By late morning Maxine found herself standing in front of her childhood home with Charles who stood by her side. Standing in front of them was Jessica with baby Rina in her arms, the baby was mostly quiet although she would gurgle every now and again. They weren’t alone as Jaime was standing next to his giant mother and he was only a little taller than her knee. It was obvious that he was going to be as tall as his father when he grew up rather than his giant mother.
“You sure you don’t want to stay for a little longer?” asked Jessica. There was a small amount of sorrow in her voice.
“I’m afraid not mother,” replied Maxine in a respectful tone. “We need to go to Lake Town in order to sign up for the tournament. Thank you for everything that you’ve done for us.”
“Well what kind of mother would I be if I had just turned my back on you and your friend.” She smiled at both of them.
“I-I don’t want you to go Maxine,” cried Jaime with tears in his eyes. He looked up to his giant eldest sister and wiped his nose. He watched as she crouched down and rubbed him on the head. “I want you to stay here so that you can tell me cool bedtime stories and be my big sister.”
“I know you do Jaime but I cannot stay,” replied Maxine. She knew to be considerate to her brother and make things seem to be not as bad as he thought they were. “I need to earn my knighthood just like Father did before me. But while I’m gone, you need to look after Mother and our baby sister. They’re counting on you to be brave; can you do that for me?” Jaime nodded his head at her but quickly he did give her a hug. However, rather than feeling the warmth of her body, he felt the coldness of her metallic armour and there was something about it that he didn’t think was right.
“It has been a pleasure having you both here,” said Jessica as she looked in particular at Charles. “Make sure that Maxine doesn’t get herself into too much trouble. She might be a little rough on the edges but deep down she’s a good girl.” Maxine’s face began to turn red thanks to the words of her mother and she would have liked to have said something, but she thought it was best to stay silent.
“I-I will Jessica,” replied Charles who remembered not to call her Mrs. Martel by her request.
Normally she would hug the both of them but since she had Rina in her arms, this was something that she simply couldn’t do. Instead their farewell was simply with words before Maxine turned around and began to walk away, she didn’t want to admit how much she had enjoyed visiting her home. It brought back memories of a simpler time in her life but now she was hopefully stepping towards her ultimate goal.
Charles remained by her side as they both walked further and further away from the farm. Both Jessica and Jaime stood there and continued to wave for around another minute or so before they stepped back into the house. They knew it wouldn’t be too long before Sir Tucker and the other Martel children to return.
If Maxine remembered correctly, Lake Town was a couple of days walk from Morgan so they had a long way to go. Before leaving she had ensured that they had plenty of food and water as well as a little coin. Her sword and armour were checked over and she even made sure that Charles had his sword.
So far, he had only used it for training and if he could have his way, it would stay like that. He remained close to Maxine’s side as he knew that she wouldn’t let anything harm him. Although he feared that if danger did reel its ugly head that she would tell him to deal with it himself.
The first half of the trip was mostly uneventful, the only thing that was really of note was that it began to rain hard. Because of this, they took shelter for a few minutes while the worst of it subsided. It was the kind of rain that could completely a soak a person after merely standing in it.
Their shelter came in the form of a large tree which mostly shielded them from the rain. A few drops were able to make it through the leaves and drop onto their heads. Maxine’s help gave her further protection but this was something that Charles lacked so he had to put his hands on his head for the time being.
Thankfully the downpour wasn’t a particularly long one as it soon subsided. The sun even came out and because of this, a rainbow appeared in the sky. For a moment Charles was able to enjoy it until he had to once again focus on the journey ahead of him. They mainly stuck to the roads as walking through open ground was unwise. The rain had turned it into mud and there was a chance that Maxine would get stuck.
Even though she was very strong, it wasn’t always easy moving around in her armour and getting stuck in the mud wasn’t ideal. It was a problem that many knights faced on the battlefield and quite often it cost them their lives.
A couple of times during the day, they did stop in order to rest. Rather than sitting on the drenched ground, Maxine was able to sit on a large rock. It was far from the most comfortable place to sit but it was better than being in the mud. Thankfully close by, there was another rock that Charles could sit on. It was smaller than the one being used by Maxine but for him it was ideal.
One activity that the pair did engage in was more training, much to his sorrow. Since there were no dummies for him to try and cut through. Instead Maxine thought that it was best to teach him how to block. After giving him some information, she began to try and strike him with her sword.
Her swings were much slower than they normally were so that it was much easier for him to block. Even so, he struggled and a few times he even dodged them so that he wouldn’t get struck. This was something that did annoy Maxine a little as it wasn’t the exercise for that just yet.
At one-point Charles was able to block the attack, but it still struck with enough force to knock the sword out of his hand. In the mind of the large woman, it wasn’t because she had struck it too hard, it was because he hadn’t kept a strong enough grip on it. This was an error that could kill hm if he was not careful.
