There was a small amount of commotion while Maxine and Charles were trying to enjoy the free food that was placed in front of them. Some of the children were talking loudly to one another and another couple pushed each other while they were trying to eat. This was quickly broken up by one of the Shepherds who had no time or patience for whatever shenanigans that they might be up to.

The sheer size of Maxine was still a point of interest for the children who couldn't help but glance over to her on a regular basis. The fact that they hadn't seen her stand up yet was something that intrigued them. A few of them even imagined that when she did her head would go through the ceiling of the hall. Even though it was far too high for anything like that to remotely happen.

As usual she didn't take much notice of these stares and instead just concentrated on her thoughts and Shepherd Riley. More and more she realised where she had seen the Shepherd before. It was also in a place which it was practically unheard of to see such a person such as her. But it was a place that Maxine would frequent almost every opportunity that she had, unless money was an issue.

The look on her face was noticed by Charles who was barely eating the food in front of him. This was a combination of how he was feeling and the fact that it wasn't all that nice to begin with. He looked at her with some curiosity and for the moment it didn't seem like she noticed. This did cause him some worry as he thought that she might have detected something that was beyond.

"W-What is it ma'am?" asked Charles in a quiet tone. He wanted to make sure that if something was amiss that no one else could hear him. Just in case it was intended to bring them ill will.

"It's Shepherd Riley," replied Maxine. Her tone was equally quiet but not for the exact reasons that he was. Instead she wanted to keep this between them and not let anyone else hear it. "I know where I've seen her before."

"What? Where was it?" He was surprised to hear this but also a little afraid to hear the answer. He knew that over her time attempting to become a knight that she had made some enemies. If Sister Riley was one of these enemies it was likely that they would be in trouble. However, as he thought about this, he found it absurd, even if they were enemies Shepherds were well known for their forgiveness. It was one of the traits that they were known for so he found it unlikely.

"Remember the first town that we visited together? When we were collecting the bounty for William Bellamy."

"Yeah..." He was curious to hear where this went. The name was one that he would likely never forget, when they had apprehended the bandit Charles had found an arrow shot right at his chest. If not for the chest plate that he was wearing at the time the blow would have likely killed him.

"Well after we collected the bounty and before it was stolen from us." This did still bring some anger inside of her. She never did find the person responsible for the theft but if she did find them, she was sure to rip their arms out of their sockets with her bare hands. "I visited a brothel and she was one of the women that I had the pleasure of their services."

"Wait, she's a sex worker?" This was something that did catch him by surprise but he also thought that it was very unlikely. One aspect of becoming a Shepherd was the fact that they were married to the gods and never had a family. This included also never having sex at all, this was what caught him by surprise him the most. "Are you sure ma'am?" He expected her to give him a scowl for second guessing her. However, this wasn't the case as she simply looked at him.

"I'm sure of it, when you've been that close to someone's face in that manner it's hard to forget." It reminded her that she hadn't been to a brothel in some time and she thought that it was long overdue.

"Hmm, I'm not sure that you're right." He didn't think second guessing her was the best option but, in this case, it was probably worth it. "How can you go from sex worker to shepherd in such a short amount of time. It's only been a few weeks since you last saw her, now I'm no expert when it comes to becoming a shepherd but it probably takes more time than a few weeks to become one."

"I know but I'm sure that it's the same woman." She was more determined than ever to find out whether Shepard Riley was the same person that Maxine had spent some intimate time with. She knew that she would get to the bottom of it before they left the orphanage but for now, they just focused on eating.

It took a small amount of willpower to be able to eat everything that was in front of them. They did drink water to help wash it down but it didn't help too much with the taste. It was something that would probably stay with them for a while and they were definitely looking forward to the next time that they could eat something that actually had some flavour to it. For Maxine this was in the form of her favourite food in general, pies.

Just as he finished eating Charles did glance over to where Ted was sitting. He still seemed to be quiet where he was and even looked to be sad. For a moment this made him think that they were wrong to bring him back there. But he soon remembered that it was in Ted's best interest to be there.

