Even though Charles was still in some pain thanks to his ribs, he still tried to help Maxine up to her feet. However, her legs were simply too weak to support her weight at that moment in time. She needed to hold onto him in order to support herself, it was a situation that she felt was a little embarrassing but given what had happened to her, she wasn't too surprised with this.

All that was left of the warehouse that had been the base of operation for the Weasel was some debris and an open space where a building had once been. It was hard to believe that this small woman that Charles was helping to her feet was the cause of all of this. He was still wrapping his head around everything that had happened. But one thing that he knew for certain was the fact that they couldn't stay there.

With some care he was able to pick up the tongs that held the sphere, for the third and hopefully final time he quickly stepped into what was left of the room with the valuable objects in. Although there were objects in there that were worth more than his weight in gold, they were not his concern. Instead, it was the container that had held the sphere before the incident had taken place.

Much to his relief the container was still intact as he used it to place the sphere back inside. A small part of him felt like he was betraying Maxine. She had fought so hard to get it back and putting back in there felt like they were going back on themselves. However, under the circumstances she more than understood.

There was a small amount of gold that was in the room as well and he couldn't help but pick some up and place it in his pocket. Normally he wouldn't steal but they had no money at that moment in time and he knew that he would need it in the near future. Once again, he knew that Maxine would understand.

Now that he had everything that he needed, Charles returned to Maxine and since she was too weak to walk, he had to carry her on his back. One thing that he was surprised with was how little she weighed. The container and tool were placed in the satchel that would normally be on his back. However, since he was carrying her, he had turned it around so that he was carrying on his chest. It looked like a little odd but at that moment in time he didn't care how he looked.

The moment that he was ready Charles quickly moved away although he didn't know where he was going. His first thought was going back to Morgan so that they could see the Martel family. However, it was too far for him as he needed to go somewhere short term. Normally it would be Maxine who would be making these kinds of decisions but she was mostly out of it, as if all the energy had been taken out of her body.

Thankfully, the streets were empty as Maxine's growth spurt had scared them away. This meant that he was able to move around in the streets without anyone really trying to stop him. This was a relief as there was nothing that he would be able to do to stop them from harming himself or his best friend. Instead he just ran through the backstreets in the hopes of finding somewhere where they could hide out and rest.

"C-Charles," said Maxine weakly. The fact that she was still naked seemed to be lost on her. Thankfully no one could see her frontal regions as they were pressed against Charles's back. Even so she could see that he was trying to help her as best as he could.

"You don't have to say anything ma'am," replied Charles. He took a look at her face and he could see that could barely keep her eyes open. "Just go to sleep and I'll worry about everything else."

"T-Thank you." By this time her eyes closed as she couldn't help but fall asleep. The process that she had gone through her tired her out more than she had expected. Rest was all that she could do for the time being as her squire continued to run through the streets of Flea Bay.

The next thing that Maxine knew she was waking up in a room that she didn't recognise. She groaned a little as she began to stir and she was looking around with a small amount of worry. She had no idea how she got there and this sent her into a small panic but when she turned her head, she could see Charles sitting at a table and writing something in his notebook. She groaned as she sat up in the bed and this caught his attention, she also noticed that she was still naked and she used the covers of the bed to cover up her body.

The room itself was something that she was used to as there was nothing remarkable about it. There was a couple of beds, a table and a few chars but that was about it. No high born would be caught dead in a place like this but for commoners like Maxine and Charles it seemed to be ideal.

"Ma'am you're awake," said Charles as he quickly got up from where he was sitting and stepped over to her. "I was getting worried."

"W-Where am I?" replied Maxine with confusion. She remembered growing huge and hyper muscular and then shrinking back down but after that it was all a blur. "How did I get here?"

"I brought you here after you passed out the other day."

"The other day?" In her mind she was putting two and two together. "Wait, how long have I been out for?"

"Two days, I was actually thinking about fetching a Healer but you've just woke up so of course there's no need now. You must be hungry; I can go and get you a pie if you want." He knew that this would get her to eat as he feared that she might not be in the best of moods after what had happened.

"In a minute, I'm still a little confused." One thing she noticed as she looked towards the end of her bed was a small pile of clothes that had been neatly folded. Her view was noticed by her squire.

"I took the liberty of buying you some clothes. They might be a little big but they should do for the time being." He watched as Maxine moved towards the clothes but she still kept her body covered up so that he couldn't see her naked body. With a free hand she was able to pick up a piece of clothing and she could see that it was a pair of trousers. "I knew that you didn't like wearing dresses so I bought you something that you would feel comfortable in." She couldn't help but smile as knew that he had put a lot of thought into what he was buying, even if it was quite cheap.

A few minutes later Maxine had gotten herself changed. It was an outfit that was somewhat similar to what she normally wore underneath her armour. This consisted of sleeveless shirt and trousers. Both were a little too big for her but when it came to the trousers, she had to turn them up and wear a makeshift belt. She was also wearing a pair of boots which left enough room for her feet to move around a little. In a way she found it ironic, normally she would struggle to find clothes because she was too big. Now she was struggling because she was too small.

