For the next half an hour Charles followed Maxine closely. His pace was quicker than he would normal walk as he had to keep up with her. She didn't slow her own pace down for his benefit at all and even barely looked down at him at all. Her eyes had been forward at all time and the only sound that she made was the thuds of her footsteps and the clanking of her armour.

Charles would look at the armour and he could see the thickness of it as well. He didn't think any sword or arrow would be able to penetrate it. Not only did it look incredibly strong but it also looked heavy. He didn't think anyone would be able to move let alone walk in the armour. Maxine moved as if there was nothing weighing her down besides a slight breeze. This both impressed and terrified him at the same time.

Eventually Maxine stopped dead in her tracks and Charles walked forward a few steps before he realised that she had stopped. He turned to look at her for a moment and she began to sit down on the ground. There was a loud thud as she fully sat down on the ground, she placed her sword on the ground beside her as well as her helmet that she had not put on since she had stepped into the inn.

"We're sleeping here tonight," announced Maxine. She looked at Charles who was a few feet away. Even sitting down, she still looked extremely tall. "Find some firewood and make sure it's not wet." Her voice had a commanding tone to it which was a clear indication that her instructions were not a request."

"Yes ma'am," replied Charles. He thought that it was best to show her respect as he had seen what happened when she was annoyed.

Quickly he made his way to a small wooded area that was close by. Maxine had specifically picked this spot because of this wooded area and the fact that a stream flowed close by. Their need for wood and water would be within reach. This was one lesson that she had learned some time ago, before she had left home.

With a small amount of haste Charles broke some branches off of a few trees. Even though it was dark his eyes had accustomed themselves to it which allowed him to see better than if they had adjusted to light. This let him see the outlines of the branches and snapped each one with ease. There were a few that he tried snap but they were just out of his reach. He thought that Maxine would easily reach them if she was standing next to him. He didn't want to ask for her help as he feared her more than anything else.

One thing that he was constantly looking out for was animals. A squirrel or rabbit wouldn't be a problem for him but if he were confronted by a wolf or a bear he would stand little chance against them. He had seen the results of a bear mauling on more than one occasion and it wasn't something that he wanted to experience himself.

Eventually he had collected enough firewood for him to be satisfied. Unfortunately, he struggled to carry them in his arms. It wasn't the weight that was the issue but instead with the amount. Every now and again he would drop one and he would struggle to bend down and pick it up. He began to regret obtaining so many but he wanted to be sure that Maxine was satisfied.

After a couple of minutes Charles did reach Maxine who was still sitting down. She hadn't moved from her spot and instead just looked at him. He was a little out of breath from his activities but other than that he still had a lot of energy. He allowed them to fall to the ground before he waited to hear some kind of approval from her.

"Took you a little longer than I expected," said Maxine. "But this should do." She then moved forward slightly and got moved the wood together so that it was in a neat pile. "Do you know how to start a fire?"

"Y-Yes but I'm a little out of practice," replied Charles. He hadn't expected a question like that to be thrown his way straight away.

"Then get back in practice. Eating meat raw isn't the best idea."

Charles didn't say much in response as he remembered how to create fire. He began by getting a couple of sticks and he began to rub them together like he had been shown some years ago. He didn't notice at first but Maxine had gotten up to her feet and walked away for the moment. Instead he just concentrated on getting the fire started and every time he would get smoke he would blow on it a little in order to try and get the fire started. He would put grass there as well to help fuel the flames.

After several minutes and a lot of elbow grease Charles was able to get the fire started. It was only a small flame at first but it soon ignited the rest of the firewood. He felt happy with himself as he hadn't been sure whether he would be able to do it. Now that he had he couldn't help but crack a smile.

No sooner had he gotten the fire up and running he saw Maxine return to him. He was surprised to see something over her shoulder. It looked like something fairly large and when she put it down to the ground he was surprised to see that it was a deer. He couldn't tell the gender straight away as she had chopped off its head. It looked a little gruesome but he was glad that she had done it rather than him.

"Good you've got the fire started," said Maxine. She then pointed toward the headless deer. "Do you know how to skin an animal?"

