Maxine continued to look down at her baby sister in her arms. It caused many thoughts to run through her mind, this included whether she would ever become a mother herself at some point in the future. However, she thought that if she did then she wouldn't be able to continue trying to become a knight.

This was something that she couldn't allow happen and yet having a baby in her arms gave her a feeling that she would never experience as a knight. It eventually became too much to her and she passed Rina back to her mother. Jessica was more than happy to have her newest baby back in her arms.

This was when she noticed the large dent in Maxine's armour, immediately she became worried about her eldest daughter as she looked at the dent closer. Maxine continued to stand there as if nothing was really amiss. She could see the worried look on her mother's face as she was able to free one of her hands and place it on the dent.

"Sweetie your armour," said Jessica with a concerned tone. "It's all beaten up, are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine mother," replied Maxine. "I took a small cannonball to the chest, still feeling the effects though. But that's why I'm here, my armour needs repairing."

"What, you didn't come to see us?"

"Of course, I did, I promised that I would visit regularly. Unfortunately, times have been difficult and I haven't been able to come sooner."

"You took a cannonball to the chest?" asked Adam who was still standing close by. Maxine's brothers and sisters were still where they were although some wanted to walk away and do their own thing. "And you survived?"

"Of course." She smiled over to her brother and for Charles this was probably one of the few times that he had ever seen her smile. "It would take much more than a cannonball to take me down."

"No, it would take a slap in the face from me," added Carrie.

This quickly caught the attention of Maxine who glared over at her eldest sister. Carrie responded back with her own glare and it was obvious to Charles that there was tension between the two. Whatever it was he was sure not to get in the middle of it, the chances of him coming out with all of his limbs intact was small.

"Now, now," said Jessica. "Let's not ruin the homecoming." It was then that Jessica properly noticed Charles. He had been standing by Maxine but since she was so tall, she hadn't noticed the squire standing next to her. This caused Jessica to smile as her mind jumped to a conclusion. "You finally did its sweetie, you've brought home my first son-in-law." She would have loved nothing more than to hug Charles on the spot but thanks to Rina still being in her arms this was something that she couldn't do.

"What? No mother, he's my squire."

"Sure, he is." She gave Maxine a wink which embarrassed her but she said nothing about it. Maxine did quickly try and think of something to try and change the conversation away from this topic.

"Where is Father?" There was a slight hint of worry that something terrible might have happened to him while she was gone. If her father had passed while she had been away, she would never forgive herself for not being at her side.

"He's just gone to Flea Bay to deliver some of our crops, he should be back in a few hours' time. I told him to take one of the kids with him but he said that it was a simple enough task to do by himself."

"Yeah, that sounds like him." Charles continued to watch on and he knew just how much Maxine respected her father. The fact that he wasn't there did let her down a little but with the knowledge that he was returning shortly did make her feel happier about the situation at hand.

"You must both be really hungry after such a long journey." Jessica smiled at Charles before looking at her oldest daughter again. "Why don't you take off your armour and I'll make you something to eat."

"That would be great thanks," replied Charles before he felt Maxine's arm brush up against him. It wasn't to hurt him or anything like that, more to make him realise that it was best to stay quiet.

"We're fine mother," added Maxine. "I can make something for us instead." She had forgotten to give Charles an important warning about her mother. It was a warning that she felt foolish for not telling him. She also had to think of a way to let her mother down without upsetting her. "I wouldn't want you to do something like that when you're looking after Rina, just try and relax and don't worry about a thing."

"If that's what you want then that's fine," replied Jessica. She felt Rina moving in her arms and she couldn't help but make a few noises and faces at the baby girl.

With that the Martel family began to go back inside and for the first time Charles was able to see what the inside of the farmhouse looked like. One thing he noticed was that the doors were too low for Maxine and most of her other sisters to walk through without ducking. The ceiling though was high enough for them to stand up. Maxine's head was only an inch away from the ceiling so although she didn't duck, she did have to worry about moving her arms around.

