A/N: Hey guys! Chapter 4 is here and it's pretty long. Hope it's good 'cause I'm quite unsure about whether the content is good or not! Anyway, enjoy!
Over and Out!

Chapter 4

The next day Levy woke up from a good nights rest. The events of the night before was still quite fresh but she decided to worry about that later. She got up and walked out on her balcony eying the scene in front of her.

'Market day' she thought, the day when sellers and buyers would come and visit the shops and the market in town. Levy had always wanted to go but was never allowed since she was the princess. Thinking about it, Levy walked over to her closet and got dressed. She put on a simple orange sundress and then grabbed a cloak she had hidden in the back of her wardrobe. Glancing over at her shoes she realized that whichever pair she'd choose they would still expose her. She decided that perhaps no one would notice and put on a pair of flats. She walked over to the balcony and was about to climb down the ivy that was growing on the wall. Even though Levy wasn't sure what she was doing but she really wanted to do it. Levy took a deep breath but wasn't able to do anything else because the door opened and there stood a very surprised Juvia. Juvia and Levy both stared at each other until Levy slowly walked in from the balcony and towards Juvia. She dragged the maid into the room and closed the door behind her.

"Please Juvia, don't tell any one about this!" She begged. She had tried to sneak out before but never got further than to the front door, this was her chance to see the town.

"What exactly is the princess doing?" Juvia asked still quite shocked from what she had just witnessed.

"I'm going to visit the market, I won't be gone for that long perhaps until lunch." She said very happily. "Can you just tell father that I don't feel so good?" she asked her.

"What? You can't just go to the market your highness, what if someone sees you?" Juvia shrieked.

"Don't worry Juvia, I got a disguise and all, just don't let anyone find out." Levy said once again, gesturing to the clothes she was wearing.

Juvia's eyes then brightened up. "Juvia will dress up as Levy and fulfill the plan!" She said.

Levy just shook her head. "No Juvia, your plan won't work. Just tell father that I'm not felling so well, and I'll be back as soon as I can." Levy said.

Juvia looked at the blue haired heiress and nodded slowly. "As you wish princess, Juvia will tell the king that you are sick."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you." Levy squealed. "I promise I won't be gone for that long! Thank you once again!" Levy said and walked out the balcony and grabbed the ivy. Slowly climbing down she heard her maid telling her to be careful.

Levy landed nicely on the grass and walked quietly towards the wall separating the castle from the town. She hadn't thought about how she would get pass that. As she stood there thinking about it she heard footsteps and voices.

"HEY!" Someone called to her. "You're not supposed to be here!"

Levy turned around and saw one of the guards striding towards her. Thinking she was caught and that her disguise was destroyed she slowly started to take of her hood but didn't get very far until a pair of hands grabbed her upper arms and led her towards the gate. Pushing her out she landed on her knees and hands and still hadn't really caught up with what just had happened. The guard hadn't noticed that she was the princess, he had thought that she was a peasant sneaking around near the castle and had thrown her out.

Levy looked up from her position on the ground and quickly stood up. She walked on a small dirt road that led her to the town square. The square was filled with people walking around and buying things. The shops and market stands was lined up at the sides of the street passing through. Levy carefully walked on it and observed the small shops and stands. Smelling the sweet scent of fresh fruit and pastries she made her way through the masses and ended up in front of a small stand with fruit, next to it was a little café that was selling out strawberry cakes. 'Erza would love some of these' Levy thought. She remembered that Erza had told her about her secret love for strawberry-cake, and figured she would give her a few just because.

Out on the street once again, she was nibbling on the fruit she had bought after the cake. Looking around she saw all kinds of different shops but her eyes stop at a certain sign. Redfox's, it said and it was clear that it had said something more before. Old shadows of two more words was showing in the iron sign. Looking through the window she saw a man working on some sort of sword behind the counter.

A blacksmith? She thought as she looked at the man working. He couldn't be that much older than her, perhaps around 20 years old.

He had long raven-black hair tied in a loose ponytail, tanned skin, red eyes and pieces of metal decorated his face and forearms. His body was well-built and his face had a somehow serene expression. He was wearing a brown leather apron, a pair of beige pants and a grey shirt.

She found herself dragging towards the blacksmith and soon enough she heard a bell dingle as she entered the shop. The man looked up at her quite surprised to see a woman in his shop, never the less a woman in "disguise" wearing shoes fit of a princess. The blacksmith smirked a little when he saw her, immediately recognizing the young heiress. He had heard of her attempts to sneak in to town when he last was at the castle and here right before him she stood. Princess Levy Mcgarden heir to the Kingdom of Magnolia.