After a while they decided that it was best to move on. Charles’s arms ached from the training and he felt quite low. In his mind, he was still disappointing her with his lack of progress. Maxine barely spoke of it as she knew that there was still a lot of work that needed to be done but she remembered the words from her mother. She had to be patient and remember that he wasn’t a natural warrior.
Eventually they came across an inn which Maxine decided would be the best place for them to rest for the night. By then dusk had settled and it was dangerous to travel at night. There were still bandits who patrolled the area and there was also the threat of wild animals that could ambush them.
After an entire day of travelling, the pair were thankful to find somewhere to rest for the night. Like usual Maxine’s size did draw some attention towards them as many patrons turned their heads and looked at them while they walked by.
There were some whispers between them and Maxine did hear her name mentioned. She wasn’t sure if she should be worried about this but it seemed like her name was beginning to spread. It would make others wise enough to not try and insult her while others would probably face her as a challenge. Either way, she stayed vigilant as she wasn’t sure exactly what such notoriety would bring to her.
Once they had gotten some food and drinks from the Innkeeper, the pair found themselves a table and sat themselves down on it. As usual, Maxine’s portion was much bigger than Charles’s and she quickly began to devour her food. All that walking had made her hungry and her large body burnt more calories than a normal person. It was a fact that she had dealt with for her entire life.
“We seem to be making good progress Maxine,” said Charles. His arms were still aching from the sword training that he had taken part in earlier in the day. “We should be in Lake Town by late tomorrow at this rate.”
“Good,” replied Maxine after she had taken another drink of ale. She enjoyed the fact that she wasn’t becoming extremely drunk after drinking a small amount like she had done while she was normal. “The sooner we get there, the better. I can sign up and make preparations as soon as we arrive. If we have time, I can even continue your lessons.”
“R-Right.” He was nervous about this as he didn’t like the idea of him swinging a sword once again.
Before Maxine could respond to this, she heard something from behind her. It wasn’t anything that was close enough to be a threat to her. Instead it was a thud followed by some cheering. This drew her attention to a table that was in the corner of the room, there she saw a large muscular man raising his arms and cheering. The people around him were exchanging money between them.
There was a second fairly muscular man who was getting out of his chair and walking away with an annoyed look on his face. From what she could gather, they were having some kind of arm wrestle and there was money involved in it. The victor was still sitting down and was counting the money that he had just won. He was quite joyous and had a few too many drinks this night.
“If any of your sorry sods thinks they can beat me, then come on over and I’ll prove you wrong!” stated the Muscular Man. He had long hair but was clean shaven. Even though he was sitting down, he looked to be around six and a half feet tall.
“I will take that challenge,” replied Maxine. She had finished what she was eating but she had yet to stand up.
“Then prepare to lose your money.”
“Oh, I don’t think so.” By this point in time she had stood up to her full height. Her opponent’s confidence quickly subsided as he saw her for the first time. He hadn’t noticed her walking in earlier so her sheer size completely took him by surprise. As she stepped forward a smile appeared on her face and she had a small pouch of money with her. She placed it down on the table once she arrived and then sat down. “I take it that this is enough to buy me in?” The Muscular Man didn’t answer with words and simply nodded his head slowly. “Good.” She then placed her right arm on the table as she was ready for the arm wrestle. “Shall we get started?”
With some reluctance, the Muscular Man did place his arm on the table and grabbed onto Maxine’s hand. The size difference between their hands was greater than he could have expected. Only on very few occasions did he ever come across someone larger than himself, never had it been a woman.
More than anything he wanted to not go through with the arm wrestle but he could see people around him taking bets. If he were to back down now, he thought that he would be branded a coward. Plus, Maxine had paid up what she was supposed to in order to compete against him.
Since she was wearing her armour, he thought that her large frame was also due to the padding inside. He thought that she was likely to be very skinny as he didn’t think that she was that muscular. However, when he felt her grip once she grabbed his hand, he realised that he was in trouble.
The match itself barely lasted any time at all as the Muscular Man tried to win through traditional means. Maxine could feel his effort but without too much effort she was able to use her strength to win the contest. His hand was slammed to the table without too much force.
Now that she had won the game, Maxine went to pick up the money that she had won but the Muscular Man looked at her for a moment. At first, she thought that he was going to cause some trouble but quickly he began to laugh. For the moment she did nothing as she was waiting to see what he did.
“Ha that was a good match,” said the Muscular Man. He continued to laugh but it wasn’t in a mocking manner. “Never did I think that I’d lose on this night. But when it is against one such as you, well I shouldn’t have been surprised.”
