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The next morning Maxine found herself walking away from the family farm with her squire Charles walking alongside her. She was now free of the cuffs that had bound her with her oldest sister Carrie. Unfortunately, they had not been able to find the keys to the cuffs so in the end they were forced to visit the forgery that was owned by her uncles.

There the cuffs had been removed successfully and while Maxine was there, she even had her armour returned to her. Not only had it been repaired but also adjusted since she had grown a little since she had first worn it. In her mind it was nice to have the armour on again as it felt like a part of her had been returned.

It was certain that Charles would never forget what had happened during his stay at the Martel farm. They were definitely the most unique family in the world but also a loving one. When he had first met Maxine, due to her sternness he thought that her family would have a military like demeanour. Instead they were like more or less any family, the matriarch Jessica had been nothing but kind to him since his arrival and if not for their size he wouldn't believe that she was Maxine's mother.

Before they had left the farm, they had picked up some money and supplies before leaving. There was also a farewell moment between them and the rest of the Martel family. Maxine's siblings were going to miss her again and it seemed like she had also grown closer to Carrie. Before her return the sisters hadn't been able to stand one another. Now they could tolerate each other, they might not be the best of friends but their relationship had improved to the point that their parents were happy.

For Maxine's father Sir Tucker, she showed a great amount of respect towards him. He did hug his very large daughter and it was a little comical to look at. Sir Tucker was much smaller than Maxine and yet she treated him as if he was a lord or something of that level. Charles remembered to show the same amount of respect or else he might feel another sharp blow to the back of his head.

When it came to Jessica things were a little different. She had enlarged herself to the point where she was head and shoulders taller than the nine-foot Maxine. She then embraced her eldest daughter in a hug that she enjoyed very much. Maxine on the other hand simply stood there and took it, she did respect her mother but things such as hugs weren't as appealing to her. She wasn't the only one who got a hug as Charles too got a hug for his troubles. However, Jessica hadn't shrunk herself before hugging the squire which made it quite comical since she was at least twice his height at this point.

With all the farewells out of the way Maxine and Charles found themselves heading west towards the coast. If there was any work to be found it was possible that Flea Bay was a good call. The town was known for being a haven for traders and in recent years thieves and pirating had become a problem. Someone like her would be good security for such a place as any merchant who stayed by her would be off limits to any thieves.

There was something that was now on her mind as she walked with Charles remaining by her side. This was the promise to that she had made to her mother. Now she wasn't going to kill any of her opponents. This would make things more difficult for her as she would have to aim to wound or knock out rather than outright killing.

As they walked all they could really hear was a few birds singing and the clanking of Maxine's armour. Charles kept an eye out for anything that was interesting, this included things that could benefit them or even be dangerous. Bears did live out in this part of Angleland and although attacks on humans were rare, they did happen.

"Ms Maxine," said Charles as they continued to walk. He was having to walk faster than he usually would so that he could keep up with his much taller friend. By now he was used to walking faster than he normally would and, in a way, it was good exercise for him. "There's something that I just want to ask you."

"And what would that be?" Since he had helped her mend a few fences between herself and Carrie she was more willing to answer his questions. Even those that she was a little reluctant to answer before.

"What do you plan on doing when we reach Flea Bay?" He was very curious as he wanted to know what to expect. Nasty surprises were something that he didn't like.

"I'm not exactly sure yet." The clanking of her armour was fairly loud but her voice could be clearly heard over it. "Maybe there could be a rich merchant who wants us to protect his wares, or maybe there's a ship that needs a few extra knights."

"I see and have you been to Flea Bay before?"

"Yes, I used to help my Uncle drop off orders here. I'd earn a little money for whatever I wanted." She gave a small grunt as she began to remember a few things. "Had a few sailors try to flirt with me. At the time they mistook me for an adult."

