Asla continued to look at Maxine as she couldn't fully tell for sure if what she was seeing was correct. Since her friend had become smaller, Asla knew that she had been taller than her. But even she didn't think that she was this much taller than her. If she had to guess, she would say that there was around a three-inch height difference between them. Before, it had been around an inch or so.

Although Asla would have liked it to be the case, she knew that she hadn't grown taller and that most likely. Maxine was even shorter than she had been before. It was something that the others hadn't noticed yet and she thought that Maxine herself might not have noticed either. Although this was something that was unlikely to say the least. However, she wasn't sure exactly how talk to her friend about this.

"M-Maxine," said Asla with some caution in her voice. She carefully thinking about what she should say next. "Is everything alright?"

"As alright as things can be given the situation," replied Maxine. She looked up at the foreign princess with some curiosity on her face. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, the thing is…" Asla paused as she still didn't know how she was exactly going to tell her. "You just seem to be shorter than you were before." This was the best way that she could say this and awaited the reaction of the shorter woman.

"Of course, I am. I've lost over four feet in height." From her tone, it sounded as though she was slightly annoyed about being reminded that she was shorter than she would like to be. "You're not telling me anything that I don't already know."

"No, I mean, you look even shorter than you did yesterday. Look at me, do I look taller than I did before?" Maxine didn't answer and simply looked away for a moment. This was a clear indication to Asla that her friend had already realised this before she had mentioned it. "You already noticed, didn't you?"

"Y-Yes I did." There was a hint of worry in her voice, and she also made sure that her voice was quiet

"When did you first notice?" She too was beginning to feel worried as all of this were things that were beyond her comprehension. Throughout her life, she had been taught how to deal with a wide range of situations, this was not amongst them.

"This morning, when I got changed, I noticed that my shoes didn't fit like they had the previous day. Nor did my dress, then again it was too big for me to begin with. Now it seems even bigger on me now."

"You said that you found herself small before. Were you this short?" This was something that she was curious about. She had seen Maxine lose considerable height during the time her body was fighting against the deadly poison that she had been exposed to.

"I-I don't think so. I haven't been this short since I was a very young child." She looked at her hands and she could see that the sleeves of her dress looked to be too long for her arms. "I can't help but fear that I'm going to keep shrinking. I doubt that there's anyone who would be able to help me."

"You can't lose hope, I'm sure that sooner rather than later, you'll begin to grow again. Before long, you'll look back at this and simply think of it as a memory of when you were small."

"I hope so, but whatever you do, don't tell the others. Especially Charles, after everything that he's been through, the last thing I want is for him to be worrying about me. Just let him worry about himself for now."

Asla didn't answer with words and simply nodded to her. Although it was something that was unlikely to stay a secret for long. If Maxine was still shrinking, then it was likely that the others would notice as well. But it would not be through the foreign princess that the men would find out what was happening to her.

In her mind, Maxine couldn't help but feel worried. As far as she was concerned, she was becoming smaller and weaker. Something that was not good as far as she was concerned. Not only because it meant that she wouldn't be able to become a knight but also so that she could protect Charles. To her, there was nothing more important than that and at her current state, it was a goal that seemed that much more impossible.

It was a good couple of hours before the horse had recovered enough that it would allow them to continue. Everyone had taken the opportunity to relax and do a few things that needed to be done. However, when Maxine stepped towards the cart, she had to stop for a moment as she felt her barefoot touch down onto the ground.

This came as some surprise for her and when she looked down, she realised that her shoe had slipped off of her foot as she had walked. They were a very small size anyway, but she could feel them being too large for her feet. Another reminder to her that she was still shrinking and that it wouldn't be long before the others realise.

"Is everything alright?" asked Charles. This caught Maxine by surprise as she turned around and saw Charles standing not too far away from her. Although he was awake, it was clear that he was still tired.

"I'm fine," replied Maxine who quickly took a step back and put her foot back into her shoe. "Besides, what are you doing awake? You should be asleep." She tried to turn the conversation to focusing on him so that he wouldn't piece together what was happening to her. "You've had a few hours but nowhere near enough for you to be fully rested. You won't be good to anyone if you're tired."