“Hmm it is nice that there is someone who takes their defeat with honour,” replied Maxine with a small smile on her face. “That is something that is hard to find in this day and age.” She still remembered when she defeated others in such competitions or sword fights and how they would react to it.
“Well, there’s no shame in losing to a superior opponent. Why don’t you have a drink with me, just so I can say that I drank with the strongest woman in Angleland?” He continued to chuckle and it put Maxine at ease.
“Very well, but my companion must join us.”
“If you wish.” With that Maxine got up from her seat and walked over to Charles who had remained where he was during the arm wrestle. As she wished, he went over to where the Muscular Man was and he was surprised to see someone such as Charles. “This weakling is your companion?”
“Is there a problem with that?” Maxine glared at him and crossed her arms as she spoke. Charles had seen this expression before and he knew what it meant. He was just glad that it wasn’t aimed at him.
“N-No ma’am.” The Muscular Man was quite terrified by this and knew better than to question her in such matters again.
Only moments later the trio found themselves sitting at the table. Those who had been there to witness the match had since dispersed leaving the three of them alone. Both Maxine and the Muscular Man drank ale while Charles simply drank water. Normally the Muscular Man would have said something to somewhat mock him for this but with Maxine being there he thought that it was best to stay silent on the subject.
One other contest the Muscular Man thought of was some kind of drinking contest with Maxine. However, that too would have been a bad idea on his part as he thought there was no chance of him winning. Little did he know about just how much she could drink in one sitting. It was easily enough to kill most men.
Charles didn’t really say much as he sat there and enjoyed his drink of water. He couldn’t help but think that the Muscular Man was planning something as many people that they had come across had some kind of ulterior motive. Because of this he remained vigilant while Maxine seemed to just be drinking away. He knew that he might have to remind her not to spend all of their money on booze.
The truth was that she knew full well about how much they had and how much she could spend. They were still within the limit that they had agreed to before they had set out and she had plans for the money that she had just won. It was something that she was going to share with Charles in a way that he couldn’t predict.
“Wherever you’re from they grow them big,” said the Muscular Man as he took a drink from his own ale. “Where do you hail from anyway?”
“Morgan,” replied Maxine. Even though she could see that he was being friendly, she still stayed vigilant and even remained close to Charles. If things were to go downhill, she was sure to protect him.
“Ah Morgan, that would explain your size. There was a rumour that there was a family of giants living there. I’m assuming that those rumours are true.”
“Indeed, they are, my mother and sisters are all giants in their own right. Unfortunately, the gigantism doesn’t seem to affect the male part of my family.”
“Ah I see, I’d say that’s odd but then again genes can be weird. My father is a short, skinny weakling and look at me.” He laughed at this and took another drink from his ale. “So where are you off to anyway? I’ve never seen you around here before so you must just be travelling through.”
“We’re on our way to Lake Town, you hear about the tournament that’s going to be taking place?”
“I read something about it and was somewhat tempted to enter myself. But unfortunately, my skills with a blade isn’t up to snuff if you know what I mean. But someone like you, I’d say that you’d be unstoppable.”
“Hmm, I guess you’re right.” Although on the outside she remained quite stern but inside her ego was being stroked. Like the Muscular Man, she too thought that she was going to be able to win the tournament.
“So, what’s your story anyway?” asked the Muscular Man as he looked over to Charles. This caught him by surprise as he hadn’t really been expecting to be asked such a thing. In fact, he thought that he wouldn’t be noticed that much.
“W-Well…” replied Charles as he was trying to think of what he should say. This made him nervous but he felt Maxine’s hand come down onto his shoulder. As he looked up, he could see a reassuring look on her face. This gave him some confidence and he felt like he could answer. “I travel with my friend here and fulfil the duties that she needs of me. She saved me from a beat down near Blanc and we’ve been companions ever since.”
“Ah I see, let me guess. She does most of the grunt work and you do the more intellectual side of things. He then looked up at Maxine as he realised that he might have said something that would annoy her. “No offense of course.”
“Y-Yeah that’s pretty much right.” Charles too became a little worried about what she would think upon hearing this. “Not that she couldn’t do it herself. Just so that she can focus on the more important things while I concentrate on the more menial side of things.”
“Hmm, you both don’t need to worry,” said Maxine with a smile on her face. She had seen how the two men had not wanted to anger her. “It is wise to acknowledge one’s flaws, I accept that there are things that I wish I could do but can’t. Charles fulfils certain duties that are beyond me and for that I appreciate his efforts.”
Charles looked up at Maxine and he couldn’t help but smile at her. Her words made him feel like she truly needed him. At times he thought that she would have been better off without him. This just reassured him that despite her size and strength that he did truly benefit her by being by her side. Plus, she was the only person in the world that he truly considered to be his friend.
