charles. He began to count through the siblings that she had spoken about. "So, you have six brothers and sisters?"

"Yes, but I wouldn't be surprised if my mother has pushed out another one. It has been a year since I last visited home, there is a good chance that she has either had another child or is having another one." She gave a sigh. "She always wanted a large family."

"Is that everything now ma'am?"

"No, there is the most important detail." She gave him a stern look and he could see just how serious she was. "My father is one of the greatest and most respected swordsmen in Angleland and you will treat him with the respect that he deserves. Any disrespect will lead to a harsh punishment." From what Charles had seen it didn't seem like her father was all that respected but he didn't want to point this out. "And I mean it, I once shattered the arm of a man for the slightest disrespect against him."

"I understand ma'am."

He did remember how the high born had insulted Sir Tucker while they had been in the tavern. However, since he was of more noble birth than her, she had not been able to lift a finger to avenge the insult. For someone like Charles he knew that he wouldn't be so lucky so he was sure to be as careful as he could.

The rest of the day was mostly uneventful and both Maxine and her squire went to sleep quite early. Come dawn both of them were awake and getting ready to leave town. As usual Charles helped Maxine put her armour on but the chest piece was more difficult than usual as there was large dent right in the centre. Because of this it rubbed on Maxine's chest and right on the area where her bruise was located. Although this caused her some discomfort she simply endured and hardly said a word about it.

With all that done Maxine and Charles went to begin their long journey to Morgan but before they could leave, they spotted the Mayor and his Daughter standing at the main gate for them. It was unusual to see them up this early but they were not alone, a few guards were there as well but they weren't stood in the way. Instead they were to the side of the gate and were eagerly awaiting their arrival.

"Miss Martel," said the Mayor. "I'm surprised that you are leaving so early. Would you not prefer to stay for a few more days and rest up?"

"I would like that very much but I need to return home and have my armour repaired," replied Maxine. She didn't seem to be as intimidating as she had seemed before to the Mayor. She actually seemed quite pleasant. "I thank you for your hospitality but I can not take advantage of it anymore."

"You took advantage of no one, you saved the most important thing in the world to me and for that I owe you a debt that can never be repaid. I am disappointed that you are leaving but it is understandable."

"If you are in need of my services again, summon me and I will come." She then knelt down to the Mayor's Daughter who was standing close by. Even doing this she seemed absolutely enormous in comparison to the little girl. "And take care, remember to always stay vigilant." The little girl had her hands behind her back, moments later she brought them around and Maxine could see that she was holding a piece of paper. There seemed to be some kind of picture drawn onto it along with some writing.

"I-I drew you a picture," replied the Mayor's Daughter. Maxine gently took the picture out of her hand and looked at it. She could see a very large figure that looked to be herself and another smaller figure that he thought was the little girl. There were flowers along with some writing above which she couldn't read. "That's me and you running through a field of flowers."

"Thank you, I will treasure it forever."

With that Maxine stood back up to her full height and loomed over everyone. They couldn't help but feel a little intimidated but after a few more words she and Charles finally disembarked. The Mayor's Daughter was sure to wave at them while they walked away and Maxine did turn her head and wave back.

It wasn't long before the town was completely out of view and the pair were on the road that led west. The usual morning sounds were interrupted by the clanking of Maxine's armour as she continued to walk. It was damaged in a few places and she wanted nothing more than to go to her family's forgery and have it repaired. She thought that people would think less of her if she went around wearing damaged armour. That was why she wanted it to be fixed as quickly as possible.

The picture that had been given to Maxine was placed in Charles's satchel and he was instructed to keep it in as good of condition as he could. The man did what he was told and for the next couple of days they travelled without much incident. They rested when they needed to and they ate at a few taverns.

At one of these taverns there had been a man there who had been secretly competing with Maxine as he was matching her drink for drink. However, it eventually got to a point where he couldn't keep going anymore and fell into unconsciousness. Maxine on the other hand had no idea what was going on and showed no ill effects of consuming enough alcohol to knock out a normal person.

Throughout all this Charles continued to keep a record of how much money was being spent. The last thing he wanted was for her to overspend and not have the money when she needed it. He had been instructed to tell her if he thought that she was spending too much. Normally this was something that he wouldn't dare do in fear of being berated by her. However, as it was her that had instructed him to do it, he didn't think that she would mind too much.

Eventually after more travelling Maxine's eyes began to witness something that seemed very familiar to her. Charles could see it as well and from what he could see there was a farm not too far away from where they were standing. It looked to be quite large but there didn't seem to be anything spectacular about it. He stood there right next to the very tall woman and he looked up at her.

"So, this is your home?" asked Charles. He tried to sound somewhat impressed without going over the top.