"I-I know, but I didn't want to sleep too much or else I wouldn't sleep tonight." He chuckled nervously as he knew that he was in trouble. He could see her with her hands on her hips and looking up at him. Even at her size, she knew how to make herself seem important and in control of a situation.

"That might be true, but still… Getting your rest and being prepared for whatever comes next is an essential part of your training." It seemed as though she was still taking his combat training seriously. Even though she didn't expect him to actually need it. "Remember that danger can occur at any time."

"Y-Yes ma'am." He lowered his head slightly and he was worried that he had annoyed her. Even using the term ma'am when referring to her. She hadn't corrected him and simply continued to stand there with her hands on her hips.

"Good, now let's keep going. The sooner we get our friends to where they need to go the better."

"Of course."

With that, the pair walked back over to the cart and Maxine did her best to make sure that her shoe didn't slip off of her feet again. That way, she could hide the fact that her shoes were now too big for her. She wanted to keep her secret hidden for as long as she could, although it was a losing battle.

Climbing into the cart was something that Maxine did find difficult but Charles was able to help her in that regard. One thing that he did notice was that as he was pulling her up was how light she felt. More or less ever since they had first met, he knew that she was extremely heavy thanks to her height and muscle mass. When she was like this, she was much lighter than he realised.

Although Maxine said nothing, she did feel a little flustered when she was lifted up like this. As far as she was concerned, there had been no man who was able to lift her off of her feet. There were a handful of people who could but those were either her mother or sisters. In her smaller form, it was likely that even Asla would be able to pick her up. But having Charles do it was something else entirely. Although she tried to hide it, she couldn't help but blush as he helped her up onto the cart.

For several more hours the group travelled east with little incident. For them, this was something that they appreciated since it meant that there wasn't anything to worry about. But Asla did glance over to Maxine every now and again and think whether she had gotten smaller. For now, she had no intention of telling anyone what was happening but she couldn't help but feel that this was her fault.

Maxine was shrinking because she was infected with a poison from her homeland. Worse still, the only reason why it had happened was because someone had been trying to kill Asla. As far as the foreign princess was concerned, she thought that she was to blame for all of this and her guilt was increasing with every passing moment.

Eventually another town appeared in front of them and slowly made their way towards it. The horse that they were using was still slow and was temperamental. It took some skill for Charles to keep it from walking in the wrong direction but it was becoming more and more difficult.

Although he wasn't willing to say it straight away, he thought that purchasing the horse and cart had been a bad investment. He had been curious to why the seller had been so eager to sell it to him and at such a low price. Normally he would have thought twice but since he was desperate at the time, he had purchased it. Although it had done what he had wanted, it was still annoying to say the least.

The town that they had found themselves in was called Miralton and it was probably the last major town that the group expected to go through before reaching the coast. This meant that their journey wasn't too far from its end and this was a relief for everyone involved. For Asla, it meant that she would be able to return to her home kingdom and hopefully take her rightful place on the throne.

Maxine and Charles were looking forward to the promised payment that was promised to them since they were extremely low on funds. Although they were entering a town, they didn't have any money for food or shelter. There was always the option of selling off Maxine's armour but that was something that they were reluctant to do. Simply because of what it meant to the former giantess.

Upon entering Miralton, it seemed as though this town wasn't too dissimilar to many others seen all around Angleland. There didn't seem to be anything that made it stand out in comparison to the others. The appearance of the buildings were pretty typical of Angleland and the residents didn't seem to be particularly interesting. As far as many were concerned, Miralton was just a town where people would live their lives without anything of interest really happening.

For some they would find such a place boring but for many others, this meant stability. That was something that was often hard to come by and thus, those who lived there simply enjoyed the peaceful life. Although visitors such as the group passing through did bring some attention, it wasn't enough to cause too big of a response.

A simple and mundane place was also ideal for the group since it meant that they would be able to pass through without incident. Although it was likely that they would have to spend the night there. Where exactly they would sleep was another matter entirely since they still had financial issues that were not easily resolved.

