There was a lot of nervousness that ran through Jaxin as he made his way across the weak bridge. He glanced back towards Maxine, and he could see that her arms were crossed and he thought that she was scowling at him. Her face was obscured by her helmet, but he felt that there was an aura around her. Either way, he didn't want to be around her by himself. There was always the fear that she could follow through with the threats that she had made the night before.

After a couple of minutes, Jaxin did reach the other side and there was a huge sigh of relief that escaped his lips. As he looked towards the other side, he could still see Charles and Maxine standing there and he hoped that they would be stuck there. However, he knew that this was likely not the case at all.

Charles was next and he did look up to Maxine before he began to step across. Like the others before, he could hear it creaking with every step that he took. As far as he was concerned, the fact that the bridge was still standing was nothing short of a miracle. If it were struggling with someone of his weight, he hated to think what would happen if a horse and carriage were to use it.

After a minute or two, he did reach the other side and he too gave a sigh of relief and wiped some of the sweat that was on his brow. There was a lot of nervousness that he could feel however, this time it wasn't for himself. Instead, it was for Maxine who was by far the largest and heaviest person in the group. If it seemed to struggle to carry him, he feared what would happen when she stepped across.

This was something that Charles didn't have to wait long for as Maxine stepped onto the bridge. Like before, it groaned but this time, it was much louder than when the others had used it. This did make her feel slightly nervous and under normal circumstances, she would decide not to use it and find another way to cross.

The one driving force in the mind of Maxine was to be by Charles's side again. She feared leaving him by himself as she feared that he could be attacked like he had the night before. Plus, there was the assassin who had killed Jinshu was still around. So far, they hadn't interacted with them again but there was still the fear that something like that could take place.

Her large, armour-clad feet would come down onto the bridge and each time they did, the groaning sound only grew louder. This caused the armoured giantess to become nervous but each time she felt like this, she would look over to Charles. This would always give her the motivation that she needed to keep going.

Slowly but surely, Maxine did make her way across the bridge but rather than the groaning sound, they began to hear what seemed to be a whining noise. By this point in time, she was roughly three quarters of the way across the bridge, and she almost felt the ground beneath her being shifted.

It only took her a few moments for her to realise that this was because the bridge itself was collapsing under her weight. Without wasting a single movement, Maxine ran towards the end of the collapsing bridge, and she even leapt forward in an attempt to get across to the other side.

Unfortunately, she hadn't travelled far enough as didn't quite reach the other side. Instead, she seemingly began to fall but was able to grab the edge where the bridge had once been. All she could hear was Charles calling her name and felt her arm being grabbed by her squire. She had only been able to grab the edge with one hand and she looked up to see him pulling up with all of her strength.

"Maxine, hold on!" stated Charles with panic in his voice. The fall to the stream below wasn't too far and it was likely that Maxine would survive. But he feared that she would pick up an injury and that was something that he had to do.

With all of his might, Charles attempted to pull Maxine up over the edge, but this was a feat that he found to be impossible. The problem was that she was simply too big for him to be able to do something like this. Despite this, he continued to try as he wanted to save the most important person in his life right now.

However, what he didn't realise was that despite only having one arm grabbing the side, she was still able to begin to pull herself up using her sheer strength alone. It was fairly easy for her to lift herself enough until she placed her other hand onto the edge as well. When they were both firmly placed there, she was able to pull herself up and finally onto safety. Charles still continued to pull and even Taiyun had approached so that he could try and help. However, his assistance wasn't needed.

"Maxine are you alright?" asked Charles with concern in his voice. He had just watched her almost plunge to stream below. Because of this, he feared that his friend had just hurt herself in some way.

"I-I'm fine thank you," replied Maxine. Now that she was over the edge, she was able to stand back up to her full height and although she did look a little intimidating, he wasn't afraid of her. "I guess that old bridge just wasn't strong enough to be able to hold my weight."

"I'm so glad to see that you're alright." Quickly he began to hug her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He didn't care whether the others were still watching and instead only stood there and continued to hug her. She brought her arms down towards him and patting him on the back.

"Thank you for trying to save me as well." She didn't need his help in order to save herself, but she still wanted to show some appreciation towards him for what he had been able to do for her.

"We are also very glad to see that you are unharmed Ms Martel," stated Asla as she stepped towards the towering woman. She didn't seem to mind the fact that Charles was hugging Maxine and simply wanted to show that they had been concerned. "Do you require assistance in anything?"