For a farmhouse the inside looked pretty average. One thing he did notice was that there was a lot of bedrooms in this farmhouse. He wasn't too surprised as if he had counted right at its peak there would be ten people living in this house if he took away himself. This meant that they would need their room, especially since the women of the family were much, much taller than the average person.

It was not long before Charles found himself in Maxine's old room with the woman herself standing there with him. Like before he began to help take her armour off which was a little difficult in a place with such a low ceiling in comparison to her. But one by one the pieces of Maxine's armour were being taken off and placed on the ground besides her. She did wince a little in pain when it came to the chest plate.

Even though she had plenty of time to recover from the cannon shot Maxine could still feel some pain from the impact. This was probably the most that she had been injured by another person and she was just glad that those responsible were likely getting the punishment that they deserved.

"May I ask something ma'am?" asked Charles as he continued to help take off Maxine's armour. The pieces were heavy for him and it made it hard for him to believe sometimes that she could move around with it all on. However, these thoughts were dispelled whenever he saw the muscles on her body. If he was as tall as her and had the same muscular physique that she had he thought that he would be able to lift anything.

"You may," replied Maxine as it was only really the lower half of the armour that needed to be removed now.

"Why did you turn your mother down when she offered to make us something to eat? I don't know about you but I'm starving."

"Believe me I did you a favour, my mother is capable of achieving many great tasks. Cooking is not one of them."

"It can't be that bad ma'am." He then heard her stomach beginning to grumble. To him it was obvious that she was just as hungry as him. "Then what do you suggest we do about our hunger?"

"Unlike my mother Carrie is a great cook, she'll make us something to eat later." As she was saying that the last of her armour finally came off. For her squire it was one of the few times that he saw her without her armour. It was still a little surreal for him to see but he couldn't help but look for a moment.

Her armour helped hide the muscle that was inside and from looking at them he knew more than ever how strong she was. The feats of strength that he had seen her performed now looked like the least of her abilities. It did also make her seem more intimidating than when she didn't wear her armour. With her muscles hidden away it would seem that her bulkiness was just the armour, without it they would see that most of it stemmed from her muscles. In his mind he thought that she could throw him around like a ragdoll if she chose to and he couldn't stop her. It was possible that she possessed more strength in her one arm than he did in his entire body.

"So, what exactly is the plan during our stay ma'am?" asked Charles. He was sure to place all the armour to one side so that it took up less room.

"First thing in the morning we are taking my damaged armour to my Uncle's forgery," replied Maxine. She sat down on her bed and for her it felt nice to take the weight off of her feet. She was more fatigued than she had originally thought. "But during our stay we will be here in this farmhouse and possibly helping out with the farm work if need be. We might have to run a few more errands as well."

"The thing is ma'am that I've never worked on a farm before so I wouldn't know what to do." Even sitting down on the bed, she was a little taller than her squire. It was only a reminder for him just how small he was compared to her.

"It's quite simple but might take a lot of effort. Besides I don't think you'll be given any of the real dirty work. Also remember to be thankful for what you are given, you are a guest in this house so certain things are expected of you."

"I understand ma'am. But there is one thing I've been wondering, I didn't want to say anything while we were outside but your family." He paused for a moment as he considered what he was going to say next. "T-They're huge."

"Yes, now that we have baby Rina there are ten members of the immediate Martel Family." To her this was nothing special as she knew that large families were something that weren't uncommon in Angleland.

"No, I mean huge in the physical sense. We saw one of your sisters become a true giant and the rest of the girls were all very tall. Can they all grow like that?"

"Only my mother and sisters can grow in size. My father and brothers can't, it seems that the gigantism is only present in the female side of the family. That is one reason why I'm so tall myself."

"B-But people can't grow like they did. How is that even possible, people can't just turn into giants."