"Oh." He then began to realise what she was saying. In his mind he imagined that even as a child Maxine was still bigger and stronger than most other people. "They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"Of course not, even back then I knew how to take care of myself. But I must warn you that Flea Bay can be a dangerous place. With so much money and merchandise going through it, there has been those with nefarious motives who come as well. As long as you stick with me you have nothing to worry about."

"Right you are ma'am." He knew about this in general. Since travelling with Maxine, he did feel safer than he had before, most likely he would have been stopped by a few different people with the intention to rob him. However, with a nine foot, heavily armoured woman who wielded a sword was more than enough to deter would be thieves.

The hours began to tick by as the pair continued to travel. Occasionally they would stop to rest and get a bite to eat. Jessica had prepared them some food for when they left, since it wasn't anything cooked, they knew that it was safe to eat. Maxine had already warned Charles about her mother's cooking, if he ate it then he might be putting his various taste buds at serious risk.

However, the sun began to disappear over the horizon as night began to approach. Maxine would have liked nothing more than to continually walk to Flea Bay without stopping at all to rest. Unfortunately for her it was something that she knew was simply impossible and when she looked at Charles, she could see that her squire was getting very tired. She could go much further than him but she refused to allow him to walk to the point where he was collapsing. He would try his best but his limits would come much quicker than her own.

Just as Maxine thought that they could stop for the night they could see a few lights down the road that they were travelling. This was a road that she had travelled upon a few times but she had not done so in many years. One thing that she did remember was that there was an old inn that was down there.

Whenever she had gone by it during her youth the inn in question had been abandoned and was practically falling apart. It wouldn't be too farfetched for someone to have bought the building and renovated it. If this was true then it meant that they had a place where they could sleep for the night.

This was something that they both were looking forward to. Shortly before it got too dark to see them properly both Maxine and Charles had noticed some dark clouds in the sky. The scent of rain was in the air and neither of them wanted to be caught out in it. There was also a chilly wind which in combination with any rain would make sleeping difficult and would likely lead to one of them picking up an illness.

If Maxine wanted to protect merchants then she couldn't come down with something like a cold as it would make her movements slower and thanks to her great height her sneezes would likely be magnified. Even her large body wasn't immune to diseases and infections so she had to be careful nonetheless.

With a small amount of haste both Maxine and Charles made their way to the source of the lights. They didn't run but walked at a quicker pace than they had before. During this time both of them barely spoke to one another. Instead they simply walked as the threat of rain loomed over them. There was no doubt that they would be caught in it if they didn't hurry to their destination.

After a few minutes they found themselves standing outside of a relatively large building. Although there was some writing on the wall there was also a post which had a couple of pictures on the top. The first was a pint of ale and the other picture was of a bed. Although there was writing on the wall that could be read there was still a large percentage of the population who were illiterate. Because of this most establishments had pictured signs which helped those who couldn't read know what the place was.

With there being both a picture of ale and a bed it meant that this establishment was indeed an inn. This was a relief for Maxine but when she saw the door, she noticed that it was smaller than average. Although Charles could fit through with some ease it when it came to Maxine it was a completely different story.

Not only was her body very tall but it was also quite buff as well. This made things such as fitting through this door difficult. She had to duck down and position her body so that she could try and fit her body through the door. This was a task that was much easier said than done, in a way because of this she was also felt jealous of Charles a little. These kinds of things he didn't have to worry about. He took for granted the fact that he could walk through practically any door without issue. Maxine on the other hand couldn't remember the last time she had been able to step through a door without the need to at least duck.

After around a minute of struggling she was finally able to get her large body through the door and with some care she stood up to her full height. One thing that she did like was the fact that she could stand up in this place without her head striking the ceiling. There were a few obstacles though as she noticed that some of the beams hung a little low.

The first sight that greeted the pair were a few people sitting down and drinking ale. It didn't look to be as busy as they had expected but everyone seemed to be having a good time. There was no doubt that the atmosphere was very positive. Also no one seemed to notice Maxine as she walked through, normally people would be staring at her or there would be a dead silence that filled the tavern.