They continued to drink and chat with the Muscular Man for several more minutes. Eventually he did step away as it was getting late and he had to work the following money. He was still somewhat upset for losing his money but he was glad to have met someone like Maxine. At no point did he think of using some kind of underhanded technique against her. All he did was finish off his ale and go on his way. One thing he couldn’t help but imagine was if he were to have children with her what they would be like. Size and muscle were something that they were certain to have on their side. This was all just a fantasy of course as he went on his way to live the rest of his life.
It was beginning to become late so both Maxine and Charles decided that it was best to retire for the night. They made their way up to the room that they had rented and as they entered the first thing that they noticed was that the ceiling was a little too low for the nine-foot woman.
When she stood to her full height, her head touched the ceiling. Rather than standing up too fast, she had done so slowly so that she didn’t feel any pain. It was still annoying for her as it was just another reminder that everything in the world was just a little too small for her. Although it was something that she was used to, it didn’t mean that she didn’t find it annoying every now and again.
Once they had entered the room, Charles helped Maxine remove her armour and he struggled to carefully put it down onto the ground. The last thing he wanted to do was to simply drop the pieces as he knew that this armour meant a lot to her. Not just that but it was close to impossible to find armour in her size. Because of this he was very careful and it seemed that his very tall friend appreciated this.
It took a few minutes to remove all of the armour and it revealed her body that was underneath. This was something that not too many people saw and he couldn’t help but admire it. He knew that some of her physique was through magic while most of it was through hard work and determination.
There was one thing in particular that they noticed and that was the fact that there was only one double bed in the room. Charles gave a sigh as he knew that this meant that he was going to have to sleep on the floor. He gave a sigh about this and this was noticed by Maxine who stood in a somewhat crouched position as she couldn’t stand to her full height.
“What are you doing?” asked Maxine as she saw him beginning to get some nearby blankets and placing them on the ground near the bed.
“I-I’m just getting ready to go to sleep,” replied Charles as he looked up at her. “It’s late so I was hoping that I could get some sleep soon.”
“There is no need to sleep on the floor Charles. There is enough room in the bed for the both of us.” Charles doubted that as there was barely enough room for her thanks to her large body.
“Y-You want me to sleep in the bed with you?” There was a small amount of confusion in his voice.
“Of course, it’s better than you sleeping on the floor. Plus, it might get cold tonight, if you sleep in the bed, at least you’ll stay warm.”
“A-As you wish.”
With some care Charles did climb into the bed once he had stripped off the clothes that he didn’t want to sleep in. Maxine did the same as she was down to her undergarments. There, he could see all of her muscles and he couldn’t help but be impressed. Her physique was unlike any other in Angleland as he could see her six pack.
It was still a little hard for him to believe that a short while ago, she had been small and weak. If he hadn’t of known that they were both the same woman then he wouldn’t have believed it. Then again, when magic was involved, almost anything could take place as far as he was concerned.
Charles climbed into the bed and Maxine did so just a few moments later. They heard the bed groan as it seemed to struggle to support her weight. For a moment, he was concerned that it was going to break but much to his relief, it seemed to be holding.
Under normal circumstances, people would think that this was some kind of sexual interactions between them. However, Charles knew better than this as it was merely a means of going to sleep with comfort. One thing he noticed was that Maxine had already gone to sleep. She was snoring softly and he thought that she looked quite cute while she was asleep, even though she was powerful to crush a man’s skull with her bare hands.
Before he could properly get to sleep, he suddenly felt Maxine grab onto him and bring him close to her body. For a moment he thought that she was awake while she did this but as he looked at her face, he could see that she was still fast asleep. Despite this, her strength was still too great for him to break free.
Charles felt the warmth of Maxine’s body on his and the softness of her skin. Even though he was in a position that he wasn’t expecting, he couldn’t help but feel warm and safe. As long as he remained with her, no one would harm him and he was sure that he wouldn’t be in any real danger.
Something else that he felt was her face come down onto his head and a smile appeared on her face. Subconsciously she seemed to be enjoying what was taking place and it would take a lot for her to break out of her grip. Even some of her long red hair fell onto his face and he couldn’t really free his arms to remove it.
Instead Charles had accepted that he wouldn’t be going anywhere until Maxine woke up and released him. He also thought that she probably wouldn’t want to admit to what was happening right now and he wouldn’t really speak about it unless she was the one who brought it up.
Slowly he too fell asleep as the warmth and comfort that he felt was unlike anything that he had felt before. He wasn’t sure about what was going to happen in the tournament, he thought that it was best to start preparing to travel to Royal City after Maxine had competed in the qualifiers.
But Charles couldn’t help but think that he might be thinking too far ahead. She still had to qualify and there was always the chance that she could fail, even though it seemed extremely unlikely. Even so, there was always the possibility and he had seen more unrealistic events take place.