"This all stems from my mother." She did consider what she was going to say but since it wasn't all that big of a secret, she didn't mind telling him. "She is naturally a giant, much larger than when you saw her. If it wasn't for the dress that she is wearing she'd be enormous all the time. The dress thankfully shrinks her to a more manageable height. But the magic that fuelled her size was passed down to myself and all my sisters. That's why we're all so much taller than everyone else."

"So, they can all grow into giants as well. If I may ask, why don't you grow like they do. It would make traversing long distances much easier." There was a pause from Maxine as she didn't answer the question straight away. He saw a glare from her which sent a shiver of fear down Charles's spine.

"I have my reasons." Her voice was very stern and it was obvious that she didn't want this conversation to continue on any further. "Now go outside and help with the farming work while I have a word with my mother."

"A-As you wish ma'am."

With that both of them left the room and while Charles went outside Maxine instead moved through the rest of the house. Like before she had to duck to get through each doorway but this was something that she was used to already. Being here did bring back memories but she knew that she wasn't going to earn her knighthood by simply staying around at home. This was why she wanted to be back on the road as soon as her armour was repaired. The next time she returned she wanted to have the title and respect that she wanted, the name Martel would finally be taken seriously.

When Charles reached the outside, he could see Maxine's brother Adam working in the fields. There were some animals that he was tending to and at first, he didn't notice his sister's squire approaching him. It wasn't until Charles cleared his voice that the boy turned and looked at him.

What he didn't expect to see was a look of some anger from Adam. The boy didn't seem to be furious at him but it was obvious that there was some anger toward Charles. There were a few moments of silence between them before Adam muttered the first words.

"What do you want?" asked Adam in a slightly annoyed tone. It was almost like Charles had interrupted something important.

"Your sister asked me to help with some of the farm work," replied Charles. He wasn't as intimidated with Adam as he would with the girls of the household as he wasn't as tall as they were.

"Have you ever done farm work in your life?" The tone hadn't changed and Charles could sense that Adam was mocking him in some way. Charles didn't rise to it though as he knew Maxine wouldn't be happy if he started some kind of confrontation with her brother. It would result in him most likely fearing for his safety.

"No, I haven't, but I am still willing to do the work."

"In that case you're no help to me, I can't waste my time showing you what to do. Best go back to my sister's side like a good squire."

Charles stood there for a few moments as she wasn't sure what he should do in this situation. He wanted to try and ask further but he knew that it wouldn't really get him anywhere. It seemed that Adam was angry at him for some reason and he couldn't explain why. He had only just met the boy so he couldn't have done anything that had angered him. There was a thought that the jealousy that Maxine had mentioned might be reeling its ugly head.

With that he began to make his way back to the house but before he could go any further, he was suddenly stopped by Jane. The tall girl had accidentally run in front of Charles as he was walking by and this caused them both to collide with one another. It eventually led to them both falling over with Jane landing on top of Charles.

The impact left them dazed for a moment before Jane finally began to get up to her feet. One thing that Charles had noticed was that she wasn't too particularly heavy when she had been on top of him. She did have a concerned look on her face as she began to help him back up to his feet.

"I'm sorry about that," said Jane. She had to look down at him as there was more than a foot height difference between them. It was odd in Charles's mind to see a girl as young as her be so tall.

"No, it should be me who should apologise," replied Charles as he was trying to be courteous to her. "I should have watched where I was going."

"You're Maxine's squire, aren't you? Chuck was it?"

"Actually, it's Charles and yes I am your sister's squire. Although to tell you the truth it is more of a life debt than an actual service."

"Oh, she saved your life?" She seemed genuinely interested in what Charles was saying and for him it was nice. He could see that she was carrying something as well and he thought to ask her about it later.

"Yeah, I was in a hairy situation but your sister stepped in and saved me. If she hadn't of been there, I'm not sure what would have happened. Well one thing's for sure, I wouldn't be meeting your family today."