Instead there was nothing as people simply carried on with their drinks as if there was nothing amiss. This was some relief for them and with a few strides they made their way to the bar of the tavern. The Tavern Keeper stood behind it, he was a man of average height with short black hair and what looked to be yellow eyes. This was unusual to say the least and his skin was a pale colour. There was a chance that he was suffering from some kind of ailment but neither of them wanted to mention it.

"Good evening," said the Tavern Keeper. His voice was more polite than both of them had expected. Most tavern keepers normally wanted interactions to be relatively short. This one seemed to enjoy the fact that they were there. "May I help you in anyway?"

"Yes," replied Maxine. "My squire and I require a room for the night, do you have any available?"

"Indeed, we do my dear. Would you like one with a double bed or two singles?" He seemed to be testing the pair to see what kind of relationship that they had.

"If possible, a double and a single. As you can see, I am ill fit for a single bed, if you would be so kind."

"Ah, an unusual request. But I can see what we can do." He smiled at Maxine and it caused a shiver to run through the spine of Charles. There was something about the Tavern Keeper that he couldn't help but feel creeped out about. He didn't want to say anything at that moment in time but it was on his mind.

"Thank you, also we require food and ale. Does your establishment supply those?"

"That it does, please order what you like. You will find our prices to be very reasonable." He then handed over a sheet of paper which looked to be some kind of menu.

Like before there were plenty of words written on it but there were also pictures that represented what they were. There were also numbers right next to them that represented the prices that they were selling for. This was ideal once again and when Maxine took a better look, she saw a few things that she liked.

The first thing that she noticed was that they did sell a pie although at that moment in time she didn't know exactly what kind it was. But what surprised her more was the price of the pie itself; it was only a fraction of the price that she spent at other taverns. Even when looking at the price as well it was also unusually cheap.

This too was noticed by Charles as he looked at the menu as well. Like Maxine he was shocked by the low prices but he couldn't help but feel that it was odd. He had once worked in a tavern and he knew how much such items cost to produce or purchase from the supplier. It seemed almost impossible to sell such items at low prices, he doubted that the Tavern Keeper would break even on these prices and most likely was actually selling them at a loss. This was something that no one would be able to do and keep a tavern like this running at the same time.

Even when he checked the prices for the rooms, they were also unusually low as well. To Maxine this was a good thing, it meant that she would be able to enjoy the food and comforts of the tavern for a much lower price than she expected. She wasn't the type of woman to turn down such good fortune.

It wasn't long before the pair found themselves sitting down at a table. Although it seemed to be too small for the tall, armoured woman it would do for the time being. In her hand she held the largest cup of ale that was available and simply drank it like it was going out of fashion. Charles instead sat there with a cup of water and was looking over a few things in his book. There were a few things that he was writing down but there were too many distractions for him to properly concentrate. This included a group of men singing at a few tables across, neither of them had particularly nice singing voices.

"Are we still in a good place financially?" asked Maxine as she looked over at Charles. She did take another large sip of her ale before placing the cup on the table. To her it almost seemed like she was sitting at a table for a small child.

"Yes, we are ma'am," replied Charles. "In fact, due to the low prices of this tavern we're saving a lot of money."

"That's good, I say that we got lucky coming here. This place is cheaper than any other tavern I've stayed in."

"Yes, I wouldn't be surprised. But still that is something that is confusing me a little." There seemed to be a small amount of worry in his voice.

"Why are you confused? We're getting good ale and at a fraction of the price you pay anywhere else, what's so confusing about that?"

"That's the thing ma'am, I can't see how any tavern could stay afloat when charging these prices. Don't forget that I used to work in a tavern myself and with the prices that we were charging we only made a small profit. That was on what we were charging there, we've these prices I can't see them turning any profit at all. In fact, they would be losing money every single day."

"Or maybe it's being financed by someone else and they're just donating money to us common folks. I've heard that there are some lords that like to sponsor taverns such as this, it's their way of helping people like us out."

