Maxine continued to look at the word that she had just spelled out. Inside of her, she felt what felt like a great sense of joy as she had finally been able to do something that she thought that she would never be able to do. A smile appeared on her face as she looked over to Charles and he too seemed to be pleased. From his point of view, it was clear that they were making progress.

"Cat! Cat!" said Maxine with excitement in her voice. "Cu, Ah, Tu spells cat!" The bed began move as the muscular giantess was moving with excitement. It almost felt like she was a young child who had just achieved a breakthrough in life.

"Indeed, it does, very good Maxine," replied Charles who was more than happy to show that he was pleased with her.

"Can I try another one?" There was still excitement in her voice as she was sure that she was on a roll.

"Ok, let's try the next one. Again, if you're not sure, you can ask for help."

"Hopefully I won't need to." She watched him point to the second word that was on the page and once again, it was a simple word.

"Now, what does this word say."

"Err… Du... Oh… Gu…"

"Good now put them together and you get…"

"Dog, you get dog if you place them together." There was still excitement in her voice as she was on the verge of standing up and jumping in celebration. But she remembered that although the ceiling was higher, it was still too low for her to do something like that. Instead, she remained seated and looked happy.

"Yes, that's correct. You're doing very well. I'm really proud of you." He could see his friend still being very happy with what was happening. "You know what, I do remember going over the books earlier and I think that there's still room in the budget for one more pie." He then stood up from the bed and began to make his way towards the door of the room. "Now, you just sit and wait here while I go and get you one."

"Wait!" Faster than he thought was possible for a woman of her size, she stood up and moved in front of him. Now he found a tower of flesh and muscle standing between him and the door. "If you're going to go back down to the tavern then I'll come with you."

"I don't think that's really necessary Maxine." He could tell that she was beginning to panic a little and he wanted to make sure that she didn't do anything that he thought would make her feel worse.

"No, I insist!" She looked down at him and was able to place her hand on his shoulder without leaning down. Although her grip could be strong, her touch was gentle and caring. "I don't want you going anywhere by yourself."

"I'll be fine Maxine, really you needn't worry."

"But I do worry. Last night you went to take a piss and it almost got you killed. I've already made my mid up about the matter and I'll never let you out of my sight again. I don't want you to get hurt."

"I understand your concern, but you don't need to feel like that. I respect you a great deal, but we can't be together for every moment of every day." It almost seemed quite comical in his mind to see someone who was as concerned about him as she was. Besides his mother, no one had shown him this much compassion. "There will be times when you're not around to protect me, but it doesn't always mean that something bad is going to happen. Plus, if you're constantly worrying about me then you won't be able to concentrate on becoming a knight. The thing that you've always wanted.

"As far as I'm concerned, becoming a knight isn't as important as ensuring that you're safe." Her hand came up as she gently brushed his cheek with the back of her large index finger. "You're the only person in this world that I truly consider as my friend." The sincerity in her voice could be heard in her voice. There was no doubt that she was greatly concerned for his health and wellbeing.

"Ok Maxine, if you want to come with me, you can." He then grabbed onto her wrist and smiled up to her. "You can be the woman who watches my back while I buy her some pie. Now we better get going, I have a feeling that they might stop serving food very soon." He watched as she nodded and he wasn't sure or not, but he thought that she might be blushing. Her face definitely looked redder than before.

The whole issue of Maxine constantly looking out for Charles hadn't really been resolved just yet. But he thought that he could ease her into seeing that she was being overprotective. It was a task that was likely going to be some effort and take a fair amount of time.

Mere minutes later, Maxine found herself downstairs in the tavern and with a pie sitting right in front of where she was standing. It was bigger than the one that she had eaten earlier, and she couldn't help but look at it with a hunger that felt as if she hadn't eaten in days. Even though she had wolfed down several a short time earlier.

Charles was sure to pay for the pie before the muscular giantess picked it up and began to eat it. She didn't know what the flavour was for the pie to her it didn't matter. As long as there were no onions within, she was more than happy to eat it. To her, this was her treat pie as she was rewarded for being able to read two words. This pie was cheaper than they had expected since it was about to be thrown out, but the pair had been able to pick it up for a discounted price.

At this point in time, the tavern itself was mostly quiet as the majority of the patrons who had been there earlier had already gone home. This left Maxine and Charles mostly by themselves as they sat down at a table. The giantess continued to devour into her pie and loved every bite she was taking. Charles just sat there and watched and even though he had been with her for a long time by now, he was amazed with just how much food she could eat in one sitting. However, he couldn't help but not be surprised. If he was as tall and muscular as she was, he would have to eat enough to feed a family.