"Got lost girly?" He asked her as he wiped the dirt of his hands.

She looked at him with wide eyes and a small blush creeping up on her cheeks. To say that the man before her wasn't handsome would be a lie. She somehow connected him to a greek hero from one of her story books, except for all the metal studs on his face.

"N...n...no. "She stammered. "I just wanted to stop by and look."

"Tsk" he answered and got back to his work. "If you don't need anything then scram, I've got work to do."

'How rude, she thought as she puffed out her cheeks in anger.

"Don't you know who I am?" She asked and realized her mistake to late.

The blacksmith looked at her with an amused grin and replied, "'Course I do princess, nobody from these places wear shoes like those ."

Blushing madly at the mans statement and grin, that she found somewhat attractive, she moved her eyes up to meet his. His blood-red eyes studied her chocolate-brown.

"What's yer business here anyway, midget?" He asked her after a while.

"My name is not midget you big oaf, and why do you care whether I'm here anyway?" She pouted and said.

He snickered at her pout and continued with his work.

"Who wouldn't be a little bit curious about why the princess is in a forge talking to a man she doesn't know while wearing a disguise?!" He asked her as his hammer hit the metal.

She blinked at the man and took in what he said. True he had figured out that she was a princess and was well aware that she shouldn't be there talking to him, but he didn't even try to treat her like the princess, he just treated her like a person. Someone that wasn't royal and "important" to the towns wellbeing.

Just as she was about to say something to the man in front of her the door to his shop opened and a knight stepped in.

Levy pulled the hood further down over her face and moved towards the wall.

The man who walked in was no other than one of her bodyguards, Jet.

He walked up to Gajeel and said, "I'm looking for the princess, has she passed here by any chance?"

Gajeel took a fast glance at Levy who had occupied herself with the trinkets on one of the shelves. He shook his head and met the fierce glare of the knight before him.

"Sorry I ain't seen a princess walking by here. " he growled at the man on the other side of the counter.

"Do you realize what will happen to you if I find out that you are lying to me you peasant?!" Jet said to the blacksmith who looked like he was about to kill the man.

Gajeel then scoffed and answered, "it's not like you can take anything else away from me, you already got my pops and there's no one else here. The only thing you can do is put me in prison but who will make the weapons for the army then?"

Jet stood speechless at the mans answer. He wasn't expecting the blacksmith to talk so lightly about it, even less to say that he was actually important to the city. Who would've thought that the Gajeel Redfox figured out that he was needed.

Turning away quickly he made his way towards the door. "Don't forget that we have your father Redfox, accidents do happen a lot in the cells." The door closed and the knight was gone.

Gajeel glared angrily at the door and then looked at the little midget standing by one of the shelves observing him.

"The fuck are you looking at?" He snarled at her, pissed at the fact she looked at him almost in pity.

"I-I"

"Don't!" He interrupted her. "Don't apologize or say how awful it is because I don't fucking want to hear it. " He growled and started hammering out all of his anger at the sword. The poor piece of metal was anything but a mighty weapon when the angry blacksmith was done. He threw the piece in a heap with more scrap metal.

She slowly walked towards him but was met halfway by the blacksmith himself. He grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her around and shoved her out the door.

"You should go back, princess, this world ain't for you." he said, clearly annoyed.

"Wha.. what do you mean?" she asked and turned around to look the man in the eyes. He averted his gaze from her and grabbed the door-handle.

"Just leave me alone shrimp." he said and closed the door. The opened sign turned and showed the word CLOSED in bright red. Inside the clanking of metal falling to the ground was heard.

Levy just stared at the door and the upset man who was slowly disappearing up the stairs. She wasn't sure what to do now, her own bodyguard, one of her best friends had just threaten to hurt the father of a blacksmith she didn't even know the name of. Realizing that not only had she never known about the castle having prisoners but the fact that one of her guards threatened a civil person just because was awful. Turning on her heel and leaving the blacksmith alone as he requested she continued to discover the rest of the market.

Levy stopped in front of a small stall she was mesmerized. On the table there was a lot of beautiful jewelry, necklaces, bracelets and even earrings. Rare and exotic gems was decorating the jewelry. Levy's gaze was glued to a medallion looking necklace. It was a beautifully carved dragon in silver clutching a blue gem with glowing red eyes. The creature was swinging from a thin silver string. Without even realizing Levy was holding the necklace in her hands and looking at as if she was in trance. The shopkeeper was and old lady with gray hair pulled up in a messy bun. She eyed the young girl before walking towards the girl and gently tapping her on her shoulder.

