As her senses seemed to be returning to her, Maxine could see what she was doing was wrong. She could see some fear in the face of the only person that she truly considered a friend and it was through no fault of his own. All he had done was show concern for her and this was how she repaid his kindness.

Almost immediately, she lowered Charles back down onto the ground and he was still too dumbfounded to speak. There were a few moments when he genuinely thought that she was going to harm him. He didn't want to admit about just how scared he was and for the moment he stayed quiet.

"C-Charles," said Maxine with sorrow in her voice. He had never heard her like this before and he could see just how much this had affected her. "I'm so sorry. I..." She wanted to elaborate further but she couldn't find the words to say. In her mind, she had just done something that she could never take back. She had seen the fear in his face and an incredible amount of guilt had overtaken her body.

Before either of them could say another word, Maxine did grab onto Charles's hand and began to lead him out of the tavern. What was happening between them was much better discussed in private rather than in front of other patrons. Once they had stepped outside, everyone inside of the tavern simply went back to their drinks and didn't really pay much mind into what had happened.

Maxine and Charles's walk only lasted for a couple of minutes before she was somewhere where she thought that she could talk to him privately. This was in a back alley between two buildings and although it wasn't the most ideal place to talk, at least they didn't have to really worry about people watching.

"C-Charles," said Maxine. She had taken a few moments to think about what she was going to say and so far, this was the best that she could come up with. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that to you."

"Y-You're right," replied Charles. He knew that she was in a delicate state but also that he had to stand up for himself. "You shouldn't have done that, you let your rage and frustration get the better of you. Just like you did in the match, like Reginald said. You still have a lot to learn." He was hitting his stride and to most people, it would seem like suicide speaking this way to someone so much larger than himself. But he knew that these were all things that she needed to hear. "I know how upset you are, but you can't go around threatening people or throwing your weight around when things aren't going your way. There are better ways to deal with situations. How can you ever hope to be a knight if you let your anger get the better of you time and time again?"

"I-I..." Even though she didn't want to admit it, she knew that everything he was saying was right. Her anger had led her to trouble on more than one occasion. Everything was getting a little too much for her and she thought that she was going to cry. But she did everything that she could to prevent this from happening. "I know but it's just so difficult. It's like I can't control myself when I'm angry, it's almost like I'm a puppet and there's someone else pulling the strings."

"There is no other person, it's only you. You're the only one who can control your anger and until you do that, I can't see you becoming a knight."

These words wounded Maxine a great deal, but she knew that what he was saying was right and she couldn't fault him for it in any way. Her emotions were getting the better of her and he saw some tears begin to roll down her cheeks. Crying was something that she hated as she thought that it would make her look weak. But now she couldn't help herself as she placed her head into her hands and simply began to cry.

Charles had never seen Maxine like this, he knew that she had just been through a crushing disappointment. There were also the events that had taken place a few minutes ago and he knew were weighing heavily on her. The words that he said had been quite hurtful to her but they were true nonetheless.

"Please don't cry Maxine," said Charles as he could see how upset he was. Within himself, he did feel a small amount of guilt but he also knew that his words were only a minor factor in this. He did step towards her and he gave her a hug in order to try and make her feel better. "You'll overcome your anger; I know you will. One day, you're going to look back on this day and laugh at yourself."

Before Charles could say another word, he felt Maxine lean down and grab onto him. Then she effortlessly lifted him off his feet and gave him a hug at her level. Her grip was a little tighter than he had expected but in her emotional state, he couldn't help but not be surprised by this.

The tears began to roll down her cheeks as she simply held her friend in place. He was able to move his arms and properly give her a hug back and to him it was a little unusual being able to reach so high. That was one of the perks of being lifted up, but he did find it a little odd having his feet off the ground.

On a couple of occasions, Charles did want to suggest breaking off the hug as it didn't seem to be ending. He knew that he shouldn't for the time being as Maxine was in a delicate state and that she was letting her frustrations out. Rather than drinking her problems away, this was a better alternative for the time being.

Only when she was ready did Maxine finally place her friend back onto the ground. He felt like he could breathe again and he could see that she still had a fairly upset look on her face. But she was definitely happier than she had been a few minutes prior. It didn't get rid of her crushing disappointment, but it was a start.

"I'm sorry Charles," said Maxine as looked down at him. Her hands began to fidget and she seemed to be blushing. "T-That lasted a little longer than I originally thought."

"I-It's alright," replied Charles. He knew that his lecture for the day was over and that beginning another one could have negative effects. "I have no broken bones so overall; it was a successful." He heard her begin to chuckle for a moment and it seemed to brighten things up overall.