"No, I'm fine thank you." It was around this time that Charles did end the hug and he continued to look up at Maxine. Nowadays, he couldn't imagine what would happen if she hadn't entered his life. He would probably still be working at the inn where she had found him and led a relatively boring life. "We need to keep going anyway. Hopefully now with that bridge gone if there's anyone following us. They're going to have a much tougher time keeping up."

"Agreed. We only have a few hours of sunlight left as well. We should use this time wisely."

Without too much hesitation, the group continued on with their journey. Charles was still more than glad to see that Maxine had been able to get through that incident without injury but there was one member of the group who was disappointed by this. While the events were unfolding, Jaxin had hoped that the muscular giantess would fall and break a few of her bones. That way, he knew that he wouldn't have to fear her but unfortunately this turned out not to be the case.

Now he constantly had to keep his eye on her as he feared that she would pick him up and toss him to one side like he had the night before. This was unlikely to happen unless he directly threatened Charles. Then she would likely pounce in order to protect him. Almost like a mother bear protecting their cub.

Throughout their remaining walk, Charles stayed close to Maxine, and he continued to look out for anything that he thought might be a threat. His keen eyes scanned the world around him and at the first sign of danger, he was sure to inform the others. For now, he simply continued to keep is eye out as the person who had killed Jinshu could very well still be around.

A wave of fear was being felt by everyone there. All but one of them was scared of the assassin who could still strike at any moment while the last was simply scared of the armoured giantess. However, eventually they had to put their fear to one side as they found themselves approaching a small town.

It was one that Charles and Maxine were expecting to reach as the former had seen the signs that was pointing towards it. He had informed his much taller friend since she still couldn't read. However, she had been able to tell the distance as she was still capable of understanding numbers.

Upon arriving at the town, it was relatively late in the day and their appearance didn't go unnoticed by the townspeople. The group got some stares as to most people, they were far from what they were used to seeing. Not only was there a woman who towered above everyone but three of them were also foreigners. Charles's darker than usual skin tone was also unusual to most.

The town itself looked like most that were found in Angleland. Rather than the big cities, the people here tended to live a quiet life and mostly kept to themselves. Agriculture was its main source of income although like many other towns, there were still shops and other facilities that were needed.

Although it was a town that Maxine had never been to, when she heard the name of Harrington, she did recognise the name. When she had visited her uncle's forgery on one occasion, she had heard that there was an order being fulfilled that was to go to that town. To her, it wasn't too surprising that she would one day end up here, but the circumstances was something that she couldn't have predicted.

With a lot of people around, it did mean that any assassins could more than easily blend in with the townspeople. However, there was one likely disadvantage that they had which was if they were from the same country as Asla and the others. Blending in would be much more difficult thanks to their skin tones. It would be far easier to spot them amongst the locals but then again, it wasn't too difficult to think that there were assassins who were from Angleland who were also searching for her.

"Do you think that it's best to stop here for the night?" asked Charles as he looked up to Maxine. He saw the helmet clad head of his friend look down at him and while she wore it, people who didn't know her would assume that she was a man. Her long red hair would flow underneath it but a long-haired man wasn't something that was rare in Angleland. "I don't know about you, but I'm pretty tired."

"Then we'll stop here," replied Maxine. Although she felt like she could continue going for longer, she was still concerned for her squire. "Tell the others that we'll stop here for the night. Also, if they wish, they can try and buy some more supplies. Same goes to you as well."

"I'll let them know."

Some words were exchanged between Charles and Asla with the latter easily understanding the message. She told her companions and quickly they began to look for a place where they could stop for the night. The first inn that they tried turned them away for reasons why the owners wouldn't explain.

It was a reason that had been expected by the group and it was something that although they thought was unfair, they had no choice but to accept. Not many inns would accept foreigners and the few that did normally charged more than the going rate. An injustice to say the least but it wasn't something that Asla and her companions had never experienced before.

The second inn did allow them to stay but they couldn't enter their rooms yet. It would still be a couple of hours before they would be able to enter and this included Maxine and Charles as well. For now, they simply went out into the town in order to buy the supplies that they had wanted for their journey.

This mostly consisted of food and fresh water but there was something else that Charles did decide to buy. This was a fairly long piece of rope that he wanted to keep in his satchel. For a few moments, Maxine was confused with why he would buy such a thing. However, he soon explained how such an item could be useful for them in the future.

