Charles continued to look down at Maxine who was still lying where she had fallen. The poison was still pumping through her body and if not for her immense size, she would have been killed in an instant. Already there was sweat developing on her brow and this quickly got picked up Charles who almost began to take off her armour.

This was a task that was extremely difficult since the giantess was more or less deadweight. The others just stood there and watched; their instincts told them to leave since the assassin who had caused this was still around. They feared that he could strike again and this time, none of them would survive.

"Charles what are you doing?" asked Asla as she looked down at him. There was some concern in her voice as she thought that what he was doing might be fruitless. As far as she knew, no one survived this particular poison and it was a miracle that she hadn't died already.

"Maxine's overheating!" replied Charles with a panicked tone. "I need remove her armour so that she can cool down."

"I-It's no use, there's nothing that can be done for her."

"No, I refuse to believe that!" For one of the few times in his life, there was rage that went through his body. "As long as she still breathes, I refuse to give up on her. Maxine would never rest until I was safe, and I can't call her my friend if I didn't do the same for her! Now are you going to stand there or are you going to help me?"

"You dare speak in that manner to the princess?" stated Taiyun in a very angry tone. "What kind of person thinks he can speak to her majesty in such a way? I should take your head for such…"

"Taiyun stop!" replied Asla. She gave a sigh before she continued to speak. "He's right, we have to do everything that we can to save her."

"B-But Princess, you know as well as me that the giant woman is beyond help. Even she can't survive two doses of Fatal Frog poison."

"I've seen this woman achieve feats that many could only dream of. I won't deny that there is an extremely small chance that she could survive. Until she actually dies, we should do everything we can to help her."

"Princess I must…"

"Are you ignoring a direct command from me?"

"N-No Princess." There was some fear that went through his body as he knew that in his land, ignoring a command from royalty was more or less a death sentence. He didn't think that Asla would have him executed, but he was certainly not willing to find out.

"Good, now you and Jaxin help remove her armour. We need to do everything that we can to save her."

Charles was happy with what he was hearing as the two foreign men did as they were told and began to help with the removal of Maxine's armour. His joy turned to worry as when he touched Maxine's skin, he could feel just how hot it was. If the poison wasn't going to kill her, then the fever that she was experiencing most likely would.

Although it did take several minutes, Maxine's armour was removed from her body, but this did little to help. Her temperature wasn't lowering, and she began it was clear that she was in a lot of discomfort. The only thing that Charles could think about doing was taking her away from there. He didn't know if a Healer could help or if they just took her to an inn. It was likely that neither would truly be helpful for her.

In her mind Maxine found herself falling into a practically empty abyss. It seemed that no matter how far she fell, she couldn't see the bottom. Rather than screaming, she allowed herself to fall in practical silence and she could see that she was no longer wearing her armour. However, she was still wearing her clothes, but they were soon being shredded off of her body.

Within moments, the muscular giantess found herself to be completely naked and she took a few moments to look at herself she felt something that she didn't expect. Her feet touched down on the ground below and there was a relatively loud thud when she did this. Rather than falling on her front or onto her back, instead she landed on her feet with all the grace of a gymnast. Something that was considered impossible for someone of her size.

When Maxine had touched down on the ground, she found herself crouching for a few moments before standing back up to her full height. There was a lot of confusion that went through her mind as she looked around. The environment was completely dark and there was nothing in particular that she could see. This did worry her as she began to step forward as she tried to figure out where she was.

"Charles!" shouted Maxine at the top of her lungs. She hoped to be able to see her squire, but she could still see nothing. "Asla!" There was still no response whatsoever and her fear began to increase. "Asla's bodyguards?" She couldn't remember the names of Taiyun or Jaxin at that moment in time, but the results were still the same. "Is there anyone there?"

"Hi there," replied a voice that the muscular giantess did seem to recognise. She turned around and looked towards where the voice came from. Out of the darkness, she noticed someone stepping towards her. Much to her relief, she could see that it was Charles and instantly, she ran towards him and went to one knee so that she could hug him. "Charles, thank the gods that you're here. I don't know where I am and I'm beginning to get a little anxious." She continued to hug him, and she didn't realise that she was increasing her grip around him.