"Starting from today I promise that I'll try and control my anger. Also, I'm going to seriously train again, like Reginald said. I still have a lot to learn."

"Well, the truth is that you never stop learning. Even when you're eighty years old, you're still learning. But if I might make a suggestion, can you begin learning all of that tomorrow? It's a little late to start that today."

"O-Oh right." When she looked towards the sky, she could see that it was beginning to go dark. She felt a little embarrassed by this as she didn't realise how late in the day it was. Most of that time was likely spent in the tavern simply trying to drink her problems away. "We should find somewhere for the night."

At first, the pair were going to return to the tavern that they had just been to but Maxine was too embarrassed to show up there again so soon after making a scene. Instead they went to stay at another inn that was close by and when they inquired, there was still a room that was available.

After the room was paid for, Charles could see that they didn't have too much money left. Maxine's drinking binge that had taken place earlier that day had seriously eaten into their budget. If they weren't able to find a job soon, they would run out of funds in the next couple of days.

This was something that he didn't want to bring up with her just yet as he could see that she was in a good mood. Anything to spoil this would likely be another punch in the gut for her so he thought that it was best to keep the information to himself. Only when they were desperate for money would he actually speak up about it.

Maxine was the first to arrive in the room as Charles was having to sort a few things out with the innkeeper. The first thing that she noticed was the fact that there was only one double bed in the room along with a chair and a table. The ceiling was quite low and she couldn't stand up straight while inside. Normally, this would really annoy her but with everything that had happened today. This was the least of her worries.

With some difficulties, she did begin to take off her armour and place it down on the ground. This was a task which was much easier when she had Charles assisting her. But she thought that it was best to do it herself for now. There was still a huge amount of guilt that she felt for threatening him in the manner that she did. A part of her even thought that it was worse than her crushing defeat in the tournament.

It took several minutes for Maxine to completely take off her armour and when she was done, she couldn't help but feel like her body was very light. The truth was that she was probably one of the heaviest people in the land. But when she was wearing her armour, her overall weight increased quite dramatically. Without it, she was still heavy thanks to her height and muscles. But not to the level that it had been before.

The next thing she heard was a knock on the door and she told whoever was on the other side to enter. Much to her delight, she could see that it was Charles who was entering but he wasn't emptyhanded. He could see that he was carrying something and it wasn't the sight of it that she noticed at first. It was the smell that put her in a very good mood and she suddenly became hungry as she realised what it was. The object was a very large pie.

"Y-You bought a pie?" asked Maxine with a small amount of disbelief in her voice. This was something that she hadn't expected.

"Yeah, I realised that you had been drinking a lot today but hadn't eaten anything," replied Charles. The pie was so large that he needed two hands to properly carry it. "So I thought it was best that you should have something to eat."

"Charles..." She didn't know how to react, even though she had threatened him earlier, he was still thinking about her wellbeing. "Thank you very much."

"No problem." He didn't want to mention that it had cost him a little more money than he had expected but he thought it was worth it. He placed the warm pie on her lap and it was still in its container. She was also given a knife and fork for her to use and she was just about to dig in, when she looked over to him. "Did you want anyway?"

"Nah I'm alright. I ate a little something while I was downstairs, so eat in. It's all yours." He smiled over to her as she continued to sit on the bed and she looked at the large pie for a few additional moments.

"What kind of pie is it?" She had some preferences although she wasn't too fussy about what was in the pie. Just as long as it didn't have one particular edible ingredient.

"I thought that it was best to keep it as a surprise. But don't worry, I made sure that there were no onions inside."

This was all Maxine had to hear as she began to dig into the pie that was right in front of her. Once she cut off her first slice, she could see that there was chicken and gravy inside which only put a smile on her face. Charles simply stood there and watched as his friend continued to eat the pie.

She was hungrier than he thought as the monstrous pie was gone within a few minutes. All that was left was of it were a few crumbs in the container and a couple around her mouth. A normal person wouldn't have been able to do such a thing but to Maxine, it was incredibly simple. The truth was that she probably had room to fit another inside if she really wanted to but she was satisfied for the time being.

"That was delicious," said Maxine as she patted onto her stomach. Rather than a bulge that was underneath her hand she could feel her muscles. "It really hit the spot."

"Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed that because unless we can get some more money soon," said Charles who thought that this was something worth bringing up. "We won't be able to afford many more of those."

"We'll find something, I'm sure of it. I bet there are a fair few people who are looking for a nine-foot woman whose strong enough to lift a horse." She lifted her arm slightly and tensed her muscles. This showed how large her bicep was and he could see that they were clearly very big. Even if it was on a man they would still be considered impressive.

