Despite all the setbacks that Maxine was experiencing, she was just as determined to carry on as best she could. By now, it wasn't just Charles who had noticed her decreasing height but so had Taiyun and Jaxin. There was a little talk between them as at first, they thought that they were merely making a mistake.

But eventually, they could see that the former giantess was indeed shrinking. The sleeves of her dress were looking long on her arms and the bottom of her dress was dragging across the floor. This caused it to begin to pick up dust and dirt which was causing it to look far from its best.

During this time, Charles was feeling very protective of her and so he stayed close to her. He constantly had his hand on his sword as he was willing to use it to defend her. Even if he wasn't too competent when it came to swordplay. He would do whatever it took to keep Maxine safe, even if she felt that she didn't need it.

Although they had spoken about it, in the end, the horse and cart that they had bought was still in their possession. They had figured that it would still be able to take them a little further before they were forced to sell it. This was something that they would have to think about when the time came. The quality of the horse was still something that they didn't think highly of and there had been some regrets over buying it.

Before they had even reached the horse, there was something that they did notice that quickly caught their attention. It was something that they hadn't known about before but upon stepping outside of the inn, it was impossible to ignore. There were people beginning to gather on the streets, almost as if there was some kind of event about to take place.

Since arriving, the group hadn't heard of any kind of festival or event. Then again, they had only been there for a short amount of time and hadn't really talked to many of the locals. Besides the pawnbroker and innkeeper, they hadn't spoken to anyone else in Miralton. So, it was easy for such information to not reach their ears.

Because of how crowded the streets were, it was difficult for them to make their way through them. There were people standing in the way in practically every direction that they tried to walk. It would be easy for them to be separated and lose one another. Maxine in particular was vulnerable to this since she was so small. Thanks to her lack of height, it would be difficult to spot her in a crowd.

This was ironic in a way since before, she would have been the easiest person to spot. Right now, she felt as though she was half the woman that she was back then and in order to stay with Charles at least, she held onto his hand. It felt a little strange for her to do so as it felt so large in comparison to her own.

She could feel the softness of his skin and as she held onto his hand, she did feel some protection from him. It greatly helped since there were a couple of times when she was walking that she accidentally stepped on the bottom of her own dress. She would have completely tripped over and hurt herself, thankfully since she was holding his hand. The small woman was able to keep her balance.

To Maxine, she still wasn't overly fond of wearing a dress, especially one that was too large for her. She would have felt better if she was wearing an outfit that was more commonly associated with men rather than women. But unfortunately, fate hadn't given her that hand and she was having to make do with what she had.

Not only was it somewhat difficult for the small woman to keep track of Charles, but also of Asla and the others. With the sea of people everywhere, it was easy for them to lose one another. They still had no idea about exactly what was taking place but from the looks of it, it was something of importance.

At one point, Maxine was almost knocked over as someone accidentally walked into her as they were moving around. Thankfully she was able to keep her balance, but it did begin to produce a bruise on her arm. This was going to be added to the one on her back and it seemed as though she was more fragile than she originally thought.

Wanting to get to the bottom of what was taking place, Charles thought that the best thing to do was to talk to one of the locals. There were many that he could have chosen from, but the one that caught his eye was an old woman who seemed to be accompanied by a young boy. Out of everyone there, he thought that she would be the one who could answer his question with the least amount of hassle.

"Excuse me," said Charles. He approached the woman and he smiled so that he didn't seem like he wanted to cause trouble. "You wouldn't mind just helping me and my companions for a moment?"

"Hello there, young man," replied the Old Woman. She smiled back and it was clear to him that she was missing a few of her teeth. It was a somewhat awkward sight for Maxine as well but for now she said nothing. "What can I help you with?"

"My companions and I are unfortunately ignorant to exactly what is going on. Please tell me, is there some kind of festival taking place or an event?" He continued to smile, and he continued to hold the hand of Maxine. She looked up at the old woman and then looked at the boy who she assumed was her grandson. Despite his age, he looked to be practically as tall as she was.