"M-Ma'am."

"I told you before that you don't have to call me ma'am anymore."

"Y-You're crushing me!"

"Wait, what?" She looked at him and realised that what he was saying was true as she could hear his bones beginning to break in her arms and his head slumped back. Panic began to overtake her as she realised what she had done. "Charles, I didn't mean to! Please, I didn't mean to…" However, as she spoke, she could see him beginning to disappear into dust. Within moments, all that was left of him was dust that was now floating in the air, and this left her looking at her arms with some disbelief. "Charles, Charles, come back!" Her voice was loud, and it was clear that she speaking out of desperation. "Please don't leave me here alone!"

"You are not alone," replied another voice. Maxine quickly stood up and turned to the voice as she recognised it instantly. Standing a short distance away from her was the man that she respected most in her life. He was a young man with short brown hair and was wearing light armour as well as carrying a sword. This man was none other than Sir Tucker Martel, but he looked different to the man that she knew. This Sir Tucker looked to be in his twenties whereas the man that she called father was at least twice that age. "Maxine, my little girl. My how you've grown."

"Father? What are you doing here?" Rather than running and hugging him like she had done with Charles, she was more cautious as she was more confused than anything else. "Where is mother and the others?"

"You needn't worry about that my dear." He stepped towards the muscular giantess, and he seemed to have a loving expression face on his face. "I still remember when you were the little girl who would wave around her wooden sword and sit on my lap while I told her stories. Now look at you, if you sat on my lap now, you'd crush me into a million pieces for sure."

"I wouldn't go that far." She chuckled for a moment as to her, this was a pleasant moment although she hadn't furthered her questions about how he could be there and what had happened to Charles.

"And yet I can't help but feel disappointed." His expression quickly changed, and this caught Maxine by surprise. She couldn't help but feel afraid as she took a step back and looked upon him with confusion.

"What do you mean? I've done everything that I can to maintain the Martel name. What could I have done to disappoint you?"

"There are several, above all, you're not a knight yet. I became a knight well before you have and as my daughter, I expected you to have earned that title well before now. You still let your temper get the better of you and you continue to bring shame to the Martel name. I can't believe that someone like you came from my bloodline."

"Please, father don't say that." She went down to one knee and lowered her head. The sense of shame that she could feel was almost too much for her to bare and she seemed to be on the verge of crying.

"She should do what is expected of you. Be more like your sisters and prepare for a life of becoming a good wife and mother. Being a knight is not for the likes of you. Best for you to give it up and hope that you can find a man who will accept you as a bride."

"F-Father…" Her thoughts were clouded but they were beginning to clear up as she clenched her fists and stood up to her full height with some authority. Her rage was growing with every passing moment, and it didn't even matter if this man standing before her was the man she respected the most. "No, you are not him! My father always supported my dream of becoming a knight, he would never tell me to simply give it up. He is a man of valour and integrity. Not you, you're some kind of fake who is trying to dissuade me from my path, but it will never work. Even if it happens when my hair is grey and my muscles have become fat, but I will become a knight! I will make the actual you proud, not this doppelganger standing before me!"

"Is that what you think? And you also think that you're going to live a life of happiness with that freak that you forced to be your squire?"

"Freak?" This caused her several moments of confusion. "Wait you don't mean Charles?" Her rage was continuing to build, and it was clear that she was a volcano that was on the verge of erupting.

"Of course, do you think that I would allow you to fall in love with a man of his colour? You truly are scrapping the bottom of the barrel if you are willing to give your heart to a man like that. Now why don't you…" Before he could finish what, he was saying, he suddenly felt a strong grip around his neck and he got lifted off of his feet. He could see the look of pure rage on the face of the muscular giantess, and it wasn't clear what was about to take place next.

"Now I know for sure that you are not my father! No matter what, he would always support my decisions, especially in the man that I choose. Whatever you are, you're not him so begone and go bother someone else! I've heard enough of what you have to say!" She wavered her hand in front of herself in order to indicate that she didn't want anything to do with this man standing in front of her.