"I can't say that I've ever done it before," replied Charles. It was a thought that he didn't particularly like, it made him a little sick.

"If you're going to be my squire you're going to have to learn to skin an animal." She then reached down to her thigh and pulled out a knife. The handle was longer than normal and the blade looked to be sharp. It had been specially made for her and she looked down at the deer. "Now watch and learn, I am only showing you how to do this once." Her voice was still very commanding and Charles dared not go against her instructions.

Over the course of the next several minutes Maxine used her knife to skin the deer. Every now and again Charles would almost throw up but she still remained fixed on the task and showed no queasiness over it. To her it was just another task that needed to be done and she wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible.

One unfortunate thing to take place was that her armour was beginning to be covered by blood. This annoyed her but the redness of the blood matched her hair but it didn't seem to bother her all that much. She did throw the skin to one side as she had no real need for it, she did consider selling it on.

"There the task is done," said Maxine. "I expect you to do it yourself next time." She placed the skinned deer over the fire so that it could begin to cook.

"Yes ma'am," replied Charles. There was the slightest hint of fear in his voice, he wasn't sure if she noticed but he wouldn't be surprised if she did.

"Unfortunately, my armour is now dirty." She remained seated as she knew that the next task would be extremely difficult for him if she were standing up. "Help me take it off so that you can clean it."

"Y-Yes ma'am."

Charles quickly got behind Maxine and began to untie the leather straps that was keeping her armour in place. He still couldn't believe how tall she seemed, even when she was sitting down. Every now and again he would think that he had been shrunk in size but he kept reminding himself that it was her who was extremely tall.

After a few moments Charles was able to remove the first piece of armour but as he held it in his hands the weight of it surprised him greatly. It was so heavy that he almost dropped it but he dared not do such a thing as he feared that this would anger her. If that were to happen he thought that she would likely hurt him and keep the locket that he had given her as insurance.

Using all of his strength he picked each piece of armour from her body and carefully placed it on the ground beside him. The chest plates were the heaviest but rather than helping him she simply remained where she was and simply waited for him. She could hear him grunting and yet she still didn't move a muscle.

Eventually Maxine's armour had been taken off and for a moment he thought tat she would be naked but this wasn't the case. She wore a simple white shirt that was short sleeved and blue trousers that as custom made to fit her near five-foot-long legs. Her shoes were also fairly simple as they were made simply to cover her feet and have a small amount of comfort. They looked to be cheaply made, even at the size that it was.

When Maxine wore her armour if one didn't see her head they would assume that she was a man. However, with it off her breasts could be seen quite clearly, they were large in sheer size in comparison to most women but in proportion to her body they looked to be average if not on the slightly larger size. Rather than being someone who was stretched to nine feet in height she looked like a relatively tall woman who had been enlarged to her current height. This made her wider than a normal person but perfectly proportioned.

One last thing that Charles noticed about her was that she had some muscles on her arms. They were not obvious when he first saw them but as he looked he could definitely see that they were there. He wasn't surprised to see that she had muscles thanks to the weight of her armour, without it he wondered how strong she actually was. He wouldn't be surprised if she was strong enough to lift up a fully-grown horse.

With her armour now off Maxine began to move her arms and neck as which began to crack. She was relieved to have to be free of her armour although she had been wearing and training with it for so long it almost felt like a second skin. A strong and very heavy skin so to speak.

"That's better," said Maxine. She continued to rotated her arm with her free hand on her shoulder. "Now clean the armour until it is absolutely spotless, if there's one piece of dirt no matter how small it is, you won't be eating tonight."

"Yes ma'am," replied Charles. He was feeling very hungry and the smell of the cooking deer only increased his hunger. He wanted to say something back to her but his fear of her was still too great for him to do this.

With some effort he picked up each piece of armour and took it to the nearby stream. He would place it down and using a rag that he had been given he would wet it and then try and scrub the armour with it. Even in the darkness of night he was still able to see what he was doing.