A young boy living in the forest all by himself was unlikely to last very long, even if he was prepared for it. The elements were one thing and then there was the danger of attack from another person or forest creature. Bears and wolves were known to call the forest home and a boy like that wouldn't stand a chance against them. The last danger was not getting enough food and water, this was something that was very likely since it was difficult to live such a life. Even for an adult it was a struggle.

By this time most of the children too had eaten their suppers and some of them had even gone back to Maxine. They just couldn't get over how tall and strong she was, normally she would tell them that she wanted to be alone but she didn't mind humouring them. In a way they also reminded her of her youngest brother and how he was very excitable about things that were pretty mundane.

Once again, the children wanted to see her show off her strength. She did this by grabbing a nearby apple and crushing it in her one hand. This amazed the children and they wanted to see more. However, she could see some of the Shepherds looking on and because of this she decided that it wasn't the best idea.

One of the women watching on was Shepherd Riley who like the children was also in disbelief over what she was seeing. If it was a nine-foot muscular man she would still think it was abnormal but still plausible. The fact that Maxine was a woman completely took her aback. She wouldn't think that such a thing was possible and yet it was right there where she could see it.

None of the children paid much attention to Charles and as far as he was concerned, he was fine with it. Right now, he thought that it was best to keep himself to himself, he still couldn't help but feel like they were in danger, even though they were in a place that in all likelihood was completely safe.

He constantly watched out for anything that was remotely a threat. With everything that had happened to him he was on edge. At least this time he did have Maxine by her side and although she was unarmoured, he knew that she could repel any threat. Even though right now all he needed to worry about were religious women and orphaned children. Nothing that seemed like a danger.

Like before a couple of the Shepherds had to step over in order to hurry the children away from Maxine and Charles. They didn't think that the pair would want to be bothered by so many children. But when the large woman noticed that Shepherd Riley was amongst them, she knew that she wanted to speak with her immediately.

However how to do this was another matter as she knew that it would likely be a sensitive subject. A Shepherd wouldn't want to be shouting about being a former sex worker. So at least Maxine had the foresight to do this. Instead she waited until the children had been ushered away and it was only Shepherd Riley who remained. She had a smile on her face and she placed her hands together as she looked over at the pair.

She noticed that there was still quite a bit of food on Charles's plate but when it came to Maxine there was nothing left. There wasn't much of a surprise about this as she knew that Maxine would need to eat a lot more than a normal person if she was going to maintain her body. Instead she bowed somewhat to them both as she was showing them both respect, she knew to always be kind to visitors.

"I hope that you enjoyed your suppers," said Shepherd Riley as she ended her small bow. "Is there anything that I can help you with before you leave?"

"Actually, I'd like you to tell me the truth," replied Maxine. She had made sure that there was no one else around before she had spoken. She did see a nervous look upon the face of the Shepherd. Just like the sex worker before they satisfied her.

"What do you mean?" Her voice was definitely more nervous than it had been just a few moments before. "I've been honest with you since we met."

"You told me that we haven't met before, but I know that we have. You were working at a brothel in Grey Town and I paid for your services and you along with two other women helped scratch that itch if you know what I mean."

"I've neither stepped foot into a brothel or Grey Town!" This time her voice sounded angrier than it had before. This made Charles worried and he gently grabbed onto the arm of Maxine.

"Ma'am," stated Charles. His voice sounded timid as he was still afraid that she might react negatively to this. "Maybe she isn't who you're thinking of."

"I know what I saw and I know for a fact it was you," answered Maxine. It seemed like she didn't fully register what Charles had said. Instead she was determined to prove that she was right. "Now stop lying to me and tell me the truth!"

"I am, I've been at this orphanage for ten years and I haven't even been fifteen miles away from it in that time. Unless..." She then gave a sigh as she realised what was happening, her anger subsided. "The woman that you're thinking of, did she have blonde hair?"