There were a few chuckles from the man that resembled Sir Tucker Martel and he soon faded away from her view. Maxine continued to stand there and wonder what exactly was happening. She had seen manifestations of Charles and her father and both of them had suddenly disappeared.

In her mind, she was trying to figure out what was going on and what she could remember. The memories of what had happened were gone and she couldn't even remember Asla and her companions. Instead, as far as she was concerned, she was still on her travels with Charles.

Now that she was by herself, Maxine did begin to walk forward in the seemingly endless abyss that she had found herself in. It seemed that no matter how far she walked, she didn't find anything of note. Instead, everything just stretched as far as the eye could see with no end to it in sight.

Eventually, the muscular woman found herself sitting down on the spot as she took a deep breath and tried to think about what she was going to do. There had been no other manifestations that had appeared, and she thought that she was making no progress whatsoever.

On the forefront of Maxine's mind was Charles. As far as she was concerned, the more time that she spent there, the less that she had to be at his side and thus, ensure that he was safe. To her, she thought that he was in danger without her being there to protect him. His training had not gone entirely as well as she had hoped, and she thought that he was one wrong turn from having his head cut off.

As she continued to sit there, she closed her eyes and began to breathe with some ease. This was a technique that her father had taught her, and it was supposed to help clear her mind and allow her to think straight. She tried not to panic or let her anger get the better of her. One thing she was able to remember was a promise that she had made to Charles. That she would try and take control of her anger and not allow it to control her like it did before.

Eventually, Maxine did open her eyes, but she was surprised with what she could see. Rather than being in the endless, black abyss that she had found herself before. Instead, she was somewhere that was familiar and yet looked very different.

As the muscular giantess stood up, she found herself in the kitchen of the house where she grew up. Everything was where she remembered, and she couldn't help but feel some nostalgia at this but there was something more pressing that was on her mind. There was something that was strikingly different about the kitchen, and it was very easy for her to see what it was.

Everything around Maxine was gigantic. It was scaled up so that it would be accessible to someone who was nine feet tall. Instead, it was beyond that where only a true giant would be able to use anything inside. If she had to guess, she was only a few inches tall as a mere chair was taller than the tallest building that she had ever seen. Some fear overtook her as confusion quickly began to creep in.

"W-Where am I?" asked Maxine to herself as she began to look around. She couldn't help but feel as though she was the size of a mouse in comparison to the world around her. Her mind was racing as she tried to think of an answer to what was taking place but for the moment, nothing came to mind. That was until she felt a tremor run through the ground. Unlike others, she didn't immediately think that it was an earthquake. Instead, she recognised it as the shudder that would take place when something big was striking the ground. After having several family members who could increase their size, she knew by now how to recognise such movements of the earth. When she looked up, she could see a towering woman walking not too far from her.

This woman was gigantic in comparison to her and had long brown hair and hazel eyes. Her outfit consisted of a cream-coloured dress and relatively simple shoes and it was someone that Maxine recognised without too much effort. The giant woman was her mother Jessica Martel, and she could only guess that they were in the kitchen.

"Mother?" asked Maxine with some confusion in her voice. "What's happening, why is everything so big?" Rather than responding to her, the giantess simply continued to walk as Maxine made the realisation that her mother couldn't hear her. "I-It's no good, she can't hear me!"

Before Maxine could shout again, she had to dodge out of the way as the giant foot of her mother came crashing down right where she had been standing. If the muscular former giantess hadn't rolled out of the way, she would have likely been crushed to death. Genuine fear had run through her body when this had happened and when she looked up, she hoped that Jessica would notice her.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be the case as Jessica simply walked over to the counter so that she could grab a couple of objects that were there. Maxine continued to try call up to her mother, but her efforts seemed to be for naught. It seemed that no matter what she did, her voice simply wasn't reaching the ears of Jessica and in a way, this upset her greatly.