Carefully Charles wiped the armour thoroughly. The fresh blood began to wash off and he would dry the armour with a second rag. He knew that the armour was likely made of iron and would rust if exposed to too much water over a long period of time. Anything that he could do to prevent this from happening would likely make Maxine happy with him over the long term.

The woman herself remained near the fire as she continued to cook deer. She would glance over to Charles every now and again to make sure that he was still there. Not only did she worry about his safety but her armour was also of great value to her. Not only was it custom made she also felt that it was the most valuable thing she owned. She didn't know what she would do if she lost it.

One thing she kept close to her was her sword. Although it was sheathed she could unsheathe it and take down an enemy quicker than one would expect for a person of her size. She had spent many years training until she was happy that she would be able to survive on the road by herself. Taking Charles as a squire was unexpected but something that she could get used to. She also kept the locket that he had given her close to her. She didn't want to give him the chance to steal it and run away. She doubted that he would do this since he had given it to her willingly but she still felt that there was a small chance.

Each time Charles would bring a piece back to her she would examine it. When she said that she wanted it spotless she meant every word. In her mind if a squire couldn't follow the instructions of a knight then it was pointless them being around. She was impressed to see that all the blood and any other dirt was cleaned away from the armour completely. This surprised her as she was sure that he would have left something on there.

Maxine only had to wait a few more minutes until Charles had brought all of her armour back to her. It didn't shine as it would still need polish but all the dirt and blood were completely gone. He was panting as he was tired after carrying all of armour from the campfire to the stream. He thought that he had been worked hard before but now he could see that his situation hadn't gotten any better.

"I have done what you've asked ma'am," said Charles. He was still panting for breath and he thought that she was going to verbally assault him for some kind of failure. Instead she continued to sit there and look at him. Every moment that passed felt like an hour to him as he awaited her reaction.

"You've done well Charles," replied Maxine. Her voice was still stern but it didn't feel threatening either. "Please sit down, the deer is almost finished."

He was glad to hear this and he gave a sigh of relief since it meant that he would be eating that night and that the locket wasn't forfeited. He did quickly sit down but he made sure to stay some distance away from Maxine. Not just because he was still intimidated by her but because he thought that she would want her own space. Sitting too close to her would likely have caused trouble in his mind.

By the time that Charles had sat himself down the deer had indeed finished cooking. He watched as Maxine took it off of the fire and began to cut the cooked flesh off of it. She examined it for a few moments and then tasted it, just to be sure that it was fine. When she knew that the meat was cooked properly she cut a very large chunk off of it and began to eat it.

Charles could only watch as Maxine ate the large slab of meat within a few seconds. It was obvious to him that she was hungry but he wasn't too surprised. He knew that because of her size it was likely that she would need a lot of food in order to keep going. He didn't think it was too out there if she ate the entire deer by herself.

A small chunk of meat was cut off for him as well and although it was tiny in comparison to the piece that Maxine was eating it was still more than enough to satisfy him. He had eaten deer meat before but never in this manner. He couldn't help but have some sympathy toward it as he had watched her skin in and he would be expected to do the same after the next dinner.

"If it is alright with you ma'am I'd like to ask you a question," said Charles. There was a small amount of hesitation in his voice as he thought that she would shoot him down at any moment.

"If it's about my height I get it from my mother," replied Maxine between bites of her meat. She didn't seem to be too thrilled with giving the answer.

"No, it's not that ma'am." He paused for a moment as he thought about the best way to put his question. "I was wondering where we were going." He watched as she glared at him for a moment. "But if you don't want to answer that's fine."

"You have a right to know." She paused as she took another bite from her meat and then began to carve off some more. "We're heading to a small village just outside of Grey Town." She then took out a piece of paper from her satchel and unrolled it. Charles could see that it had the drawing of a man and a value of numbers underneath. He knew that it was a wanted poster but he still remained quiet. "I'm looking for this man, he's wanted in Willenhall and I intend to take him back and get the reward." As he looked at the picture he could see that the wanted man was mostly bald but had a small scar on his cheek that looked distinctive. Underneath he could see the name 'William Bellamy.'

"So, you're a bounty hunter?"

