The rays of the sun woke Charles up as they shone through the window and he groaned a little while he woke up. His sleep had not been a restful one as he had dreamed about what had happened during his stay at the previous inn. He could see the bodies of the family that he was forced to kill and the bodies of their victims that lay in the basement rotting. He had hoped that sleep would give him some comfort as he could escape from what was causing him grief. Unfortunately, this had not been the case and this only added to the woe that he was currently experiencing.

The next thing he did was to glance over to the bed on his right and at first, he thought that it was empty. He had expected to see Maxine sleeping there with her huge body barely being able to fit on the single bed. At first, he simply thought that she had woken up earlier and had gone to get something to drink or even relieve herself.

Suddenly Charles did see someone moving in the bed and it caused him to quickly wake up even more than he was before. He thought that one of the children had gotten into the bed while Maxine was away. He knew that she wouldn't like it so he got himself out of the bed and quietly stepped towards the bed.

All he could see was the back of the head of someone with long red hair and from what he could see under the covers he could tell that they had a quite small body. More than ever he thought that it was a child or at the most one of the Shepherds. Even so he was surprised that this was the case.

The only explanation to that was that Maxine would had spent the night with one of the Shepherds but then again, he struggled to believe that this was true. Not only was sex strictly prohibited for Shepherds but he was sure that if she had been with someone, he would have surely heard it. The additional fact that there was no chance that a bed of that size could accommodate two people. Especially one on Maxine's scale so it only added to the idea that someone had crawled into her bed.

Quickly Charles grabbed onto the covers and pulled it off with one swift motion. He expected to see the child but he began to take a couple of steps back when he could see what he was looking at. The person who was lying there was definitely short, even for a woman and oddly she was also wearing clothing that looked to be much too big for her. They were identical to the underclothing that Maxine had worn when going to bed and this caused him to begin to put two and two together. Her head turned and he could see what looked to be a familiar face. Just one that was on a smaller scale than he was used to.

No words came out of his mouth as he realised that something had happened, something that he couldn't explain and it was almost too great for him to comprehend. All he could do was watch as the woman slowly opened her eyes and looked over to him. The same brown eyes that he had seen before looked back at him as this small woman was none other than his friend Maxine.

"C-Charles," said Maxine as she woke up. Her voice sounded different than it usually did, it was at a higher pitch and sounded less commanding that it had before. She could see the covers in his hands and she realised that he had pulled them off of her. "What is the meaning of this?" She sat up in her bed and there was some anger in her voice as she was not particularly fond of waking up before she was ready.

"M-Ma'am," replied Charles as he pointed at her with a shaking hand. He was trying to think about what to say but nothing came to his lips as he continued to stare in absolute disbelief." He could only watch as Maxine began to climb out of the bed and her annoyed expression remained.

"I asked you a..." By then she had finally stood on the ground and this was when she realised that her clothing was slipping off of her. She also looked at Charles and she could see that for the first time ever that she had to look up at him. "Question." Her tone had completely changed as now she was beginning to see that there was something very wrong taking place.

"Y-You shrank!" His voice was filled with panic, everything that he had gone through was forgotten for the moment as he realised what was happening. His mind couldn't comprehend the situation right before him and he was sure.

For what seemed to be an eternity Maxine didn't say a word as she looked at her hands and eventually the rest of her body. Not only was she not too much above half her former height but she also noticed that her impressive muscles were gone. Her arms were skinny and any evidence of muscle could not be found whatsoever. Also, she noticed that her breasts were now much smaller than they were before, they were still there but they barely had a presence. Also, her hair was shorter than it had been before. The night before it had been long enough to reach the top of her chest. Now it was only long enough to reach her shoulders.

When Charles was trying to make sense of what he was seeing he thought at first that Maxine had somehow become a child again. However, he could tell from her body that this wasn't the case. She was still an adult but a much smaller one than she had been before. If he had to guess he would say that she was below five feet in height and looked as non-threatening as a puppy.

"W-What happened to me?" asked Maxine with panic in her voice. It was one of the very few times that Charles ever heard any kind of distress in voice, this only showed him how serious the situation at hand was. "How did I get so puny?" She wanted to believe that this was some kind of dream but she knew better than to think that.