To Maxine, it almost seemed like her mother was ignoring her and this brought up some unfortunate memories in her mind. Thanks to having such a large family, at times she felt that her mother would ignore her to concentrate on her younger siblings. It was something that she didn't really think about, but the situation had brought these thoughts to the forefront of her mind.

"Mother, please don't ignore me," said Maxine. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and she couldn't help but feel low. Crying was something that she felt was beneath her, but in this situation, she couldn't help but cry.

"M-Maxine," replied the voice of Jessica. The muscular woman looked up and could see her gigantic mother looking down to her. There was a look of concern on the older woman as she went down to one knee. "Is that you?"

"Mother? You can see me? You can hear me?" There was still some fear and sorrow in her voice. She still didn't know exactly what was happening and how she became so small. At this moment, she felt very vulnerable.

"Of course, I would never not notice you." She lowered her hand to the tiny woman and stretched it out to her. "I would never not notice one of my children. What kind of mother do you think I am? Now, why don't you step onto my hand so that I can talk you better?" She only had to wait a moment for the tiny woman to do as she was asked and Maxine felt herself lifted up in the air, a sensation that was unusual for her. "Look how teeny tiny you are sweetie, you're so adorable."

"M-Mother this isn't the time for this." She looked at the face of her gigantic mother and could see her cooing over her. It was something that she found to be embarrassing and had seen her do this on several occasions. It normally happened to one of her younger siblings and never with her.

"Oh, don't be like that Maxine. You don't know how much I've wanted to see you like this." She smiled at her while Maxine just stood there and kept her arms crossed. She might not know what was going on, but she was beginning to get annoyed.

"You could have just enlarged yourself before and held me in your hand like this anyway. I didn't need to be so small."

"I know and look at you. I can tell that you've been working really hard."

"What's that now?" She looked at herself and realised that she was still naked. It was something that she hadn't noticed until now and she didn't know whether to try and cover herself up. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I thought you knew already. You can't really go walking around like that and not notice."

"I did notice, I just didn't…" Maxine had to stop herself as she realised that she couldn't fully remember everything that was happening. Like the fact that she wasn't wearing any clothes was something that she should have known about but either simply forgot or chose to ignore it. This was something that worried her as there were a lot of things that were taking place. It was as if nothing that was happening was making sense and she didn't know why this was.

"Calm down little one." Jessica lowered her hand and began to stroke the tiny woman's head with her finger. "Don't worry, Mommy's here to make you feel better. You needn't worry about a thing."

A wave of emotions overcame Maxine, under normal circumstances, the muscular giantess would feel belittled by what was happening. But here, she couldn't help but begin to cry and hug onto the finger of her mother. Jessica simply smiled down at her and smiled. It was as if her very presence was there to comfort Maxine in her time of need. Even if everything that was happening wasn't making sense.

"Relax sweetie," said Jessica. "No matter and big and strong you become, to me you'll always be my little girl. Now why don't we make a couple of pies and turn that frown upside down?"

"O-Ok," replied Maxine who nodded her head up to the much larger woman. "I'd like that." Normally, she would never allow herself to be like this but under these circumstances, she couldn't help herself. She also felt as though she was with someone who she was comfortable around.

Maxine remembered how her mother had done her best to raise her and show her right from wrong. Although she had favoured her father more than her mother, she would never consider disrespecting her. She knew that her mother was a loving woman who did everything that she could for her family.

Although Maxine didn't think that Jessica had strength and bravery like she did. She considered that her mother had a different kind of strength. It was true that if she wanted to, she could probably destroy a whole town. But her strength came more from within as she would do whatever she could to protect those that she loved and ensure that her children had the best possible future.

That included herself as Maxine knew that her mother had been somewhat hesitant with her leaving to try and become a knight. But at no point did she try to discourage her and tell her that it was an impossible task. Instead, she had been supportive of her, although Maxine was sure that Jessica preferred her to have a line of work that she considered to be far less dangerous.

The muscular woman couldn't help but smile up to the giant woman as she felt a sense of safety with her and unconditional love. She didn't know exactly what was going on, but a part of her didn't seem to mind if she were to never leave here or have her size restored. But she couldn't help but feel like there was something that she was missing.