A couple of hours later, the group found themselves inside of the inn. Rather than simply staying in their room, they were down in the tavern and were sitting at a table. When they had first arrived, they had feared that they would be rejected and forced to stay in their rooms. However, the people running the inn had allowed them to stay within the tavern despite the fact that they seemed so abnormal in the eyes of most.

The five of them sat at a table and waited for the food that had been ordered to be brought to them. Only one out of the five actually knew what was coming and that was Maxine. She sat on her chair with a small smile on her face as she waited. Out of all of them, it was Jaxin who was the most nervous about this. He thought that the giantess had bought something to get her revenge on him for what had happened the night before.

However, a few minutes later, the food was brought to them. None of them had expected the spicy food that Asla and her companions were used to eating. Instead, each was a crusted meal that was something that didn't surprise Charles whatsoever. What had been brought out were five whole pies and each was placed in front of the companions. The foreigners looked at their food with some confusion and they even looked towards Maxine as they wanted answers.

"You bought pies for everyone?" asked Charles who seemed to be the one who could ask the questions. He watched as the armoured giantess cut into her pie and was able to cut out a very large piece. "Our guests were kind enough to share their food with me earlier, so I thought that I'd return the favour."

"Oh, I see." He didn't think there was anything malicious behind what she had done. As far as he was concerned, she would make any excuse in order to eat some pie. "What flavour are they?"

"Now that would be telling." There was a smile on her face, and she bit into the piece of pie that she had cut. Suddenly she closed her eyes and smiled even more as she tasted the pie and simply enjoyed it.

For Asla and her companions, they had never eaten a pie before, and they picked up the knives and forks that had been provided. It wasn't the first time that they had held such cutlery, but they were still not completely familiar with it as they carefully cut into the pies that had been placed in front of them.

Over the next several minutes, each of them ate into their pies but for most of them it was simply too much for them to finish. Maxine wasn't amongst them as she more than easily ate her pie before anyone else was close to finishing it. When Charles had eaten his fill, he passed the rest of it to her, and she was more than happy to consume it.

One by one, the others did the same as they gave the armoured giantess their half-eaten pies and she ate them without hesitation. It almost seemed impossible for someone to have eaten that much but when Maxine and pies were involved, there was practically nothing that was impossible.

"Did you enjoy your dinners?" asked Maxine after she had finished her last piece of pie. She wanted to eat more but for now was satisfied for the time being.

"I-It was interesting," replied Asla as she looked over to the giantess. "I've never eaten such a thing before. What did you say that it was called?"

"Those were pies. Don't tell me that you don't have any pies in your country." There was a slight hint of fear in her voice as she said this. To her, such a thing was completely unheard of.

"No, this is the first time that we've eaten this. Or I believe it is anyway."

"I see. No offense but a country without pies is a place that I never want to visit." By now she had finished the leftovers of the last pie and for the time being felt full. Although if someone offered her one, she would always have enough room for more. "I still think we have much to discuss." She then glanced over to Charles who was sitting right next to her. "Charles, how long should it take for us to reach the coast?"

"Well at the rate we're going I'd say that it would take around three or four days," replied Charles. "We've made pretty good progress, but I doubt that it'll be entirely smooth sailing if you ask me."

"Why do you say that?"

"I can't help but be afraid that we're going to run into people who are plotting against us. I think we should still stay vigilant."

"And that we will." She then looked towards Asla who was just across from her. There was still some annoyance that she could feel thanks to her being lied to and that she was the reason why they were being vigilant. "Asla, how many so-called assassin's do you think are after you?"

"I have no idea," replied Asla. She shook her head while she spoke. "If I did, believe me, I'd tell you."

"Hmm, I was afraid that you were going to say that." She sighed as she wasn't sure what she had expected. If Asla actually knew, then Maxine would question how she knew but now she needn't ask such a thing.

"We would like to thank you again for accompanying us." There was a slight hint of nervousness in her voice as she wanted to get onto Maxine's good side. She knew that they were not on the best of terms.

"Don't forget, that I'm only here because of Charles. If not for him, I would have walked away from you and left you to your fate. It should be him that you thank, not me. He is a far kinder and braver person than I."

Charles sat there with a somewhat embarrassed look on his face as he accepted the compliment. He could understand why she was calling him kinder than herself but when it came to braver, he doubted that very much. There were times when he felt that he was a coward and would basically hide behind her for protection. However, if he had the same size and strength that she had, he would probably be as fearless as she was. Because of this, he thought that the bravery that she had mentioned was merely an empty compliment in order to make him feel better.