"It's the Festival of Flowers young man. You and your companions are lucky to have passed through here at this moment in time."

"Festival of Flowers? What is that? Forgive my ignorance, but it's not something that I have come across before."

"It is a wonderful festival that has been taking place for generations. It celebrates the Tulips that grow not far from here but there are plenty of events and games that take place during the festival as well. It is also known to be the ideal time and place for a man to propose to their lady." She glanced down to Maxine who for now had simply stood there and listened. "Maybe you could do that with your lady friend there?"

Upon hearing this, Maxine couldn't help but gasp and then begin to blush. Although she knew that being his wife was something that would bring her great joy right now. However, she still couldn't find a way to tell him that she loved him, and she still felt quite poorly because of this.

"O-Oh no, she's just a good friend of mine," said Charles with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"I'm sure that she is," replied the Old Woman as she continued to smile. She looked over to Maxine and she could see the short woman blushing and looking embarrassed. In all of her years, she could tell how Maxine felt. However, she said nothing about as she felt that she had no place to say it.

Now that they had a better idea of what was taking place, the group was able to find a somewhat quieter place in order to discuss what they should do. There was a thought about getting out of there as they still had to take Asla to where she needed to go. That was definitely the most important thing that they needed to do. But a part of them did want to stay and enjoy the festival.

After everything that they had been through, they thought a little time to enjoy themselves would be nice. It had been a good long time since Maxine and Charles had been able to do anything that they felt that they truly enjoyed. They did think that now wasn't the best time for such a thing. Not only did they have to worry about getting Asla to her destination but there was also Maxine's shrinking problem.

This worried Charles in particular as he thought that before long, that he would have to carry her in the palm of his hand. He hoped beyond hope that it wouldn't go that far but with everything that had happened during his time with her. He wasn't sure exactly what was going to happen.

Ultimately, the decision came down to Asla herself. Since she was the person who was more or less calling the shots, the decision was down to her. She was tempted to have some fun as she felt that they deserved this after everything that they had been through. But there were a couple of things that prevented her from going through with this.

The first was Maxine's shrinking problem. She knew that the former giantess wanted to be cured as soon as possible and hopefully return to the stature that she had been before. That was the problem that was staring at her right in the face but the other thing that she thought about was her people.

In her kingdom, she feared that her countrymen were being subjugated by those who were currently in power and forced her into exile. Their suffering was on the forefront of her mind, and she feared that the longer she took to reach her home. The more people who might not live long enough to see the end of the regime.

All of this was a factor in Asla's decision to move on and reach their destination as quickly as possible. Since they were on the final stretch, this also influenced her decision. But getting through the streets and getting to the edge of town was something that was going to take some time. With the sea of people, it would be time consuming to make progress within the crowd.

Using the horse and cart was out of the question since the horse wouldn't be able to move properly within the crowd and its poor health meant that it was likely to collapse. Because of this, they were able to make the short trip to the pawnshop that they had visited the previous day.

The Pawnbroker was surprised to see them and at first expected them to be there in order to buy back the armour. He was surprised when they wanted to sell the horse and cart. At first the group thought that they could get a decent price, but they soon realised that this wouldn't be the case.

Since he had experience buying and selling livestock such as horses, he could tell that the one that they were trying to sell was of poor quality. Because of this, he wasn't willing to buy it for too high of a price. In the end, he only offered them an amount that was a fraction that they had originally bought it for just a few days before.

Charles was able to negotiate a slightly higher price, but they still had to take a loss on their investment. This was something that was annoying for them but not hardly unexpected. In the end, they simply left the pawnshop with a little extra money in their pocket and the determination to leave Miralton.

As expected, making it through the crowds of people was difficult. The group stayed close together so that they didn't lose one another. Taiyun and Jaxin in particular stayed close to Asla as they were worried that she might get separated from them. Although the chances were slim that there was someone here who wanted to assassinate her. There was still a good chance that she could get hurt.

In the confusion and the amount of people that were around. Others would likely take advantage of such a situation and perform actions that they thought that they would be able to get away with.