"Yes," replied Maxine. "I was born and raised here. It has been in my family for generations."

"So, your father owns this farm?" He thought that it was a little odd for a knight to own a farm but he didn't say that out loud.

"Actually, my mother owns it as it technically belongs to the Snapes."

"And your mother is a Snape?"

"Yes, that is her maiden name until she married my father." She then gave him a little bit of a stern look to indicate that she was being serious. "Remember what I told you, be respectful and everything will be fine."

"I understand ma'am." Suddenly a shadow appeared above them, just as he was about to look up, he felt a strong push from Maxine. This sent him flying and he watched as the giant armoured figure darted away as well.

No sooner had she done this a large stack of hay fell down right where they were standing. It had been flying through the air and it would have unlikely seriously harmed Maxine there was a good chance it would have injured Charles. It took the man a few moments to sit up from where he was lying and he saw the haystack on the ground.

"What the hell was that?" asked Charles as he looked at the haystack. He wasn't a farmer but even he knew that something like that wasn't supposed to happen.

"That is someone who is about to get into trouble," replied Maxine who seemed annoyed by what had happened.

"I think it landed over here," said a female voice. They also began to feel the ground beginning to shake. This caught Charles by surprise as he got up to his feet, that wasn't the only thing that had surprised him. Quickly moving toward, them he could see a young woman approaching them. She looked to be fairly pretty with long brown hair and a dark blue dress. At first, she would seem ordinary but Charles noticed something about her that completely gobsmacked him.

The young woman approaching them was enormous, in his mind he figured that she must be around forty feet tall if not taller and this instantly caused him to experience fear. He looked and could see that she was still approaching them. At first it seemed like the giantess hadn't noticed them but when she saw Maxine standing there, she quickly stopped in her tracks. She even began to shrink in size which once again caught Charles by surprise.

"Oh Maxine, you're home," said the Giantess. She had stopped shrinking but even then, she was still well over seven feet in height, she was just an inch off being eight feet. There was some nervousness in her voice as she slowly approached them. "I-I wasn't expecting you back."

"What the hell are doing throwing haystacks like this!" replied Maxine in an angry tone. He thought that Maxine might be afraid of someone who could grow bigger than they could but it was obvious that this wasn't the case. "You could have hurt someone doing that? You of all people should know that."

"I'm sorry, but it was Jane who threw it."

"I don't care who threw it. I don't want to hear about anything like that happening again." She took a few steps towards the near eight-foot girl and then pointed toward the hay. "Now take that back and hope that mom and dad don't hear about this."

"Y-Yes Maxine." With that she began to grow again and the process made Charles stand back in astonishment. He was watching something that he thought was impossible as she continued to grow until she was about forty feet tall once again. Now she was large enough to grab onto the haystack.

She then began to walk back to the farmhouse while Charles continued to stand there completely dumbfounded. He didn't know exactly how to react to the situation at hand and simply stood there with his mouth open. Maxine on the other hand seemed to be watching her giant sister walking. She still seemed a little annoyed with what had happened but didn't seem to bat an eyelid about the fact that her sister had just grown before her eyes. It was like it was something that she had seen before.

"Let's keep moving Charles," said Maxine as he felt her slightly push his back in order to get him to move. However, this didn't work as he was still completely taken aback by what he had seen.

"S-She was huge," replied Charles as his mind was beginning to piece together the events that had just taken place. "Y-You never told me that your sister could become a giant like that."

"Because you didn't ask." She acted like he had just asked her a stupid question, he could also sense a hint of embarrassment in her voice but he said nothing about it. "I also told you to keep moving, I don't want to repeat myself."

"Y-Yes ma'am."

Although he was still confused, he did follow Maxine as she continued to walk toward the farmhouse. For the time being he was going to remain quiet and simply do as he was told. He wanted to ask more questions but he felt that it was for the best that he kept them to himself for the time being. There was something more that she wasn't telling him but he was sure that he was going to find out in a moment.

A few minutes went by before the pair eventually arrived at the farmhouse. No sooner had they arrived they saw a little boy quickly run out of the house and straight toward Maxine. Like the giantess he too had brown hair and he seemed to be running quicker than Charles thought a boy like him should run. Unlike the giantess he seemed to be average size but went he reached Maxine he began to hug her leg. The size comparison between them was very large but he saw the boy look up at her and smile.

"I missed you," said the Little Boy. Maxine began to squat down and she embraced him in a small hug. It was strange for Charles to see her hugging someone but since he was obviously her little brother.

"And I've missed you too Jaime," replied Maxine as she carefully brushed his hair with her armour-clad hand. "My you've grown since I was last here, one day you'll be as tall as your big sister." This made the boy laugh and as she looked up, she could see other people stepping outside of the house.