"Yes, she did." This confused her a little but she watched as Shepherd Riley removed her headwear to reveal that she had long black hair that looked like silk. It did make her very beautiful and even Charles was taken aback by this. They thought that it was a shame that such lovely hair should be hidden away. "B-But how? You had blonde hair when I was with you, why is it black now?"

"That's because the woman that you spent time with wasn't me but instead my twin sister. It was only through our hair colour that people were able to tell us apart when we were younger." She gave another sigh as she thought about her sister. "Back then we were practically inseparable but as the years went on, we drifted apart. She went on to try and have a career while I gave my life to the gods. I hadn't heard from her in some time and I was hoping that she succeeded. But your words have deeply saddened me, all I can do is hope and pray that she is able to turn her life around."

"I-I..." Maxine felt a wave of embarrassment come over her as she had just made herself look foolish. Not just that but she had done it to a Shepherd which in her mind made things even worse. "I apologise for my actions. I should not have assumed that you were your sister." This did get noticed by Charles who knew that she didn't apologise very often. "Please forgive me."

"There is nothing to forgive. I admit that in the face I look just like my sister so the confusion is understandable. I'm just sorry about my outburst just then. A Shepherd is not supposed to lose their temper." Her voice was pleasant and it was obvious that she meant every word that she spoke. "But there is something that I must ask you, when you saw my sister, was she well?"

"I saw no visible injuries on her body and her beauty took my breath away. That should bring you some comfort at least. And now there is something I need to ask you as well, that boy we found. Why did he run away from here and try to live in the forest by himself? Is there something happening here that I should be concerned about?"

"Oh no, nothing like that." She gave another sigh as she prepared for what she was about to say next. "Theodore is unfortunately a troubled child. He has been here for three years after his mother's supposed passing. He claims that he is the bastard child of a lord and wishes to find his father and be by his side. Even if this is true, we know that high borns are unlikely to recognise illegitimate offspring."

"Yeah, I can understand that." She couldn't help but feel a little angry as she knew how much trouble high borns could be. One thing that her father had warned her about when she had gone on her quest for a knighthood to not get mixed in with lords and ladies. She had taken these words to heart although she knew that she would need a lord to knight her. "When he last escaped, did anyone attempt to find him?"

"Of course, we would not allow a child to wander in the forest by themselves without us trying to locate them. Unfortunately, he had already gotten too far by the time that we realised that he was gone and we searched for days without any luck. Until you and your companion returned him, we had feared that he had died. But I fear that Ted will simply try again the next opportunity that he gets. We keep telling him that he is best to stay here and yet he does not heed our words. It is both frustrating and upsetting."

"And his mother, who was she?" She was curious about this as she did feel some sympathy towards Ted. But she also remembered how he had acted and how tempted she was to strike him.

"According to him she was a young woman named Donna. He also claims that she told him that she would return to the house. Unfortunately, she never did and her disappearance was noticed by a neighbour. Eventually he was brought here and has stayed ever since, well besides his break out attempts. No one knows what happened to his mother, he states that someone murdered her while she was away from him. But alas I fear that something else more tragic for him could have happened."

"And what was that?" By now even Charles was listening intensely as he too was invested by what was being said. Although by now fatigue was getting the better of him, he had not slept for more than a full day and by this point in time he was struggling to keep his eyes open.

"That she simply abandoned him. On more occasions than I would like to admit a child is sent to us, not because a parent has either died or couldn't care for them any longer. It is simply because they don't want the child anymore. I have a feeling that this might have happened to him. He likely realises it too but simply refuses to believe that his mother had abandoned him."

"I see." It was something that she did feel was a shame for him. She didn't want to think about how she would feel if her parents had abandoned her as a child. But she knew that her parents had been very loving and wouldn't do that to any of their children. In a way she knew that she was lucky.

By this point Maxine did glance over to Charles and she could see that he was beginning to fall asleep. The truth was that he was struggling to stay awake and although his mind was troubled by what he had experienced it still needed rest. At one point he was even beginning to lean his head against her arm. It felt warm and safe but he could also feel the muscles that were beneath her skin.