"Calm down there," said Charles as he chuckled. "You're going to choke on that if you keep eating it that quickly."

"S-Sorry," replied Maxine. She did seem to be slightly embarrassed by this. She had swallowed what she was eating before she had spoken. "I know I ate already, but I just love eating pies. If my belly were to explode from eating too many pies, then that would be a good way to die."

"You know, I've always been curious. Why do you like pies so much? Not saying that it's a bad thing but I was just wondering is all."

"Well, to you the truth, I have always liked them. But I think it really started when I was a little girl…" She paused for a moment when she realised that even when she was a young child, she was probably taller than Charles. "Well smaller than I am now anyway. When our local lord went to war, he called forth every knight and bannerman he had. That included my father. I remember that my mother didn't want him to leave as he was pregnant with Denise at the time. However, the lord's summon was final and he was forced to go to war. My father told me to look after my mother and sister as he said that I was the head of the house while he was gone. For six months he was away, and my mother worried about him constantly, she even gave birth to my sister while he was gone and she did struggle to look after us. My grandmother did assist us but always we were worried about him. We received no word about him during all that time and we thought that he might have fallen in the battlefield."

"Ok…" He knew that Sir Tucker hadn't perished as the two had met face to face a few months earlier.

"I still remember it clearly. It was snowing and I was playing in the snow with Carrie. My mother was watching over us with Denise wrapped up in her arms. Carrie and I began to fight over the snowman that we were making and then we could see someone approaching. At first, it was hard to make out who it was, but I was the first to notice. It was my father and I remember running out and hugging him. Probably nearly knocked him over when I did that, but we were all happy to see him return in one piece. A short time later, we all sat at the dinner table, and he made us a pie. I forget what flavour it was but when I took a bite out of it, it was the best thing I've ever tasted. But what was the best thing about it was that he was there, and we were all together as a family."

"Hmm, that is very interesting."

Although his response was relatively tame, he couldn't help but think quite intensely. In particular he began to see where Maxine's love for pies came from. It wasn't just the taste of them that she enjoyed but a memory that she held dear to her. The return of her father from a situation where he could have been killed. The fear of losing him had made the act of eating a pie give her comfort and a sense that he was safe. The respect that she had for him was greater than that for anyone else.

Not long after Maxine had finished telling Charles the story, she noticed that the pie that she had been eating was gone. She looked at the empty tray and she couldn't help but feel disappointed that it was all gone. This had been a treat for her, but she did wish that it had of lasted a little longer.

However, it was still late, and the pair decided that it was best to go back up to bed. They still had a long way to go and with the dangers that lurked around them, they needed to stay vigilant. Being fatigued was something that could cause them to make a mistake and that could very much be fatal to say the least.

Only a few minutes later, both of them found themselves sharing the same bed. Like many, many times before the bed was too small for a giantess like Maxine but she still lay on it nonetheless and kept Charles in her arms. They were both tired but couldn't quite fall to sleep just yet. Instead, they lay there and closed their eyes as they hoped that they would drift off sooner rather than later.

"Thank you, Charles," said Maxine as she continued to hold Charles in her arms. He couldn't see the smile on her face, but he did feel the warmth of her very large and muscular body.

"For what?" replied Charles. He was slightly confused by this, but he continued to listen to what she was saying.

"For everything. Most people would have not bothered being my squire or taken the time to teach me to read."

"It's nothing really. Besides, your lessons still aren't over but if you keep going at the rate that you are. You'll be able to read and write before you know it."

"How did you learn to read anyway? No offense but your status in society is around the same as me and yet you learned to read."

"Well, I had to, when I was young I had to help look after my mother and included watching what was going in and out of the house financially. She wanted me to have the best opportunities in life and even though it was expensive for us, she sent me to school and there, I learned how to read and write. Many of the other students didn't really like me and I admit, I hated going. A few of them even liked to hit me."

"Hmm, if I had gone to school with you, I would have made sure that no one hit you." She chuckled after she said this, and Charles couldn't help but imagine a younger but still very large Maxine holding one of his old bullies by the scruff of their shirt. It would have been nice having someone like her watch his back while he had been in school but at least he had her now.

"That would have been nice. But then I don't think that your mother would be happy. She seemed to be a bit of the protective type."

"You're telling me." She gave a sigh as she thought about her mother. "She's a lovely woman don't get me wrong, but you should have seen what she did when I told her that I wanted to be a knight. She hugged me and cried for what seemed to be an hour as she didn't want me to do something so dangerous. It took a lot of convincing from my father to let him train me."