"I guess, but I'm still not sure." He was a little worried about this as he saw Maxine continuing to drink the ale. It only took her a few seconds to finish off the cup that she had and she was more than happy to get a refill. "Do you think that maybe you shouldn't drink that much." This got a glare from Maxine which put some amount of fear into the body of her squire.

"What did you say?" Her voice was firm and almost like a parent who was about to tell off a disobedient child.

"Nothing ma'am, I was just talking to myself." He knew that he had to back out of this conversation as he didn't want her to be upset with him. He had seen what she was capable of and although he knew that she wouldn't seriously hurt him he still feared a strong strike from her.

"Good because as you know I am capable of drinking more than any man in Angleland. Besides, while the ale is so cheap, I'm having as many as I can." With that she quickly drank another cup and this would be her third so far. When she was finished, she lifted up her cup and looked over to the Tavern Keeper. "Tavern Keeper, another one please."

It was not too long after that when the food that had been ordered finally arrived as well. It was brought over by a woman who Charles could only describe as stunningly beautiful. Like the Tavern Keeper her skin was pale and her hair was jet black. She looked like the type of woman that would be the centre of attention for men who wanted to find a wife or even just a fling. Her blue eyes met with his eyes and he could help but feel some form of attraction to her. Words couldn't explain what he was feeling and for a few moments it seemed like nothing else mattered to him.

"Charles!" stated Maxine as she slammed her hand on the table with a small amount of force. It wasn't to show aggression or anything like that, it was more to draw his attention to her.

"W-What?" replied Charles with some confusion. He glanced over to Maxine who was still sitting on the far side of the table. She had a few pies in front of her and her focus was entirely on him.

"Your food is going cold, eat it up before I get my hands on it." This was when Charles looked down and did see a plate of food in front of him. He also noticed that the woman who was serving him was gone.

"W-What happened?"

"You've been staring into space for about five minutes, I was beginning to worry that you had lost your senses or something."

"I-I'm sorry ma'am, I don't know what came over me." He was still confused more than anything. He was sure that the woman had been right next to him and that she had been placing their food in front of them. The fact that it had taken place several minutes ago did worry him.

"Don't worry about it, just eat your food and have a drink." She took another drink of her ale but this time she didn't finish it.

"How many have you had ma'am?"

"This is my fifth and if you think I'm drinking too much I advise that you seriously reconsider that line of thinking."

"Of course not, I was just wondering so that I could keep track of how much this visit is costing us. Just so that we don't find ourselves in a difficult financial position by overspending."

"Very well." This was one of the reasons that she was glad that she had Charles around. When she was on her own keeping track of her money turned out to be difficult for her. With him around this was something that she didn't have to worry about. He might not have been as big or physically strong as her but he was just as useful. "Will we still have enough to last us for a while in Flea Bay if I have another pie?"

"Yes, there's room in the budget." He did need to look over what he had written down first before he gave a concrete answer.

"Great, there's also something that I wanted to ask you." By then she had put down her now empty cup.

"And what would that be ma'am?" He was worried that he might have done something wrong and that she was going to berate him.

"I can see that you want to stop me spending money but you're too afraid to tell me. That's why I'm giving you permission to stop me from making any purchases that you think are truly bad ones. If you think I'm making a bad decision and you're too afraid to say then there's no point in you being here."

"Y-Yes ma'am." It was true that there were a few times where he wanted to stop her from making a particular purchase but was too afraid to say anything about it. There was no doubt that Maxine was a very large and intimidating woman, if she wanted to, she could throw him across a room with ease or even crush his skull with her bare hands. Since their time together the trust that they had been one another had increased dramatically but there were still times when he was terrified of Maxine. Now at least he had permission to withhold money from her if he thought that it was necessary.

All the while that they were talking they didn't fully realise that they were being watched. None of the other patrons of the tavern were taking any particular notice of them, they were all singing and dancing with one another quite merrily as like Maxine they too were enjoying the low prices. Many of them didn't even realise that they were quite tipsy after drinking what to them was a relatively small amount.

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