In a way, it was nice for Charles to see Maxine in a better mood as it was a stark contrast to how she had been earlier. He could see that she was taking the first steps to improving herself, but he wasn't sure exactly how long it would last. There was a chance that by the morning, she would have changed her mind.

"Well one reason that I was downstairs for so long was because I was talking to someone," said Charles. He sat himself down on the chair that was close by and he looked straight over to his friend. "Someone who is willing to give you a job."

"Oh?" She was a little confused and also slightly annoyed. She wasn't pleased with the fact that he had offered her services like that without consulting her first. But she also knew that he wouldn't agree to make her do anything that he thought would be demeaning to her or anything that was beyond her skills.

"Yes, there are a three people who need safe passage to the east coast. So they simply want you to act as escort for them so that they can reach their destination safely. I thought it would be the ideal kind of job for you."

"But getting to the east coast isn't going to take a couple of days. Even if they have horses, it's still going to take at least a week to get there. Most likely more if we run into complications."

"That is why they're willing to pay you handsomely. They're worried that they're going to be targeted by others while they're travelling."

"And why would they be worried about that?" She seemed curious and one obvious answer was that they were well off. If they looked to be rich then they would likely be targeted by bandits.

"There is that, but also because they're from the lands to the east. Because of this they stand out amongst most people in Angleland." This was something that Charles had experienced himself over his life. His own skin was a darker tone what was the norm in Angleland and because of that, he had suffered some abuse.

"Ah I see. I can see why they would need protection then."

Near the east coast of Angleland there was a relatively high population of people from the lands to the east. Many of them had arrived in order to escape wars that were taking place at home. Unfortunately, for most it seemed like their lives in Angleland were not much better as they were seen as second-class citizens by many people within the country. Because of this, the people from the east found their lives in Angleland very difficult but to many it was still better than being in the middle of a war.

"This won't change your mind about the matter does it?" asked Charles who thought that there was a chance that Maxine might decline the job.

"I don't really care where they're from," replied Maxine who crossed her arms. "As long as they can pay, they can be from the moon for all I care."

"Oh good, I didn't think that it was a problem." He thought that this would be the case as if such a thing did bother her, she wouldn't have taken him as a squire. "They want us to meet them just outside of the tavern at sunrise tomorrow. So I suggest that we get some sleep now so that we can be up early enough."

"Alright fine."

"Would you want me to sleep on the floor again?" It was something that he wasn't fond of doing but he would if that was what she wanted.

"No, you can sleep in the bed with me tonight. There should be enough room for the both of us." The truth was that Charles doubted that there'd be enough room for her let alone both of them.

Before either of them climbed into bed, both took off most of their clothes until they were left with only their undergarments. When Maxine lay down on the bed and stretched herself, as expected her feet were well over the edge. In fact, her entire shins were over the edge of the bed and she could place her feet flat on the floor at the end. Because of this, she found herself curling up on the bed so that she could fit into it.

Thanks to all the alcohol that she had consumed, the muscular giantess was able to get to sleep relatively quickly while Charles remained awake for a short while longer. His worries seemed to be true as he felt a little cramped inside of the bed. But some of these thoughts went away when he felt Maxine wrap her arms around him and bring her close to her body. For a moment he thought that she was doing this on purpose but when he looked up to her face, she was still fast asleep.

Charles couldn't help but feel comfortable as the warmth of her body was soothing and he could feel the softness of her skin. He thought that it was a little strange that someone who was so muscular could have such soft skin. This was probably a trait that she wouldn't want to admit, just like how adorable her sneezes were.

With the comfort that he was in, Charles couldn't help but fall asleep and he didn't realise that there was a smile on the face of his companion. As she held him, it was like she was holding something precious to her. She wouldn't allow anything to take it away from her without a fight.

To both, morning came to them too soon as they had to wake up and prepare themselves for the job that they had agreed to do. Soon enough, Maxine stepped out of the tavern and was equipped with her armour. Charles stepped out just before her and neither of them had spoken about the fact that he had found himself in her arms when they had woken up.

It took only a few moments for him to notice two of the people that he had been talking to the night before. As he looked over to them, he could see that they looked different to what was expected in Angleland. Both of them had long black hair that was tied up into ponytails. Their garbs were basically robes of bright colours and stitched with the symbol of a rainbow coloured carb.