"I-I don't know ma'am." He stepped towards her and he had to look down at her, this was something that he didn't think that he would ever have to do but it was happening right now. "M-Maybe it was something that you ate."

"No, it wouldn't be. You ate the same food as me and yet you're still the same as you were before. No something's different has happened to me." She then clenched her fist as a wave of anger overtook her. "But I know who'll be able to tell me." With that she began to walk towards the door. There was much determination with every single that she took, almost like the fact that she was now so small that she didn't seem like she could hurt anyone.

"Ma'am where are you going?"

"I'm going to speak to Shepherd Riley!" Her tone was angry and sounded similar to how she had been before. But the pitch was still off and because of this, it didn't seem as threatening as it previously had. Also, at the same time Maxine had quickly darted to her sword in order to pick it up. However, this was a task much easier said than done, it was longer than she was tall and also incredibly heavy. Normally she could wield it with one hand and she wouldn't feel the weight too much. Now, even using both hands she could barely move it let alone lift it off the ground. She grunted as she tried to lift her sword but she simply didn't have the strength to do so. Not just that but her clothing was still slipping off of her.

She was still wearing the undergarments that she wore underneath her normal clothing and armour. Now it could barely fit on her much smaller body and it was likely that she would be walking around practically naked which was something that would not go down well in a place like this.

It was Charles who ultimately stopped her and it was something that he found to be incredibly easy. The day before it would have been impossible for him to stop her from doing practically whatever she wanted. Now he only had to grab onto her shoulders and use a small amount of strength and she would be stuck in place. It wasn't confronting Shepherd Riley that he wanted to stop, instead it was to prevent her from leaving in her current attire. The only quick solution that they had was to tear off a bedsheet and wrap it around her as if it was a toga. It still wasn't ideal for her but it was better than what she was wearing previously.

With her attire now somewhat more appropriate Maxine stormed out of the room and began to walk down the hallway. There were a couple of Shepherds and a few children who walked by and they looked at her with some confusion. They didn't know who she was but they did notice Charles following behind her.

Normally when she was like this, he would struggle to keep up with her but now it was much easier. Her body was much smaller and thus this made her legs much shorter than they were. This all added up to him not having to walk at such a fast pace. In a way it was something that he was glad about, he just wished that the circumstances were much different.

One thing that he did know what that Maxine had a lot of enemies and if any of them found out that she had become so small that they might take advantage. There was no chance of her defending herself against a well-armed opponent. This made him fearful and he also didn't think that he had ever seen her so angry. One thing that he was glad about was the fact that he wasn't the focus of her rage.

Eventually Maxine did reach the dining hall again where she happened to notice Shepherd Riley pouring herself a cup of water. She did hear footsteps coming from behind her and she turned around and expected to see either a fellow shepherd or a child. Instead she looked down and could see Maxine but for the moment she didn't realise who it was. Instead she smiled at her and placed her hands together.

"Good morning," said Shepherd Riley. Her voice was very respectful and it seemed obvious that she had stated this many times before. "Is there something that I can help you with." It was then that she saw the look of rage on Maxine's face and she couldn't help but be a little fearful, even though she was a head taller than her now.

"What the fuck did you do to me!" replied Maxine in a loud and very agitated voice. But even with this it didn't seem like Shepherd Riley recognised her. It was hard for anyone to see that this short woman was once the nine-foot powerhouse from the previous day.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand. I don't think we've met before." She looked back at her with a combination of confusion and fear as she continued to look at Maxine, this only made the shrunken giant even angrier.

"Don't play dumb with me, you did something to me last night and now because of you I'm like this!" She held out her arms and for a moment Shepherd Riley was still quiet but the gears inside of her head began to turn as the pieces fell together.

"M-Maxine, is that you?" As the full realisation struck her, she took a step forward and looked at Maxine even more. She couldn't believe that she was now looking down at a woman who before had been so tall that her head would strike the ceiling in most rooms that she stood in. "W-What happened to you?"