It wasn't long before she sat herself down at the table and began to eat a pie that had been brought to her by Charles. She didn't care what kind of pie it was, just as long as it didn't contain any onions. She was very hungry and she was eating away at the pie while her squire watched on. He was glad to see her up and eating again, he had been worried about the fact that she might not wake up.

"Are you enjoying the pie ma'am?" asked Charles as he watched on. He wasn't eating as he had already eaten a short time before.

"Yes, thank you," replied Maxine. It felt good to be able to eat a pie again and thanks to her lack of height it went much further than it normally did before. "But what happens now, do you still have my size?"

"Indeed, I do, it is safe for the time being but I think it is risky placing it back into you again." He did pull the container out of his satchel and placed it onto the table. Maxine looked at it for several moments and she was glad to see it. However, she did remember what happened the last time that it was inside of her. "I thought that you'd like seeing that. We did go through a lot to get it back."

"More than I could have imagined. Thank you for your help, I don't think I'd even be alive right now if it wasn't for you."

"Don't mention it." He then groaned and placed his hand onto his ribs. This was quickly picked up by Maxine who did show some concern for him. She knew that it had been serving her that he had picked up this injury.

"Are you alright?" She didn't get out of her chair as she thought that there was no need for it.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine, just got a broken rib. I've been told to rest up and it'll heal before I know it. Unfortunately, that's a little longer than I'm happy with."

"You got that injury because of me; I don't know how to thank you for everything that you've done." She couldn't help but chuckle which did catch Charles by surprise as this was one of the last things he expected.

"What's so funny?" He looked at her with some curiosity. His voice was confused rather than annoyed by her laughter.

"Our partnership started because you owed me a life debt. Now it is beginning to feel like I owe you a life debt now. Seems a little ironic for me."

"Don't worry about it, ma'am. I don't think it's worth counting."

"I think it does...." She was just about to continue with what she was saying until she noticed something behind Charles. It caught her attention when she saw it as it seemed vaguely familiar to her. "What is that?"

""What is what?" He turned around and looked behind himself. There he saw the painting of the puppy that had been in the Weasel's room of valuables. "Oh that, well after your little growth spurt the warehouse was completely exposed. A lot of people came to loot the place and I was able to get this before it was gone."

"But of everything that was left, why that?" She looked at the painting which depicted a golden retriever puppy running through a field. To her there wasn't much about it that she would have wanted.

"Well it was one of the few things remaining and I thought it looked pretty good. Plus look how happy he is." Maxine didn't really comment on this as she thought it was absurd speaking about a painting in this manner.

"What are you planning on doing with it anyway? It's not something that can be easily carried around."

"I know, most likely I'll just leave it here. I just wanted to be able to look at it for a little longer. Anyway, I think it's important to discuss our next move. While you've been asleep, I've been trying to think of exactly what we should do. My first thought is that we go back to your family and figure things out there."

"No." Her voice was stern and it was obvious that nothing would convince her otherwise. "I am not letting them see me like this. Most likely Carrie would mock me and my mother would worry about me to no end." She couldn't help but think about her mother coddling her and crying while she just remained there with a blank look on her face. "Have you thought of anything else?"

"Well I have been told that there is a woman who lives close by who has some understanding of magic. Her talents might be a little vague but to me it is better than having nothing."

"Where is this woman?"

"She lives on the edge of town or so I've been told. But I have mixed thoughts about going to see her."

"What makes you say that?" She knew that Charles was cautious for the most part but even she was curious about this.

"I'm not sure if this woman is legit. There's a good chance that she would know what she claims to know, or she could just be a fraud. To tell you the truth, I'm leaning more towards the latter."

"It's still worth our time, besides you said it yourself. It is better than nothing."

There were another few minutes of discussion between them. As they spoke, Maxine found herself to be filled up with what she was eating. In a way she thought that it was funny, in the past the amount that she was eating would only be an appetiser. Now it was more than she could stomach in one sitting.

She also couldn't help but appreciate what Charles had done for her, when she had first taken him as a squire, she thought that she had made a mistake. Now she could see that it was one of the best decisions that she had ever made in her life. Without him by her side, she thought that she would have been killed. Even at the very least, he had been able to help her manage money and ensure that she wasn't overspending.

They didn't leave immediately as they had to go through a few things. The first was how much gold they had, at first Maxine thought that they didn't have any since they had used the last of it to buy information. However, she was surprised to find that he did have some money with him. She learned that it had originally belonged to the Weasel, normally she would be annoyed with him for stealing but under the circumstances, she didn't mind.

Something else that Maxine couldn't help but do was look at the painting that Charles had also placed there. She did admit to herself that the puppy in it was pretty cute, she remembered her younger siblings wanting a dog but their parents had said no. They had enough animals to take care of and a dog would only add to the burden.

Eventually it was time for them to leave the room and this was when Maxine fully realised that they had been stopping at an inn. Because she had slept for so long, they had stayed longer than had expected but this was something that the innkeeper didn't mind too much. As long as they continued paying for the room, they could stop for as long as they wanted.

