Outside Charles found himself walking alongside the super tall Jane. He still couldn't get over the fact that she was so young and yet so tall. But considering that her oldest sister was nine feet in height, he wouldn't think that it was too outlandish to have a younger sister who was over six and a half feet tall. She seemed to be smiling and humming to herself with Charles walking beside her.

As he had agreed he was going to help her pick some flowers for Maxine to help celebrate her return. He didn't think that she was the kind of woman who would like a bouquet of flowers but he still helped Jane out nonetheless. One thing that he did wonder was what would happen when she received them, he imagined that she would put them to one side and simply disregard them.

Eventually the pair reached a small meadow where they spotted numerous flowers growing everywhere. There were many different species and Charles had to admit to himself that they all looked very beautiful. It was the type of scenery that he would expect to see in some kind of painting. If he had the skill, he would paint it himself but unfortunately this is a talent that he lacked.

"Here we are," said Jane with a small amount of happiness in her voice. "Which flowers do you think Maxine will like?"

"I'm not too sure," replied Charles as he continued to look around. "During my time with your sister I've learned a great many things about her. Her favourite type of flower is unfortunately not one of them."

"Then that means we can grab a few different ones and then make a bouquet out of them. Hopefully she'll like that."

"Maybe she will." He wanted to voice his doubts but he didn't want to upset her so he kept these thoughts to himself. "Why don't you try some of those over there?" He pointed toward some daffodils that were growing close by. This caused the extremely tall girl to walk toward them and examine them. She rubbed her chin for a few moments as she thought about it before she smiled again.

"These are perfect." With that she stretched down and grabbed onto a couple of them. With a small amount of effort, she pulled them out and she knew more than ever that these were the right flowers. "Ok, how about three more?"

"If that is what you think is best, but should we be here for too long? What if they notice that you're gone?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry." She smiled at him again as she looked down. Even though Charles was practically twice her age she was still more than a foot taller than him. "They know that I'll be back soon. And if anyone tries to hurt me Maxine will just crush their skulls."

Charles nervously chuckled as he wanted to think that she was simply exaggerating but he knew deep down that it was true. He had seen demonstrations of Maxine's strength like how she could effortlessly pick up and throw around fully grown men. Her armour was so heavy that a normal man would be stuck in place while wearing it but she could still move around fairly normally. These and her other feats of strength only showed him just how strong she was and that angering her wasn't the best idea.

For the next several minutes Charles and Jane continued to examine the flowers around them to see which ones would be the best to put in a bouquet. A few times he would point out a few that he thought would go well with the bouquet but she would decide otherwise. Once or twice he did pick some out that she liked so she would add them to what they had. It seemed like she appreciated his company and he was just happy to help her out as much as he could.

By the end of it the pair had enough flowers for what they considered to be a nice bouquet of flowers. Charles was holding it in his hands but it didn't feel quite right though. There was no paper wrapping around it so for the time being it was just him holding the actual stems of the flowers.

The particular flowers that they had chosen were of several different colours, it made it seem very beautiful. Although Charles knew that most women would enjoy it, he wasn't sure if Maxine would. She was more comfortable swinging a sword and downing a barrel of ale rather than admiring some flowers. This was something that he didn't want to tell Jane as it seemed like she had enjoyed what they were doing.

"Doesn't that look really pretty?" asked Jane as she saw the bouquet in Charles' hands. In her mind they looked to be perfect and nothing could be added or taken away to make them look any better.

"Yeah it does," replied Charles as he continued to look up at her. "Is there anything else we need from here?" He wanted to return to the farmhouse just so Maxine knew where he was. If she needed him and he wasn't there he thought that she might become very upset with him. This was something that he didn't want to happen.

"No, we can go home..." Before she could finish her sentence, she began to hear a sound. It seemed to be coming from a tree that was close by and as she looked up, she could see a small brown cat on one of the branches. It looked like it was stuck and it was calling out for someone to help it. "Oh Buttons, have you gotten yourself stuck again?"