"You know full well what you did..." Maxine was about to berate the confused woman even more when Charles felt that he had to step in. Normally he wouldn't think about doing such a thing if he thought that she would hurt him. Not only did he think that she wouldn't due to the friendship that they had built but also, she likely physically couldn't. He didn't want to take the opportunity to mock her but instead prevent the terrible situation from getting any worse.

"M-Ma'am please calm yourself," stated Charles. He had already stepped in front of her and tried to make sure that she didn't do anything that they would later regret. "You're not thinking straight."

"Get out of my way Charles!" She grabbed onto him and attempted to push him out of the way but she found that she was unable to. It was almost like he was completely fixed onto the spot where he was. Before she could have achieved the task with little effort but now, she tried with all of her might and yet ended with failure. It was another reminder to her that she was much weaker than she should be.

"No ma'am." He knew that he had to step up more as things were escalating faster than he was comfortable with. Although he didn't think that she was much of a threat in her smaller and much weaker body he knew not to underestimate her. Just because she had lost her size and strength didn't mean that she was harmless. "You're letting your anger control you again, step back and take a deep breath. Think, what would Shepherd Riley achieve by making you like this?"

"Well..." Her voice was still angry but now she was thinking more than she was a few moments ago. She knew that he was telling the truth as there was nothing that she could think that actually made sense. It made it more and more unlikely that the Shepherd was the cause of what had happened.

"Believe me I'm just as surprised as you to see you so small," added Shepherd Riley. She too was trying to comprehend the fact that Maxine had gone from being nine-feet tall with muscles attached to practically every part of her body to the less than five-foot weak looking woman she was now. "Maybe Shepherd Morgan knows what has happened."

Maxine didn't answer as she continued to breathe deeply. This was allowing more oxygen to enter her brain and thus gave her more time and energy to think. She was still in disbelief over what had happened but one thing that she knew was that she wanted to be back to normal as soon as possible.

She couldn't become a knight like her father if she was too weak to even lift up her sword. The thought of trying to wear her armour was laughable at best to her. Not only would it not fit but likely even if she had a small percentage of it on, she wouldn't be able. This would be very embarrassing to her as well.

Not just that but Maxine began to think about how her family would react to see her so small and scrawny. Carrie would likely find it hilarious and probably mock her even more than now. Although they had mended a lot of bridges it didn't mean that the sibling rivalry was gone completely. She thought that her father would be disappointed in her and she was sure that her mother would cry and hug her.

However, there was a small side of her that felt differently to this. It was the part of her that desired to be normal, it was one that she supressed but deep down the feeling was always. The fact that she constantly felt that the world was too small for her as her head struck most ceilings and normal furniture felt child size to her didn't make her feel welcome. At least while she was like this no one would bat an eyelid at her or think that she was a freak. Instead they would just think that she was just some normal woman.

As she looked up at Charles, she couldn't help but respect him for his actions. If he hadn't of stepped in when he did, she didn't know what she would have done and his rational thinking had helped greatly in this situation. It was easy for her to forget that he was dealing with his own issues that would likely take a long time to get by.

"May I ask who Shepherd Morgan is," stated Charles as he looked over to Shepherd Riley. The somewhat startled woman still stood there as she was trying to normalise what was happening.

"She is probably the wisest Shepherd here," replied Shepherd Riley. Her voice was respectful but she didn't fear Maxine. Her temper seemed to have subsided for the time being at least. "When fairly abnormal things happen, she normally has an explanation for it. Although this time it might be beyond her understanding."

"Speak to her as soon as possible," demanded Maxine. She tried to make her voice sound commanding but it didn't work very well.

"A-As you wish but I think for the time being that we need to find you some appropriate clothing. Walking around wearing a bedsheet might not go down very well with everyone around here."

Several minutes later Charles found himself standing outside of a small room. He was worried about the situation but he tried to remain as brave as he could. Right now, Maxine didn't need him to be a bag of worries. However, there was a small amount of annoyance that he could feel.