The moment that they stepped outside they found themselves in the middle of a busy market as people were trying to sell objects of almost everything imaginable. One particular store that they saw was selling carvings made out of whale teeth. Another was selling jewellery that had come from the lands to the east.

Although what they were selling did look nice, it wasn't anything that either Maxine or Charles would have wanted. One seller even commented how lovely Maxine would look if she wore some of the jewellery that they were selling. Rather than responding with words she instead simply glared at them. Without her extra four plus feet of height, it didn't have the same effect as it had before. In a way it was almost laughable seeing a woman so short try to be intimidating.

It was also fairly difficult for them to move through the streets as there were so many people walking by as they were trying to buy whatever they could. One of them even almost knocked Maxine over and if not for Charles grabbing onto her, she would have fallen flat on her face. She wanted to confront the careless person over what they had done but a word in her ear convinced her that it wasn't worth it.

Instead for the time being she had to swallow her frustration and let it go. If she had been her normal size then there would be no chance that she would have been knocked over in any manner. But that was for the time being simply a pipe dream, until she had regained what she had lost and with stability she would find herself being a small woman in a world much bigger than she was used to.

Throughout the entire time Maxine stayed close to Charles and even held onto his arm. This was so that he didn't lose him in the crowd but a few of the people who walked by them thought that they were a romantic couple. If she fully realised, she wouldn't even know what to think about it.

Right now, Charles was like her knight in shining armour, he didn't have to physically protect her like many would consider in a situation. Instead he was helping her out in her time of need, that was all that anyone would ask for. She knew that he wouldn't abandon her, even though there were several opportunities where it would have been best for him to simply leave, he had chosen against this. It seemed that her debt to him was more than she could ever hope to repay.

Eventually the pair seemed to come out of the other side of the crowd of people and were in a much quieter part of Flea Bay. Both were a little stressed by what they had just been through and Maxine's hair in particular was a mess. A few times, Charles had grunted in pain as people had accidentally bumped into him and this caused him to experience more pain in his ribs.

It wasn't long before they found themselves standing in front of a small building that had some plants growing alongside it. It did look like something out of a painting but neither of them really had the time to look over it and appreciate the beauty. Instead Maxine in particular looked at the single storey building and she could see some writing just above the door. Unfortunately, since her reading skills were poor, she couldn't figure out exactly what it said.

"Is this the right place?" asked Maxine with a small hint of impatience in her voice. She wanted this nightmare to be over and then try to get back to her quest to become a knight like her father before her.

"I believe so," replied Charles. He looked up at the writing and it looked the same as the other before it. "I'm just thankful that there is someone who can help us who happened to be close by." He chuckled for a moment. "Imagine if we were on the other side of the country and we had to come here."

"Don't remind me."

In the end it was Charles who stepped up and knocked on the door. The door was made out of strong oak and there was a small rattle once it had been knocked. They waited there for a good minute before the door finally opened. There they could see a relatively short woman standing there. She looked to be around forty years old with shoulder length blonde hair and blue eyes. Her outfit was quite common and didn't really stand out in the environment that they had found herself in.

"Can I help you?" asked the Woman. She looked at them with some curiosity and she wasn't sure exactly what she was seeing.

"Yes," replied Charles who felt like he should do the talking in this situation. "I've been informed that you have knowledge on things that many would consider to be unnatural." There was a pause for a moment as he waited to see the reaction from the woman standing before him.

"Who told you that?" There seemed to be a small amount of nervousness in her voice and seemed to want to shut the door on them.

"Please we need your help, my friend here is in dire need of your talents. Will you be able to her us??"

"Only if the coin is right." Her tone had changed, now she sounded like a business woman who was eager for their cash.

"We have this." He had a small pouch of money and handed it over to her. She seemed to weigh it in her hand and she didn't seem to be too pleased with what she could feel. To her it was too light.

"Not enough I'm afraid. This pays for opening my door for you, if you want my help, you're going to have to give me a lot more than this."

"This is all the money that we have."

"Then I guess our business together is done." She went to close the door but before she could, Charles had put his foot there so that the deed couldn't be done.

"Wait!" He then placed his hand in his pocket and rummaged around for a moment before he finally pulled something out. Maxine looked on and she was horrified with what she could see. It was none other than the locket and necklace that belonged to his deceased mother and that he had originally given Maxine as insurance for his services. Now it seemed like he was doing something that he was reluctant to do but was willing to go through for her sake. "This should more than cover whatever your fee is."

"Charles!" stated Maxine with shock as he watched him hand the locket over to the woman who quickly examined it. Never did she think that he would give up something so precious to him just so that she could regain her size again without issue. It wasn't the actual value of the locket that made it prized to him but more its sentimental value.

"Hmm this is actually good quality," said the Woman. She smiled a little as she looked at it before she placed it in her pocket. "Ok I'll help you, come in and I can see what I can do for you."

Charles was relieved that his locket had sealed the deal and although he knew that he was going to miss it, for Maxine it was worth it. If his mother were alive, she would understand why he had done it but the only one who was unsure about it was Maxine herself. She didn't think that she was worth him giving up his most prized possession and yet he had done it without a second thought.