Charles could see Jane smiling up to the cat as she took a few steps closer towards the tree. She then began to concentrate and the squire was taken aback as he saw the tall girl begin to grow even taller. However, she was growing differently from what he was expecting, like her other sister he expected Jane to grow in proportion.

Instead however the tall girl seemed to grow by stretching her body upwards. This made her incredibly tall but not very wide, almost like if a person would naturally grow to that tall. He said nothing as he watched her grow taller and taller, within a few seconds she was tall enough to easily reach the cat. The creature itself didn't really respond to Jane with fear, it was almost like it was used to seeing this elongated girl.

With some care she grabbed onto the cat and then began to lower it back down to the ground. She couldn't help but giggle as she did this and she patted it on the head, no sooner had she done this the cat quickly moved away as it travelled back to its owner. It seemed to have had a lucky escape, if the tall girl wasn't there to rescue it there was a good chance it would have spent many more hours trapped.

Charles couldn't help but continue to look up at Jane who was at least three times taller than she had been before. In his mind thanks to her growth she almost looked like a stick insect as each of her body parts looked incredibly stretched. All except her head which seemed to be the only part of her that looked to be normal.

As incredible as her height was, he could also begin to see that it was decreasing. The elongated girl was beginning to shrink and to her it seemed to be as normal as someone merely walking out of the house or looking into the sky. It only took her a few seconds to return to her former height, it wasn't as impressive as it had been a few moments ago but was still breath taking.

"There we go," said Jane with a smile on her face. "Now, shall we take those flowers back to Maxine. I'm sure that she would love them."

"Y-Yeah sure," replied Charles as he didn't fully know how to react to what had just happened. All he knew was that he watched a tall girl become even taller and then shrink back down to a smaller but still very tall height.

Despite what had happened Charles still followed Jane back to the farmhouse with the flowers in hand. But seeing what the girl had just done made him think. If Maxine was like her sisters and was able to make herself even bigger than she already was then she would become truly terrifying.

A walking colossus of muscle and armour would be terrifying for anyone to encounter and he thought that it would take an army to stop her. In a way he was glad that Maxine couldn't grow into a true giantess but then again, she was still large and very scary at her current height.

Meanwhile inside of the farmhouse Maxine herself was still in the sitting room with her mother and baby Rina. The baby had been placed in a small crib like bed that was nearby. She was sleeping and the crib itself had once been used by Maxine when she was the same age. More or less every child of the Martel household had once used this crib as a bed but it did seem like Rina was going to be its last occupant.

Both women were sitting on a very large sofa like chair that had been specially designed to handle the weight of these two extraordinary women. There was a small groan as they sat down on it but it held. Once again Jessica did give her eldest daughter a hug as she was still happy to see her. But she saw Maxine wince in pain a little and she knew that something was truly wrong.

"Open your shirt," said Jessica. There was a small amount of sternness in her voice to show that she wasn't joking. Maxine didn't answer but slowly she did begin to unbutton the shirt, she didn't do it all the way down but only to where it needed to be.

With that Maxine opened up her shirt around her chest and although Jessica could see some of Maxine's breasts that wasn't what she was focused on. Instead it was the large bruise where the cannonball had struck her. It was still a deep purple colour and was painful to the touch. Maxine didn't waste any time in buttoning her shirt back up to hide the injury but for now she didn't mention that there was a bruise on her side as well.

"Maxine why do you do this to me?" asked Jessica as some tears rolled down her cheek. This did catch the larger woman a little by surprise who for the moment wasn't sure how to react.

"I'm sorry mother," replied Maxine. "Things like this happen in my line of work. If it makes you feel any better the person who did this is behind bars right now."

"No, it doesn't make me feel any better. Maxine, everyday while you were away, I've been worried about you. You may tell me that you can handle yourself but when you return home with dented armour and a large bruise it just makes me feel that my worries are justified. You're not like your sisters nor I, you can't grow to match a challenge like they can." This seemed to make Maxine angry for a moment but she didn't show it at all, instead she chose to remain calm and collective.