Eventually the cart was pulled up in a place that was mostly out of the way of most of the townspeople and gave the group a little bit of breathing room. There was a small sigh of relief from Charles as he was glad that they could find somewhere where they wouldn't be bothered too much. He knew that Asla and her companions were seen as outsiders and thus were often looked down upon.

"So what do we do now?" asked Charles as he looked at Maxine and then the rest of the people within the cart. He wasn't sure of the answer himself and wanted the opinion of his companions.

"I suggest that we keep going," replied Taiyun. He sat up straight and looked directly at Charles. It almost seemed as though he was taking the question far more seriously than he probably should. "We're not far from the rendezvous point now, if you ask me, we should carry on with haste."

"Maybe but this crappy horse isn't going anywhere," stated Maxine as she pointed her thumb towards the horse. It was mostly just standing there but it was also panting as if it was exhausted. "As much as I would want to keep going, we simply can't. Plus, we don't have any money for food or board."

"Yeah, I think I made a bad investment on our transport," added Charles who chuckled somewhat nervously as he realised the mistake that he had made. He got a glance from Maxine, but she held no malice towards him.

"Now you know what to look for when purchasing a horse. Or in this case, not to look for. We might be short on money for now, but we should hopefully have plenty of it in the near future."

"Indeed, that is true," replied Asla. She gave them a quick nod of acknowledge them. "Upon our arrival you'll be paid every coin that was promised to you." She did consider Maxine and Charles to be her allies, but she knew that at the end of the day, it was money that was motivating them. She was sure that Charles would have helped regardless, but Maxine was a different case. Although she was a woman of morals and honour, it was likely that without the financial benefits, she wouldn't have agreed to help them.

"Good, but unfortunately that doesn't help us right here and now. Is there a way that anyone can think of gaining some money and quickly?"

"We can always sell your sword and armour," answered Jaxin. However, this suggestion didn't seem to go over well as Maxine glared back at him for a few tense moments. It was a viable answer but one that the small woman and her squire didn't particularly want to go through with.

"I think we want to give that a miss for the time being," stated Charles who wanted to make sure that such an option was off the table for as long as possible. "A while back, Maxine and I used to hunt down wanted people. Maybe there's one around here that we can get a reward on. Then again, wanted people don't tend to hang around populated areas. Unless they're trying to hide in plain sight."

"This is getting us nowhere," answered Maxine as she simply shook her head. She glanced over to her armour, and she seriously began to consider selling it. That way, they would have more than enough money for what they needed but financing and obtaining a replacement would be difficult.

Even if she were to return to her Uncle's forgery in Morgan, it would still cost her a fair amount to replace it. It would take time and most likely it would cause a lot of problems. Getting the one that she had now been difficult enough to say the least. Doing it all over again was a daunting thought.

"Well, one idea I do have is to sell this horse and cart," suggested Charles. "I don't think we'll get too much money for it. But it'll recoup some of the funds that we sunk into it." He still felt annoyed that the horse had been less useful than he expected. Next time he was to make such a purchase, he was sure to be more cautious.

"But then we wouldn't be able to make that much progress," replied Taiyun who didn't think that it was a good idea what was being suggested.

"That might be true, but I don't think this horse will do us much good. Maybe we could even get more than we paid for it." Although he thought that this was unlikely, it was still something that he thought was possible.

The group looked at the horse and they could see it shaking a bit. Its age was clearly showing and it didn't seem likely that it would be going much further. They wouldn't be surprised if its time came in the near future. But it did continue the problem that they had about what to do with Maxine's armour while they travelled.

This was when an idea did pop into Charles's head. It was one that didn't have too great of a risk and would gain them a fair amount of money. However, in the future it would also cost them money as well but if everything went as planned. Then they would have nothing to worry about.

"Wait, I've just come up with an idea," said Charles and this quickly got the attention of those around her. "We pawn off Maxine's armour."

"We'll what?" replied Maxine. Such a thing was something that she had never heard about, and she simply looked at her companion with a confused look.

"We can take Maxine's armour to a pawn shop and get some money for it."

"But I thought that you didn't want to sell my armour?" She raised an eyebrow as she didn't exactly like where this was going.