"Well mothers do always worry about their children. Even ones as big and strong as you. I know if my mother was still alive, she'd be worried about me all the time." Memories of his own mother came flooding back and this did upset somewhat. This was picked up by Maxine who help him slightly tighter against her muscular body.

"I'm sorry Charles. I can only imagine how terrible it is to lose a parent." She didn't want to think about what she would do if one of her own parents were to pass away.

"It's alright Maxine, she's been gone for a long time, and I've grieved over her. She wouldn't want me to live my life in sadness. She would have wanted me to be happy and when I'm travelling with you, I am happy. I think my mother would have liked you if you had met her. I can almost imagine what she would have said."

"Let me guess, what have they been feeding me?"

"Nah, she would ask if you could dust the ceiling for her."

"Oh, I see." She couldn't help but chuckle about what had just been said. Out of all the comments that had been made about her, this wasn't offensive and instead was quite comical. "I would have liked to have met her."

"Unfortunately, that time has passed now. Let's just hope that we don't lose anyone important us any time soon. Anyway, we better get to sleep, or else we won't have any energy for tomorrow."

"Ok but tonight, please don't get sneaking out of this bed while I'm asleep. Last time it almost got you killed."

Charles simply nodded and closed his eyes. She could still feel himself in the arms of Maxine and already, she was fast asleep. All he could do was lie there and fall asleep himself. It was comfortable and he had a sense of safety as he knew that she would protect him no matter what. Even if there was a serious risk to her own health and wellbeing, she would still protect him without hesitation.

The night was surprisingly uneventful as both of them simply slept in the bed without being disturbed. Out of the pair, it was Maxine who was the first to wake up but rather than waking Charles up straight away. She decided to let him sleep for a little longer as he seemed very peaceful with where he was.

She could see sunlight beginning to come through the curtains of the room and she continued to lie there for almost half an hour. During that time, she even stretched the lower half of her body and when she did this, she discovered that her feet touched the ground while she lay on the bed. Only another indication for her that she was simply too big for the world that she lived in.

Eventually Charles began to stir, and Maxine could feel him moving around in her arms. Rather than waking him up suddenly, she allowed him to wake up on his own accord and for a few moments he didn't know where he was.

The small man was confused with why there was a pair of very long and muscular arms holding onto him. But after a few moments, his memories returned to him, and he remembered that it was Maxine. This made him feel at ease as he knew that he was safe. His dreams once more had been plagued with the people that he had killed in the cultist inn and that he still feared that they would harm him.

"G-Good morning, Maxine," said Charles. He wanted to stretch himself but found himself unable to while he was still in her arms.

"Did you sleep well?" replied Maxine. His head was lying on her chest, and he could hear her heartbeat. It was a relatively slow and relaxing beat that did put him at ease. Despite the nightmares that he had.

"Y-Yeah, as well as can be expected. But I really need to go and relieve myself. You don't mind just letting me go?"

"S-Sure." With that, he let go of him and he was able to climb out of the bed. He took several steps towards the door before he heard something heavy strike the floor. As he glanced behind him, he could see the towering figure of Maxine behind him. Already he knew what this was about, his mind did consider trying to convince her otherwise. However, he knew that he would be wasting his breath and simply allowed her to follow him to where the toilet was located.

Thankfully Charles was able to convince her to simply stand outside of the toilet door rather than going inside with him. This way he did have some privacy and since there was no other way in, she could be confident that no one else would be inside who could harm him. Even she thought that she might be taking things too far, but she always convinced herself that she was doing it for his protection.

While he was inside, Maxine did see someone else approaching the door. She stood there as she leaned on the wall and her head was only around an inch away from the ceiling. Rather than this person being a stranger to him, she could see that it was Jaxin. He needed to use the toilet as well, but he was surprised to see the nine-foot giantess standing by the door.

Although technically she was his travelling companion, he couldn't help but be terrified of her. Already he had been on the wrong end of her strength, and he didn't want to anger her. Instead, he just nervously smiled at her and thought about saying something but no words could pass his lips. Instead, she glared down at him and crossed her arms as she was far from happy to see him.

"Is there something that you want?" asked Maxine. Her tone made it clear that she wasn't pleased that he was there.

"E-Err yeah," replied Jaxin. In his mind, he was thinking of what he was going to say and hoped that he would get through this without incurring the anger of the giantess. "I just need to use the toilet."