Pickpockets were also something else that the group wanted to keep an eye out for. They seemed to thrive in environments like this since they would be able slip their hands into a person's pocket and then retreat into the crowd. By the time that the victim even realised what had happened, the perpetrator was long gone.

Maxine in particular felt vulnerable as she was still getting used to her smaller and weaker body. She could remember the night before when someone had pushed her out of the way and how it had injured her body. Such a thing was unthinkable when she had been nine feet tall and packing a lot of muscle. Now, she felt that she was a weakling who would be lucky to get through the crowd without any broken bones.

Progress was slow for them as they continued to move through the crowd. It was also hard to see where they were going. Out of all of them, it was Taiyun who was currently the tallest and his height was around average for a man in Angleland. But it still made it hard for him to see over the crowd.

Because of this, it made it difficult to make sure that they were walking in the right direction. One thing that they did notice were several games and stores that were along the way. Most were flower themed which was expected, such as a game where a person saw a flower for a few brief moments and then had to guess how many petals it had. It was a game that was much harder than it first seemed.

Most of the stores were selling flowers and they were unlike any that the group had seen before. There was one in particular that caught the eye of Maxine as she couldn't help but take a look at it for several moments. For as long as she could remember, she hadn't been fond of flowers. To her, they were too girly, and she wanted to focus on her swordplay training.

Now that she thought that this was no longer an option for her, she looked at the small flower that was on sale. The petals had a dark purple colour and there was something about it that definitely caught her eye. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she still couldn't take her eyes off of it for several moments.

"You like that flower?" asked Charles as he stepped towards her. He had been a step or two behind her and had finally caught up with her.

"W-What?" replied Maxine with some surprise in her voice. She quickly turned and looked up at him. "I-It's alright I guess."

"Well, if you like it, why not just buy it?"

"I'm alright, besides you said yourself. We need to save money where we can and buying flowers isn't exactly essential."

"I know, but they're cheap and if you like it. There's no harm in picking one or two up." He then looked over to the woman who was running the store. "Excuse me, can I purchase one of these flowers please?"

Maxine wanted to tell him that she didn't need the flower that he was asking about. But something inside of her prevented her from doing this. Instead, she just looked at him and watched as he purchased the flower that she had been interested in. Thankfully, it wasn't something that was going to cost them a good deal of money. But she thought that he would want to save the money.

Nonetheless, Charles bought the flower and then stepped over to her. She had no idea what he was about to do but she watched as he leaned forward slightly and gently grabbed onto some of her hair. Then he was able to place the flower there and wrapped it so that it would stay in place.

"There we go," said Charles. Although he was more than worried about her, he did think that this was a good idea. Even if the woman in front of him was steadily getting smaller, she could still bring him some happiness. "I think that suits you."

"Charles I…" Maxine wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. This whole event was something that she never thought would happen to herself. She remembered her sisters talking about how a man would do something like this for them. To her, such an idea was unthinkable.

All the girls of the Martel family knew that when they were fully grown that they would tower above every man they met by at least two feet. Because of this, Maxine had said to them how no man would do this for them and that their ideas were simple fantasies that wouldn't amount to much.

Now she found herself standing there with such a scenario just happening for her. A part of her wanted to feel annoyed by this, but instead it was the opposite. It was a sensation that she was receiving something that she didn't even realise that she wanted. This was all thanks to her squire and she simply looked up to him and broke a smile.

"Thank you, Charles," said Maxine as she continued to look up at him. She could tell that he looked taller than he did the day before. However, she soon remembered that it was not him who had grown but instead who had shrunk.

"You're welcome," replied Charles as he smiled back at her. Just seeing her smile like this was something that made all of this worthwhile. Normally, it was the sight of a pie that would make her smile like this. But instead, it had been a simple venture that had uplifted the way that she was feeling. "Now shall we continue on before we lose the others?"

"No, there's something I want to say to you." She grabbed onto his hand tightly as she didn't want him to step away. There was some confusion on his face as he wasn't sure what was happening.