"That's the thing, we won't be selling it. Although we won't be given the same amount as if we were outright selling it, we would still be gaining a fair amount of money. The pawnbroker will keep a hold of the armour until we return and pay the money back plus some interest. That way, we won't have to worry about carrying around the armour, we'll get some money, and we'll know that it's safely stored."

"But won't they just sell it as soon as they get a hold of it?" This was something that was on Maxine's mind and something that was a clear worry for her.

"Unless you outright sell it to them, they can't. By law they have to hold onto it for the agreed amount of time. Unless the one who pawned it doesn't repay after the agreed time, then they can sell it."

"So, we'll be getting some money for now and after we get paid later, we can repay for my armour?"

"Exactly. We'll be solving more than one problem at the same time. So, what do you say Maxine? Ultimately the decision is yours since it's your armour." He was sure that she would agree to it but thought that it was best to get her permission first. All he could do for the moment was wait and see what she said.

"So, I can still get my armour back afterwards?"

"As long as the debt is paid within the allotted time then yes."

"Then we shall do it." This was still something that she was reluctant to do since having someone outside of her family handle the armour was unnerving. When it was her family involved, she knew that she could trust them in a heartbeat. Since it was someone else that she didn't know. That trust simply wasn't there.

"Good and maybe, we can offload this guy and make the rest of the journey on foot. We should still reach our destination before long." He then looked over to Asla who was still sitting there and listening. "Do you agree with my thoughts?"

"Yes, we will go ahead with what you're suggesting," replied Asla. She had to admit that what he was suggesting was a good idea, but she did hope that Maxine would be able to retrieve her armour before the time expired.

It took them a short amount of time to find the local pawn shop and it was decided that only Charles and Maxine were to go inside. Although they thought that it was something that they didn't think was right, it was something that the group agreed with. People in Angleland were still not used to Asla and her companions and if they were to step into the pawnshop, there was a chance that there could be trouble.

Instead, Charles and Maxine carried the armour and sword into the pawnshop and as they did the Pawnbroker seem to take notice of them. He was the kind of person who remembered most people who stepped into his establishment. However, he had never seen them before and thus, he was curious. Also seeing them carrying armour that was clearly too large for either of them did raise his suspicions.

As a pawnbroker, he always had to be careful about buying stolen goods. There had been a couple of times when he had bought something of value, only to discover that it was stolen and was forced to return it. He wasn't compensated for the money that he had paid for it and so, he was always on his toes. However, he said nothing as he saw the armour placed on the ground in front of the main desk.

"What can I do you for today?" asked the Pawnbroker. He was a large man with a bald head and a brown moustache.

"My friend and I would like to pawn this sword and armour that we've brought in," replied Charles. He did sound a little out of breath after the effort that he and Maxine had gone through. But he still sounded confident and he looked over to the Pawnbroker with some determination.

"Pawn it eh?" To him this was unusual, if it was stolen then the seller would want to sell the item outright. Since they wanted to pawn it instead, this made him feel that things might not be as shady as he first thought. "Let me take a look." He then stepped from around the counter and looked down at the armour, it was only then that he could truly comprehend how large it was. "Wow, whoever wore this armour would be the tallest man that I have ever laid eyes on."

"Woman," replied Maxine under her breath. She still didn't enjoy the fact that she was much smaller than she was before.

"I beg your pardon?" It was clear that he hadn't properly heard what the small woman had said and was confused.

"Never mind," answered Charles. "As you can see, this armour is great quality and you could easily melt it down and make two or three full sets. That is of course if we don't repay you in time."

"I see, the value of the metal itself would make it worthwhile. Who did this belong to before? I'm more than certain that it wasn't for you."

Maxine wanted to step forward and say that the armour belonged to her, but at her current size, she didn't think that the Pawnbroker would believe her. The truth was that if the roles were reverse, she wouldn't believe it either. Instead, she stayed quiet and allowed her squire to do all the talking.

"My uncle commissioned it as a prop in his store," answered Charles without skipping a beat. It was as if he was expecting the question and prepared himself for it. "Unfortunately, he is on hard times right now and asked me to pawn this so that we have some much needed funds. He hopes that business will turn around by next month and he can buy the armour back from you."

"Ah I see. I'll just see how much this is all worth."