Their skin was a slightly different colour to what was the norm in Angleland and their facial features too looked unusual in this part of the world. Both of these men were shocked when they coul see how large Maxine actually was. Charles had told them beforehand that she was nine feet tall but they had simply thought that he was exaggerating. Now they could see that this wasn't the case and most shocking of all that it was a woman that they were seeing. If it had been a man, then they wouldn't be too surprised but the fact that Maxine was a woman only made their jaws drop. It made them think that there were other people in Angleland who were this tall.

Charles was the one who properly approached the two men and he remembered that these were the exact same men that he had spoken to the night before. They had ironed out a few things between them the previous night and now they were going to carry out the deal that they had made.

This was also the first time that he had seen the men standing up and he could see that they were quite short. Both were slightly taller than him, but they were quite short in comparison to the average man from Angleland. In a way, this made them seem like they were in less of a position to negotiate than they would have been.

"Good morning to you," said Charles as he greeted the two foreign men. "I hope that you rested well enough for the journey today."

"That we have but is this the warrior that you were referring to?" replied One of the Men who pointed towards Maxine. His robe was purple and he was clean shaven, from the tone of his voice he didn't seem to be too impressed. Even though, Maxine was by far the largest human being that he had ever seen.

"Indeed she is." He cleared his voice and gestured his hands towards her. "This is my good friend Maxine Martel. Eldest daughter of Sir Tucker Martel of Morgan."

"Hmm, I saw her tournament yesterday and I watched as she fell in the first round. Can't say that it was the most impressive performance I've seen." He didn't notice that Maxine's anger was beginning to rise and she clenched her fist in frustration. It was taking some self control for her to not lose her temper.

"I assure you that was an isolated incident. My friend is more than capable of protecting both you and your companion. You needn't worry about predators or bandits." Maxine also thought that she could speak for herself but thought that it was best to allow him to do the talking for a short time.

"I'm beginning to doubt that," replied the second man. His robe was red and he had a short beard. "Can we really entrust our safety in her?" Maxine seemed to be becoming more and more annoyed with every passing moment. These men were insulting her and she was doing her best to hold her tongue. If she were to lose her temper now, then the promise that she made to Charles the day before would be worth absolutely nothing.

"Jinshu, Taiyun!" stated a female voice. This brought the attention of everyone there as they saw a woman walking towards them. Much like the two men, she also looked to be foreign as she had long black hair that was in a platted and she wore a dress that was dark blue in colour. Her shoes were flat and she was quite short. It was likely that she was five feet tall, if not an inch shy of it. She looked to be in her early twenties and she was a very beautiful woman. Charles in particular was taken aback by her beauty and it was like she had stepped out of the stories that he was told about in his youth. "This warrior is willing to protect us and the first thing that you do is insult her? Apologise immediately!"

There was some reluctance from the two men for a few moments before they did apologise to Maxine for their comments. The woman then walked towards her and Charles who stood there with a small amount of confusion. It was obvious that this woman was the one who called the shots in this group and they did appreciate her intervention.

"I too apologise for their actions," said the Woman. As she looked up at Maxine, she could see just how huge she was. She was only roughly as tall as Maxine's leg and although she was in shock, she kept herself cool and calm the entire time. "My name is Asla and I more than appreciate you agreeing to help protect us on our journey. You and your companion are most kind.

"I-It's no problem," replied Maxine who spoke for the first time. The three of them expected her to have a very deep voice. Although, her voice was slightly deeper than was average for a woman, it still sounded very feminine. "Of course, we're being well compensated for our help."

"Indeed, you will be paid handsomely for your services. We are ready to depart now, but if you have some business to attend to here, we are willing to wait for you." Her tone was very respectful to Maxine and Charles but like the men before her, she had an accent to it that made it obvious that she was not of this land.

"I am perfectly fine, I can depart as soon as possible." She looked down at Charles who stood close to her. She didn't want to speak for him on this matter. "Charles, do you need to do anything before we leave?"

"No, there is nothing I need to do," replied Charles. "If anything, I want to get out of here as soon as possible."

"Then let us be on our way," answered Asla. Her tone was still respectful and it was a tone that he wasn't used to someone using towards him. Maxine did talk to him with respect but many others didn't.

The two foreign men thought that this was still not the best course of action going with someone like Maxine. But they knew that it was Asla who had the final say in the matter and since she had approved it, they could only accept her word. They had also been hoping to get more than one warrior to help give them safe passage. Even though she was the largest person that they had ever seen, they still didn't think that she was capable of properly protecting them.

To anyone, it was odd for them to see such a group of people together. Although it did attract some attention, they simply kept to themselves as none wanted to catch the ire of a giant, armoured woman. Instead, they simply left them be as the group made their way out of Lake town and heading east. The journey to the coastline would be a very long one, but one that would likely be eventful and life changing for everyone involved.