"What is it?" There was curiosity in his voice as he genuinely wanted to know what she wanted to say. Although he was worried about losing the others in the crowd of people. "Is it something that can wait?"

"No, it cannot!" There was a sternness in her voice. However, she was still finding it hard to say what she wanted to say. The fear of being rejected was becoming too much for her and she wanted to back away. She couldn't help but think that if she was her larger self that she would be able to tell him without any fear whatsoever. But the truth was that even when she was nine feet tall and powerful enough to crush a skull with her bare hands. It was still something that she found extremely difficult. But she knew that she couldn't simply ignore it any longer and she looked up at him with some conviction. Although her face had turned bright red as she was blushing. "Charles Ingram, I love you!" These were probably the five most difficult words that she had ever had to say in her life and when she looked up at him, she could see that he was speechless. It was as if his mind was trying to process what he had just heard.

There was a definite silence that seemed to last much, much longer than it actually did. Maxine wanted to say more as well but it was as if someone had cut out her tongue and she could no longer speak. This caused her some distress as her face was still red as she couldn't help but feel some embarrassment.

But with every passing moment, she thought it became more and more likely that he would reject her. Then again, she wouldn't be too surprised if he did. She didn't think that a man would want to be with a woman who was losing inches like she was now, or a giant powerhouse like she had been before. She was just waiting to hear the words telling her that he just wanted to be friends.

"Maxine I…," said Charles. It was clear that he wanted to say more but suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder. For a moment, he thought that it was someone who intended to cause him or Maxine harm. However, when he turned around, he could see that it was Jaxin who was standing there. It was likely that he hadn't heard seen or heard what had just happened and so was stepping in.

"Come on now," stated Jaxin. Although with his accent it was slightly difficult to understand what he was saying. "We need to keep moving."

"R-Right."

It was clear that Charles still somewhat dumbfounded by what he had heard, and he needed time to think about it. Maxine couldn't help but feel slightly hurt about this. The fact that he didn't give her an immediate answer was almost like he was tightening a noose around her neck. But she did understand that they did need to leave and for now, she simply thought that he would give her the answer later.

The group continued to make their way through the town with some difficulty. Miralton was fairly large and to get to the other side while the festival was ongoing just made the task even harder. A couple of times, Maxine was also split up from the others and could have gotten lost in the crowd, but thankfully Charles had been able to grab onto her hand and help her through.

Progress was also much slower than they would have liked. Making their way through so many people was something that they couldn't do quickly. At times, they would even have to wait several moments before there was a gap for them to slip through. But while they did, there was something that Maxine was able to notice.

Just to the right of her, she could a woman who was slipping her hand into the pocket of an unsuspecting man. He seemed to be busy at one of the stores and hadn't noticed what she was doing. Once she had taken out what looked to be a pouch of money, she began to walk away calmly as if nothing had happened.

The obvious thing that Maxine could think about was that she should try and stop her. In the past, all it would need was for her to grab the pickpocket by the back of her collar and then lift her off of her feet. Unfortunately, that was something that was impossible, and it was likely the roles would be reversed. She thought about simply leaving it be, but this was something that she couldn't allow.

The small woman was able to slip out of Charles's grip and she quickly began to make her way towards the pickpocket. Although it was difficult for her thanks to the crowd of people. She still did so as best as she could. There was some determination that she could feel, even if Charles might reject her. She would at least feel like she had done a good deed that day.

As the pickpocket walked away, he couldn't see that he was being followed by Maxine and he thought that he was going to simply enjoy his ill-gotten gains. This was something that he had done hundreds, if not thousands of times and he thought that this occasion would be no different.

"Hey, you!" stated Maxine with determination in her voice. It didn't have the same effect as it had when she had been larger, and her voice had a slightly lower pitch. But it was still enough to make the pickpocket remain where he was as he was seemingly frozen in place. "I saw what you did!"

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," replied the Pickpocket as he turned around and saw the small woman. Even he was surprised with how short she was and his fear of being overpowered did fade away. But now there was still the threat of being exposed as a pickpocket and having law enforcement swarming him.