There were a couple of children who walked by, rumours of Maxine becoming small had spread and a lot of the children were talking about it. He had no idea when she would become big again but with the Shepherds catching wind of it, he was sure that they would discover the problem after a while.

Charles had only expected to be standing there for a couple of minutes, instead it had been seven and, in his mind,, it should not have been this long. Quickly he began to knock the door, it was only a small door and it shook somewhat after he had knocked it. The first thing that he could hear was an annoyed grunt coming from the other side.

"Come on Maxine," said Charles just after he had knocked the door. "It doesn't take that long to put on an outfit."

"I don't care!" replied a very annoyed Maxine. "I'm not coming out!" Her words made it seem that she adamant about what she was saying.

"You won't be able to find a way to return to normal if you stay in there. Please come out, everything will be alright."

There were a few moments of silence before the knob of the door turned. Soon after the door itself opened and the much shorter Maxine stepped out into the open. Rather than her body being covered by the bedsheet from before she was now wearing a relatively simple dress. It was brown in colour and was long enough to reach her feet which now wore simple black shoes.

This was the first time that Charles had ever seen her wearing a dress and he had to admit that she did look very pretty. It was odd seeing her wearing such feminine attire, he was used to seeing her in either her armour or her underclothing to it. Either way it was clothing that were more expected on a man rather than a woman. She didn't look like a fairy tale princess or anything like that, but she definitely looked like a woman without a shadow of a doubt. Although the annoyed look was still on her face.

"Not a single word Charles!" stated Maxine in a very annoyed tone. He had been on the verge of saying something but she had cut him off before he could mutter a word. She had even lifted her hand up and showed him her palm. "Say anything about how I look and I swear that when I'm big again I will break your arm."

"W-Wouldn't think of its ma'am," replied Charles. He knew that he had to use his next words carefully. He wasn't sure if she would actually follow through with her threat at all. After everything that they had been through together he doubted that she was serious, but there was always a chance that she would make good on her threat.

"Wow the giant woman got smaller," said what seemed to be a random voice. It was then that Maxine and Charles looked at they could see one of the orphans. It had been one that had marvelled over Maxine's size and strength the previous day. She was a little girl and she was still much shorter than Maxine but she looked up at her with wonder again. This time it was due to the difference from what she had been previously. "And she looks so pretty in her dress too."

Charles could see the anger flaring up within Maxine and he thought that he needed to step in again before she said anything to upset the girl. He knew that his friend was on an extremely short fuse right now and he feared what she might do if she truly lost her temper. He smiled down at the little girl and tried to make it seem like everything was alright despite Maxine's lost height.

"Indeed, she does, but my friend here needs to go now," said Charles. His voice was calm and he did try to hurry Maxine away by grabbing onto her arm and leading her away. This was a task that he discovered to be much easier than he expected. The shrunken woman could do nothing but follow.

As they stepped away, they were noticed by more of the orphans and a few of the other Shepherds. One of the orphans who did notice her was Ted who like many of the others couldn't believe the change that had taken place. He was also the one who found it the funniest as he laughed when he walked past her. Seeing a woman who was nine feet tall suddenly become less than five feet and losing all of her muscle. In his mind it meant that karma was true.

Charles and Maxine didn't stop walking until they came across Shepherd Riley who had actually been walking towards them. She had been intending to take them to Shepherd Morgan. This was the first time that she had seen Maxine in the dress and like others she did think that she looked quite pretty and ladylike. These were all words that she didn't want to hear as it gave her great annoyance.

Maxine even asked why they had only given her this dress rather than clothing that she would be more comfortable in. Unfortunately, this was the only thing that they had that would fit her properly. This was something that she also found annoying and simply walking in a dress was awkward for her.

The last time that she had worn a dress was back when she was a little girl and that was purely to make her mother happy. Since then she had never wanted to wear a dress again but now it seemed that she was doing something that she hated. She knew that she couldn't become a knight while wearing a dress and any claim to her goal that she made would not be taken seriously while she was dressed like this.

For now, all she could do was follow Shepherd Riley and Charles to this elder Shepherd who she hoped could help her in this situation. More than anything she wanted her size back although simply having a normal life had not escaped her.