"Charles is using it." Her words were blunt, and she didn't want to speak to him any more than she needed to.

"D-Do you know how long he's going to be?"

"He'll be as long as he needs to. I suggest you wait and if you piss yourself. Well, it's not my problem."

"R-Right."

Normally he would have tried to act tough and use some intimidation. However, this situation was far than in his favour. This was one person that he could never outmuscle or intimidate. Instead, all he could do was stand where he was and wait for his turn to go into the toilet.

To him, every minute felt like an hour but eventually he did see the door opening and then Charles stepping out. He felt some relief after what he needed to get done and he did see Maxine standing there, right where he had last seen her. However, he was somewhat surprised to see Jaxin.

Quickly, the now former assassin ran right passed him and went into the toilet. This did catch Charles by surprise as he more or less had to dart out of the way. Maxine was mere moments from stepping in as she did think that he was going to try and harm him. Thankfully this wasn't the case.

Instead, she simply kept him close to her and although she was needed to go herself. Her first priority was to protect and thus, she held it in for the time being. Instead, she just returned to the room where both she and Charles began to get changed. For the time being, Maxine only put on her regular clothes and didn't bother attempting to put on her armour. There were still things that she needed to do when it came to that.

Eventually, she did go to the toilet but at that moment in time, she couldn't keep an eye on Charles. Instead, he simply waited in the room and with the time that he had, he quickly wrote down a few things in his journal. One thing that he had noticed was that he was running out of blank pages. Before long, he would have to buy another one and then copy a few details across.

Almost immediately after Maxine was done, she came rushing back to the room. A part of her was afraid that there was someone else attempting to harm him and she was almost prepared for a fight. Instead, she simply found him sitting at a table and writing into his journal. A sigh of relief came out of her lips, and she could clearly see that her squire was safe and sound.

"You know you didn't have to burst in that," said Charles as he looked over to the muscular giantess. "I appreciate your concern for me, but you needn't worry about me like that. I'm perfectly safe."

"I know," replied Maxine as she sighed. "It's just I don't like you not having me watch over you. You've almost been killed too many times for my liking."

"You needn't remind me of that. Just try and tone it down a little." He knew that this was a difficult task for her to achieve as she was fiercely protective of him. Almost like a mother bear watching over her cub.

"I-I'll try." She didn't truly believe the words that were coming from her own mouth as she just wanted to keep him safe. While he was helping Asla and her companions, she feared that he could be killed trying to protect her.

After a few short minutes, Maxine did get back into her armour and once again looked to be ready to leave. Charles did help her in this endeavour although she had been able to do it herself. However, the help was greatly appreciated and part of the duties of a squire was to help a knight change in and out of their armour. She might not be a knight, but he was still more than happy to be her squire.

Once they were done, Charles went to the door of Asla's room and knocked on it with some care. He wanted to make sure that he didn't come across as aggressive, but he still had Maxine watching over him as he did this. Especially when the foreign princess and her companions were around, she was on her guard.

After a few moments, the door did answer and rather than being Asla who was opening the door, it was Taiyun who answered. None of them had barely left the room over the night and the morning besides just going to the toilet. Like Maxine, he didn't entirely trust Jaxin but with the price that had been offered to him, it would be foolish to turn it down.

"Good morning," said Charles. He had a smile on his face as he did mean what he said. "Do you need me to bring you some breakfast from the tavern?"

"N-No, we have already eaten," replied Taiyun. This was soon followed by Maxine loudly clearing her throat as he realised that there was something that he had forgotten to say. "Thank you."

"Alright then, if you three are ready, we'll continue on. The weather is looking good today so hopefully we'll make a lot of progress. Maxine and I will be waiting for you downstairs. Take your time if you need to."

With a few parting words, the door was closed, and the pair made their way down to the tavern below. Charles did consider buying some breakfast for himself, but he had spent the extra money that they had on Maxine's extra pie the previous night. This did make him hungry, but he still thought that it was worth it. She had put a lot of effort into learning to read and he knew that she had deserved a treat for it.

It was around half an hour later when Maxine and Charles saw Asla and her companions again. All five of them were just outside of the inn and each looked ready to continue on. Their supplies were satisfactory, and the weather was pleasant. If everything went to plan, they would make plenty of progress on their journey and get closer to their destination before needing to rest for the night.

However, all of them knew that such a thing was wishful thinking. There was always the threat of something taking place along the way and that not all of them would make it. To Maxine, all that mattered was that Charles was safe, the others didn't concern her. As far as she was concerned, they weren't important.