"I don't need such abilities!" Her words were fairly blunt as she was making what she considered to be a solid point. "I am larger and stronger than any man in Angleland and I have never lost against an opponent. The fact that you worry about me is touching but completely unfounded."

"But it isn't, without such abilities you don't have an ace up your sleeve so to speak. Plus, you're not invincible, what if you were struck in the head instead of your chest? Carrie always called you hard headed but even you probably wouldn't survive such a blow. It's a mother's worst nightmare to have to bury one of their children."

"You never tried to stop father when he was doing what I did. He took part in activities that was just as dangerous as what I have been doing and yet you never took him back here. You let him keep going no matter what danger he might have come across. What makes it different this time?"

"Because I was there to make sure he didn't get himself seriously hurt. But with you I can't do that, I know it sounds selfish but that's just the way I feel. You're not a little girl anymore, I know that but that doesn't mean that I can't worry about you. It's tempting to simply ban you from continuing on this path but I know that if I did that, you'd hate me for the rest of your life. All I can ask you is to take care and not anger the high borns, they're more trouble than they're worth."

"Oh, I know." She remembered when she was in the tavern and a high-born named Laurence Brees had entered looking for a particular person. Although he couldn't find who he was looking for he did notice Maxine and more or less insulted her because of her gender and great size. If he had been common folk, she would have given him a strong strike with the back of her hand. However, because of his status she was forced to bite her tongue and take the insult on the chin. "You needn't worry about me, father taught me all the skills I need to defeat any opponent."

"And have you killed anyone?" There were a few moments of silence as Maxine didn't answer the question straight away. This caused Jessica to cross her arms and somewhat glare at her. "Tell me the truth."

"I have indeed killed a few people but I took none of it lightly." She heard her mother give out a sigh. "They were situations where I didn't have much of a choice, if it makes you feel any better, they were thieves and kidnappers of children. Most would not have any sympathy for them."

"But that still doesn't make it any easier. I would be foolish to say that no knight took the life of another but I raised you to be a protector, not a killer."

"And that is exactly what I am. Everyone who has fallen at my sword intended to hurt others in more ways than you'd like to imagine. Their removal from this world has made the lives of others that little bit better."

Jessica tried to think about what to say but she couldn't think of a single word. She knew that her daughter wasn't a cold-blooded murderer or some kind of assassin for hire. Of all people she knew what kind of people were out there and the trouble that they could cause. During her journey with Sir Tucker there were a few people that she would wish to simply crush but she never did.

By her own words Maxine had admitted to her mother that she had taken the lives of a few people. Although Jessica did believe that the people that Maxine had killed most likely deserved it, she still didn't think it made it any easier. Instead she got up from her chair and grabbed onto her daughter's hand. She looked into the eyes of her offspring and put on a serious face.

"Maxine Theresia Martel," said Jessica in a somewhat stern voice. "Promise me that you will never take the life of another."

"Mother but..." replied Maxine. Her words were quickly cut off by her mother who seemed to grow a little while holding her hand.

"I mean it Maxine, promise me."

Maxine didn't say a word but she could see just how serious her mother actually was. She knew that when her mother was like this that nothing could change her mind. This was when Maxine gave in and looked at her mother in the eyes. Although they seemed completely different personality wise there was still a strong connection between them that could never be broken.

"Ok mother," said Maxine. "I promise that I will never take the life of another person again." She could see a smile beginning to develop on the face of Jessica as she was happy with what she was hearing.

"Good." She then embraced her daughter in a one-sided hug. But as she held onto her, she increased her size to the point where she felt that she was hugging Maxine as a child again. This had caught the muscular woman by surprised but she couldn't do anything about it as she knew that her mother would stop when she was ready. "I love you Maxine."

"I love you too." She did embrace her mother in a hug as well. Although she wouldn't be caught in a tavern doing something like this but since she was in her own home she didn't have to worry about such things.

Jessica continued to hug Maxine until she felt something in her mind. It was a familiar feeling that she felt when her husband was close by. Because of this she began to shrink back down to her normal size and break off the hug. She looked towards one of the windows and began to smile. This was something that Maxine had seen on more than one occasion and she knew exactly what it meant.