Jaxin didn't say a word during this dinner/meeting as he was still terrified of Maxine. Every time she glanced down to him; it would send a wave of terror through his body. When he was first arriving in Angleland, he had been told that people were taller there than they were in his native country. However, never did he imagine that he would run into a woman as large as her. He couldn't help but wonder if there were more people of her size in Angleland and if there were, he didn't want to meet them. For the time being, he had no idea about the other members of the Martel Family and the extreme size that the women were.

Something else that happened at the table was that Charles recorded down the supplies that they had picked up and he wanted to keep track of exactly what was consumed. That way, he could try and conserve as much as he could so that it could last them longer. There were variables that he was thinking about but if luck was on their side, then they wouldn't have to worry about picking up any more during their journey.

Once the meal and meeting were over, the group began to go up to their respective rooms. Like usual, Charles and Maxine went into one room while Asla and her companions stayed in another that was right across the hallway from each other. Almost immediately, the muscular giantess took off her armour with the help of her squire.

Although it took a few minutes, Maxine was eventually free of her armour, and she couldn't help but begin to stretch herself as she felt as if a tremendous weight had been taken off her body. There was a slight groan of pleasure as she did this and she could hear some creaking in her body as she did this.

Throughout this time, Charles continued to stand a short distance away and simply watched as she did this. Even though he had been in her presence for some time, it was still amazing for him to see a woman of her stature and physique.

"That feels good," said Maxine as she finished stretching herself. She stood up to her full height and she couldn't help but expect her head to strike the ceiling. However, much to her surprise, she discovered that the ceiling was high enough for her to stand up straight. She brought her hand up to the top of her head and noticed that there was an inch between her head and the ceiling. "Either I got shorter, or this room has a high ceiling." There was a small smile on her face as she knew that it was the latter.

"That makes a change although I wouldn't recommend you jumping around," replied Charles as he continued to look up at her. He was sure that his neck muscles were getting stronger as he was constantly having to look up. "The ceiling is higher, but it's not that high." He couldn't help but imagine Maxine jumping and either her head striking the ceiling or going through it completely.

"I'll remember that." She continued to smile as it seemed that having a belly full of pies always put her in a good mood. "I was thinking, we have a good hour or so before we need to go to bed, you could continue the lessons if you wish."

"I-I don't think it's wise to be swinging swords in a room like this. Plus, my arms are still tired from earlier."

"I don't mean sword fighting." She chuckled for a moment as she found the misunderstanding to be humorous rather than annoying. "I mean my reading lessons. Will that be all right with you?"

"Y-Yeah, that's fine. Less strenuous on me."

Charles appreciated that Maxine still wanted to learn to read. He thought that she might be more concerned about other things, but it was clear that her lessons were still very important to her. Like before, they found themselves sitting on the bed with him holding out his book and writing down some simple words in large letters.

Going through the alphabet had been something that they had done before, and he thought that they should move onto words. He purposely kept the letters short so that it would be easier for her. They did quickly go through the alphabet once again before moving back to the words.

"Ok Maxine, what does this word say?" asked Charles as he pointed towards the word that was on the page.

"Err…" replied Maxine as she continued to look at it. Her mind was trying to work out what it was saying but she was struggling. Some might find it comical that someone who was as big and strong as her was struggling to do something that many would consider to be incredibly simple.

"If you're struggling, just break down the word and try to read it like that. Start with the first letter."

"O-Ok…" She looked at the first letter and could see that it was the letter C. She tried to remember how to pronounce the letter. "Cu." She used the short pronunciation of the letter just like she had been taught.

"Good, now onto the second letter." He pointed at the letter, and she continued to look at it. This one she recognised easily as it was the first letter of the alphabet. However, like before it was difficult for her to properly make out what it meant. Charles continued to sit there, and he was patient as always. Although he wanted to tell her that it was very simple, he knew that for someone who couldn't read, it was very difficult. "Just remember what I taught you, if you need help, you need only ask."

"I-I'll be alright thank you." She continued to look at the letter and placed her lips together. "Ah."

"Very good, now onto the last letter." He pointed to the final letter in the word. "I know that you can do this one."

"Err…" She continued to look at the letter and this one she thought that she knew. "Tu."

"Excellent and now put all three of those letters together and what do you get?" There was a slight hint of excitement in his voice as he knew that they were only a few moments away from Maxine reading her first word.

"Cu, Ah, Tu."