Charles noticed them as well and besides one boy who was older than the Jaime the rest of them were girls. The thing that he noticed most about them was the fact that all the girls were taller than him. Even the youngest amongst them were a couple of inches taller than him while the tallest was roughly half a foot shorter than Maxine. This made them all giants in his eyes and he couldn't help but be intimidated.

Only the boy who were amongst them was shorter than Charles and he seemed to be average in comparison to his sisters. He knew that Maxine's family would likely be tall but even he was taken aback by what he was seeing. It was as if he had entered a land where giant women lived.

The siblings seemed to be talking amongst themselves but it seemed like the tallest of Maxine's sisters was the only one who didn't seem to be glad that she was back. This was something that Charles noticed but he was still wrapping his head around everything. He had some warning from Maxine but he was still struggling to comprehend exactly what was happening.

"Is that your boyfriend that you've got with you there?" asked the Eldest of Maxine's sisters. There seemed to be a small amount of mockery in her voice which seemed to annoy Maxine.

"This is Charles and he is my squire," replied Maxine. In her tone she made it sound like a matter of fact. She then looked over to her siblings. "Charles these are my brothers and sisters. My eldest sister Carrie." He saw the eldest sister cross her arms, she had long following brown hair and hazel eyes. She was probably one of the most beautiful women that he had ever seen but the most striking thing about her was the fact that she was eight and a half feet tall. If it wasn't for Maxine, she would be the tallest woman that he had ever seen. Her dress looked quite elegant and it was obvious that she took great care in her appearance. "This is my next sister Denise." Charles recognised her as the giantess that he had seen just a few minutes ago. Now she was much smaller than when he had first set eyes on her but she was still much taller than him. She did greet them before Maxine continued on. "My oldest brother Adam." The boy had black hair and brown eyes, he nodded at them but what seemed to be odd for Charles was the fact that he looked average in comparison to his much, much taller sisters. "Then my sister Jane." A very tall girl waved at them, she was over six and a half feet tall but it almost looked like she had been stretched on a rack. Her limbs looked elongated but her head looked to be normal size for a person. It was definitely an odd view for him. Her hair was black and fairly long and she gave Charles a pleasant smile. "My youngest sister Alison." The girl giggled for a moment, she had brown hair as well and was a few inches taller than Charles. However due to her age it was obvious that she was going to be much taller. "And you've met the youngest, Jaime." They could hear Jaime giggling as well and this confused Maxine for a moment. "What's so funny?"

"He's not the youngest anymore Maxine," replied Denise who still stood by the rest of her siblings.

Just then they saw the door to the farmhouse open once again and Charles saw another very tall woman stepping out. Her long brown hair flowed down her back and her hazel eyes looked at Maxine. Her dress was a beautiful cream colour and he noticed that she looked to be much older than the woman he was squiring. The tall woman looked to be nearing her forties and like the other girls she was very tall. She was practically as tall as Carrie at around eight and a half feet in height.

The older woman had a huge smile on her face as she saw Maxine but that wasn't what drew the attention of the wannabe knight. In the older woman's arms was a baby who to Charles looked particularly large. However due to the size of the older woman the baby looked to be normal but for the moment Maxine stood there in silence. She suspected something like this would happen but she wasn't entirely expecting it. The baby was wrapped in a blanket to keep it warm and for the time being was relatively quiet.

"Maxine," said the Older Woman. The smile was still on her face as it was obvious that she was happy to see her.

"Hello mother," replied Maxine who took a step towards her mother Jessica. She too broke a small smile. "It's good to see you again."

"And it's great to see you too sweetie." She paused for a moment as Maxine was one of the few people that she had to look up at. "Have you grown since you left?"

"I might have grown a couple of inches but I think I'm done now." She then looked at the baby who was making a few gargling noises. "And I see that you and father are still being very busy."

"Well you know us, I always told you that there's always room for more." She chuckled for a moment. With that she held the baby over to Maxine who looked at it for a moment. "Would you like to hold your baby sister?"

"But I'm still in my armour."

"That's alright sweetie, just as long as you're careful." With that the baby was handed over Maxine who held her as carefully as she could. She was more used to swinging swords knocking out teeth than holding onto babies. She did think that her baby sister was cute although it didn't like the cold metal of the armour. "Isn't she just the most adorable thing in the world?"

"Yes, mother she is pretty cute." She rocked her gently as a way of not upsetting the baby. "What did you and Father call her?"

"Oh, silly me, here I go handing you your sister without telling you her name." This made Jessica chuckle for a moment. "Her name is Rina."