"I hope she isn't too hard on you, she can be a little overbearing. Especially when she's in a mood." Suddenly she stopped talking and quickly looked around, she couldn't see anyone close to her and she gave a sigh. She had been looking out for Maxine and thankfully hadn't seen or heard her.

"Nah she's been fine, although there have been a few times that I've seen her temper flare up." He still remembered the time when the money had been stolen from them and when he had been forced to wake her up when she had been asleep. Both times he had been terrified and most would say that the fear was justified. "So, what are you doing out here anyway? Do you need help with some farm work?"

"No, I wanted to pick some flowers for Maxine. I know she's not into that but I thought it would be nice. You can help me if you want."

"That would be nice." He didn't know what Maxine would do with such flowers but if Jane wanted him to help her, he couldn't turn her down. Instead he just walked alongside the very tall girl and it still seemed odd seeing them next to one another. She was much younger than him but she was at least a foot taller.

Meanwhile inside of the farmhouse Maxine found herself in one of the main rooms. The only people in there besides herself was her mother Jessica and baby sister Rina. Her other siblings were doing their own thing including Alison drawing with her little brother Jaime. There was a door open so that Jessica could listen out if any of her children called out for her but at this moment in time Rina was taking all of her attention.

She was sitting down on a specially made chair and was rocking the baby in her arms. She had been fed and changed and she hoped that she could get her to sleep soon. Her head had turned when she saw Maxine entering the room, as usual she was always happy to see her eldest daughter and she smiled over to her.

"Hello there Sugar Plum Fairy," said Jessica when she saw Maxine enter. It was a pet name that she had given when she had been a young girl and although its embarrassed Maxine, she still used it. "I'm so glad that you're home, I always worry about you when you're on the road."

"And I'm glad to be home too." She took a few steps towards Jessica but stopped a few feet short. "It's just that I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

"Oh, and what is that?"

"I was just wondering if father is still alright. He wasn't entirely in the best of health when I left and I've been afraid that he has gotten worse. On my journeys I've been thinking about him and worrying. The fact that he wasn't here when I returned made me fear the worst, has he gotten any better?"

"Well he hasn't gotten any better per say but he hasn't gotten worse either. But still I don't know how much longer he can go until he has to give all of this up."

"I told him that before I left, he has people like Carrie and Adam who can help him but he still refuses." She gave a sigh, she respected her father greatly but like her he could be stubborn from time to time.

"Hopefully he'll learn one day and not before it is too later. But still maybe I should sit him down and tell him face to face, but then again I'm not sure if it'll make that much of a difference." She winced as her chest suddenly began to feel painful, this only lasted for a few seconds before it subsided. She could see the concern on the face of her mother who would have gotten up for her if she still hadn't been holding onto Rina.

"Are you alright Sweetie?" asked Jessica with genuine concern in her voice. She didn't like seeing any of her children in pain, even those who were nine feet tall and possessed a muscular frame.

"Y-Yeah I'm alright, it's just that I'm still recovering from a cannonball to the chest. It took more out of me than I originally thought."

"You're just as bad as your father. Pushing yourself further than you should," She gave a sigh. "But if I told you that you were to stop all this knight business, I know you'll just walk out that door and I wouldn't see you for another year or two. I know better than to try and stop you achieving your dreams so I'm not going to. But for my sake please be more careful, you're much bigger and stronger than anyone else but it doesn't mean that you're invincible. Even an arrow in the right place could cause you more harm than you could possibly imagine."

"Thanks mother and I promise that I'll be more careful." It seemed odd in her mind that despite her size that her mother still worried about her. Then again, she thought it was the duty of all mothers to worry about their children. No matter how many opponents she may defeat or titles that she might earn it was unlikely that Jessica would stop worrying about her. It was something that Maxine did appreciate and she wondered if she had her own children if she would feel the same way.

Unseen by the Martel family a horse and cart was approaching the farmhouse from the west. It carried some unsold wheat and meat but it did hold the most valuable cargo for the Martel Family.