A wave of joy did overtake Maxine but she kept herself calm as she simply got up to her feet and began to walk towards the door along with her mother. The still sleeping Rina was left in her crib as she was still asleep. Since her mother would only be away for a few minutes she didn't think that she would have to worry about the baby waking up.

It only took a few moments for both women to make their way out of the house as they saw a familiar horse and cart ride up towards the house. There they could see a middle-aged man approaching. His hair was still mostly the colour of his youth but a few grey hairs had begun to shine through as well. He was a little hunched over as he pulled on the reins to stop the horse.

Rather than wearing the armour that was expected of a knight he wore simple clothing that made him seem more like he was just a common person. He had also put on a little bit of weight since his days of adventuring but a warm smile had appeared on his face. Not only did he see his beautiful wife but his eldest daughter that he had not seen for a year.

However, when the horse and cart had come to a stop, he had a slight bit of difficulty as he could feel a pain in his back. It was not the first time he had experienced such a thing as he had been suffering from it for the last few years. Sometime ago he had fallen off a horse and had injured his back, although he had recovered to the point where he could walk about and still work it had never been the same.

When he was off his horse, he went over to Jessica who bent down and gave him a kiss. He had missed his wife but then he stood over to Maxine who was standing there firmly. It almost seemed insane for a normal person to see a man who had a daughter who was three feet taller than him and probably able to snap him in two if she wished.

"Hello Maxine," said Sir Tucker as he looked up at his daughter. He was surprised that she wasn't wearing her armour but since she was not on the road, he didn't think that she needed to.

"Hello Father," replied Maxine. They both stood there for a few moments as if they were in the military. But suddenly Sir Tucker began to chuckle and it spread to Maxine as well. She quickly went down to one knee and embraced him in a hug. He was more than happy to hug her back even though she was a lot bigger than he was. "I've missed you this past year." She soon broke the hug off but stayed down to one knee so that she could speak with him eye to eye.

"And I've missed you sugarplum fairy." He smiled at her and then he did feel some of the muscle in her arm. "Is it me or have you grown since you left here?"

"I might have grown a little over the past year." But she had a disappointed look on her face. "I'm sorry but I still haven't gained a knighthood yet, but I promise that when you next see me, I will have earned one."

"That's alright Maxine, these kinds of things can't be rushed. Sometimes it can take a little longer than we expect to achieve our goals."

"Daddy," said a female voice. This made all of them look in the direction that the voice came from. There they saw Charles and Jane approaching them, Jane in particular seemed happy to see her father and it was around this time that Maxine stood back up and took a step away. "You're back!" As soon as she approached him, she wrapped her long arms around him and gave him a hug.

"Thank you, Jane, I do always appreciate your hugs." He then noticed Charles standing not too far away from where Jane had been. He had the flowers in his hands and this seemed to give Sir Tucker the wrong idea. "And who is he?" There was a slight hint of anger in his voice as he saw that the age difference between Charles and his daughter was inappropriate. This was when he saw Maxine stepping toward him as she knew what he was thinking and wanted to put a stop to it.

"Father this is my squire Charles," said Maxine. She gestured her hand towards Charles. "He has just arrived with me." She then looked over to Charles who remained where he was. "Charles this is my father Sir Tucker Martel."

"Hello Tucker," replied Charles as he showed his respect but the next think, he felt was a sharp impact to the back of his head. It wasn't enough to cause any real damage but it still hurt and it made him drop the flowers immediately. He could see that it was Maxine who had struck him. There was an annoyed look on her face as she looked down at him with her hand still raised.

"His name is Sir Tucker and you will address him as such." Her voice was stern and angry. "Make such a mistake again and I swear the next one will fracture your skull."

"Maxine please, there's no need," said Sir Tucker. He knew that his daughter meant well but he didn't think that she should have struck her squire in the manner that she did. However, he wasn't surprised. It wasn't the first time he had seen her strike someone for showing him disrespect.