"Only when I need to be, I do what I can to get by. If that means bounty hunting from time to time then so be it."

"And what exactly is he wanted for?" He thought that it was best that this be his last question as he didn't want to anger her.

"Before you think about it, no he's not some kind of heroic figure fighting against a corrupt lord. No, he's a highwayman whose been terrorising people for years, he's stolen a good deal of gold from their rightful owners and even killed a few on the way. The sooner I take him in the sooner his filth will be taken off the land." From the tone of her voice she didn't think much of this William Bellamy.

"I see."

"That's the thing. Some people like to romanticise that highwayman are somehow folk heroes. Believe me they're not, they're nothing more than thieves who are likely to kill you if you don't give them what they want. I once ran into a highwayman not too long ago. The fool actually thought that he'd stand a chance against me."

"What happened?" He knew that this was another question but by now he knew that she was simply telling him a story.

"He attacked me from behind, tried to take my knee in order to cut me down. It didn't work, I punched him so hard that it almost knocked out all of his teeth. His mouth was a bloody mess and I was tempted to end his life there and then. Instead I took him to the local authorities and got a small reward. Turned out he was a wanted man in the end so it worked out better for me anyway." She took another bite out of the deer meat and quickly swallowed it after chewing.

"I'm surprised that you didn't simply kill him. With a sword like yours I doubt he would have stood a chance." Maxine then looked at him with a small amount of anger which quickly put him in his place.

"It's simple really, I am the eldest daughter of Sir Tucker Martel and there are certain things that are expected of me. My father taught me that I should never strike down an unarmed or surrendered opponent. If I were to do that then I would be no better than they are, the day that I take a life unwarranted is the day I will quit trying to become a knight."

"If I may ask, have you taken the lives of anyone? That is of course if you want to answer, I understand if you don't."

"No, it's fine. I once was hired by a small town to execute one of their criminals. He had been convicted of rape and murder and was sentenced to death. I just happened to be passing through when they I heard that they needed an executioner so they paid me a fair amount of gold in order for me to cut off his head." She paused for a moment as she took another bite of the deer meat. "You might think that this broke the vow I just mentioned but it actually doesn't. He was a man who had been convicted in a court of his peers and sentenced to death, I had law and justice on my side when I removed his head from his shoulders. My strike was quick and strong so at least his death was much faster than hanging, although I don't think he deserved that courtesy."

"But you haven't killed anyone in combat?"

"No, right now I haven't had any need. I've beaten them to the point where they were no longer a threat to me. Broken bones, lost teeth, internal bleeding. Those kind of things, not pretty sights but for them it was better than the alternative. Quite a lot of the time I can win the fight without throwing a punch."

"How do you do that?"

"Simple, I don't think I need to explain that I look different to most people. I can use that to my advantage, I was taught that only part of the battle is fought with swords. A good deal of it is fought with the mind as well, if you win that round then the battle is more or less won the entire thing. Because of this intimidation is a very important factor, get inside the mind of your opponent and you become a terror even greater than they could imagine."

Charles fell silent as he thought about what she was saying. He couldn't help but think that her last statement was the truest that she had spoken. When he saw her standing up and in her armour, she looked like she was powerful enough to take on an entire legion of soldiers. Because of this he would never wish to fight her, the same would be said for most other people who came across her. If a sword wielding opponent fought her and they were already terrified of her they wouldn't fight at their best, the intimidation factor would be too great and they would simply fall.

"Anyway, enough questions," said Maxine. She took another bite out of the meat. "Finish what you're eating and get some sleep, we've still got a long walk ahead of us and I don't want you falling behind."

"As you wish ma'am," replied Charles.

With that he continued to eat what he had been given and when he was finished he lay down on the ground. It wasn't too comfortable for him but he did enjoy the heat of the fire that was still burning close by. Maxine looked at him for a few moments as she continued to eat her food. She wondered if he would be a good squire for her or if she would be releasing him of his services soon. She didn't know enough about him for the time being but she did know that he didn't seem like the usual tough guys that she met. Instead she thought that his strengths lay in other areas that would be a great help to her.