"It is best that we be on our way," said Maxine. She was about to stand up but she had to gently lifted Charles's head off of her arm before she could do this. "We are on our way to Flea Bay and do not wish to use up any more of your resources."

"It's perfectly fine," replied Shepherd Riley. "But I think it's a little late to start travelling anywhere right now. Why don't you stop here for the night and then proceed in the morning? That way you can be well rested and not have to worry about travelling in darkness."

"Well..." She then looked over to Charles who was still looking very sleepy and she knew that the only way that he would make it to Flea Bay was if she had carried him. This was something that she didn't think would be wise and she could only agree with what the holy woman standing next to her was saying. "Alright then, we'll stay for one night, thank you very much for your offer."

"You're welcome, we do have a guest room which should hopefully be accommodating for you." She then paused for a moment. "Although now that I think about it, it does have a pretty low ceiling."

"It's alright, I'm used to that by now."

Another several minutes went by as Maxine and Shepherd Riley spoke. She too was interesting to learn about how Maxine had become so tall and muscular. She had heard the reason that was given to the children but she didn't believe it fully. It wasn't unknown for people to become much bigger than they were supposed to, but what she was seeing before her seemed to be simply impossible.

Shepherd Riley believed that somehow that Maxine's physique was caused by magic which was something that was very rare indeed. Many people would live their entire lives without seeing a single instant of magic. Everything about Maxine seemed to scream magic, but if she was a magic user Shepherd Riley thought that she would have used it for more useful endeavours than just making herself freakishly tall and strong. To her it didn't make too much sense but then again, she knew all about people doing odd things that didn't make sense to the masses.

A short time later Maxine and Charles were led away to a small room that was close by. At this point in time Charles was so tired that he could barely walked and he had to be helped to the room. He wasn't carried as Maxine thought that he might find it demeaning so instead she let him walk under his own power. She just had to make sure that he didn't fall and he moved at a reasonable pace.

They were eventually led to a small room which had two single bed. As was expected, the ceiling was too low for Maxine to be able to stand up straight and the bed too was quite small. Despite what looked to be cramped conditions, it was still acceptable for them but there was one thing that the tall woman did demand. This was that her armour and sword were retrieved from the storage cupboard that they had been placed in.

The reason for this was that Maxine had been taught that especially while sleeping that a knight's armour and sword was always close by. They never knew when they would need it and would also help keep an eye on them. Because of this she was the one who retrieved the armour and sword while Charles lay down on one of the beds.

He couldn't help but feel afraid as he now felt unprotected without his nine-foot guardian with him. His fear however was being overridden by his fatigue as he simply lay on the bed and sleep was coming to him. Even he couldn't keep his eyes open as he slowly fell asleep and that would be the end of his day.

Maxine was still getting herself ready for bed but as she glanced over to Charles, she could see that he was asleep already. This did put a small smile on her face as she thought that it was the best for him at this moment in time. It might not cause his recovery from his trauma but at least for now it was the best course of action. He wouldn't be doing himself any favours by not sleeping.

The demons that he was currently fighting were not going to be defeated so easily. It would take time and if he chose it, she would be there with him every step of the way. All of this had also happened under her watch so she felt somewhat responsible for what had taken place. It was a knight's duty to ensure that no harm came to their squire and she thought that she had failed this miserably.

Eventually fatigue also got the better of Maxine and she lay down onto the small bed. There was a huge groan as it seemed that the bed was struggling to support her weight. This was something that she tried to ignore but what she couldn't ignore was that the bottom of the bed only reached up to her knees. Her shins and feet were all dangling over the edge of the bed and it was just another reminder to her that she was simply too big. This was something that she had gotten used to however.

The last thing that was on her mind before she finally fell asleep was that they still needed to go to Flea Bay. She just hoped that the stay in the orphanage was a short one and that she wouldn't have to suffer a long delay. If that were to happen then she felt like she would be wasting her time and not achieving her goal to become a knight. It was something that would annoy her if it happened. But for the time being she could do nothing but lie there and begin to dream.