"See anything you like dearie?" She asked her with an old shaky voice.

Levy looked up at the woman and smiled while she nodded. "Yes, I love it. Where did you find something this amazing?" she asked and started looking for some money in her cloak pocket.

The old lady just smiled, "A very nice young boy made it, I believe he is a blacksmith." She said and gladly accepted the money as she wrapped the necklace in some paper and handed it back to the girl.

'Blacksmith?' Levy thought as she took the package. It couldn't be that man from before, could it?' she thought as she thanked the lady and kept walking. As she wandered around the market she saw a lot of different things. Wonderful skirts and dresses in fabrics soft as silk, fish and shellfish that was newly caught and just delivered. When she walked for a while she noticed a fairly grand tavern. The sign read Fairy Tail and was decorated with what looked like fairies with tails. 'How odd' she thought, 'why would they have tails? There's nothing about that in my story books'.

Looking at the sign once again she decided to go in and rest a little.

The doors opened gently and Levy peered in. There was a lot of ruckus inside. People were dancing and singing happily with a beverage in one hand and a smile on their face. Levy walked over to the bar and took a seat, looking around she smiled to herself. 'This must be what they do when they aren't working'. she thought to herself. When she looked forward once again she was met by the stare of two beautiful blue eyes. Standing before her was a barmaid, but not just any barmaid, The barmaid.

Mirajane Strauss owned Fairy Tail along with her brother Elfman and sister Lisanna. She had long white hair with her bangs tied in a small ponytail on her forehead. Her warm smile made Levy fell comfortable, almost at home. Levy glanced over the woman's clothes and noticed the long gorgeous wine-red dress she was wearing. It wasn't the typical clothes for a waitress but Levy found it oddly suiting in this environment. Looking up from the curvy woman's clothes Levy smiled at her.

"What do you want sweetie?" Mirajane asked her sweetly.

"Um, I don't know. Some tea perhaps?" Levy answered a bit unsure.

"Oi! Barmaid, some more beer over here!" another oddly familiar voice called.

"Coming right up Redfox." Mira called back before turning to Levy once again. "It'll only be a minute sweetheart." She then scurried over to the yelling man and served him. He was seated in the dark corner of the bar.

'Redfox?' Why does that sound so familiar?" Levy thought and looked over to the corner, she was met by a red glare. Levy's eyes widened at the figure slowly making its way over to her. 'The blacksmith' she thought.

"I thought I told you to return to your castle shrimp." His voice was gruff as he sat down next to her with his drink and glared.

"I-I.. Y-you.. um.. Y-you ca-can't tell me wh-what to do." Levy stated and tried to stop her voice from shaking so much.

He grinned a little, "You ain't gonna survive a minute in this town, nevertheless in this tavern, princess." He said and looked back at her.

Levy puffed out her cheeks. "Oh yeah? I'm doing fine thank you very much!" She stated in annoyance and hoped her tea would come soon.

"Gihihi" He chuckled. 'What a strange laugh' Levy thought and looked over at the older man. "Your very own guards are searching the town looking for you and you think you will be fine?" He asked.

Levy had completely forgot about the way Jet had treated the blacksmith and realized that he had practically thrown her out from his shop.

"Hey! Why did you just throw me out like that before?" She screamed at him. The blacksmith looked at her questioningly and then realized what she was talking about and frowned as he stared into his beer.

"I didn't want anyone in the shop, wouldn't have needed to throw you out if you had just told that damn guard you were hiding there in the corner. " He said.

Levy blinked and took in what the man had said. "I'm sorry, Jet shouldn't have treated you that way. I will definitely talk to him about that later." she said and mumbled the last part more to herself.

"And more or less tell him that you have been out from the castle without permission, yeah sure do that and throw me in the fire as well. If you tell him that he will probably realize that you was in the shop with me and that will mean that my sorry excuse for a father will be in more trouble than my sorry ass." He snarled at her.

"Why is he in prison anyway?" She asked him.

"Tsk, why the fuck should I tell you princess?" He answered angrily.

Just when she was about to say something Mira returned to them with Levy's tea on a tray.

"I thought I recognized you. You are the princess aren't you? Only someone familiar for Gajeel would ever be allowed or even dare to talk to him. Isn't that right Redfox?" Mira asked with and evil glint in her eye when she looked at the blacksmith. To Levy it almost looked like the man was frightened by the innocent woman standing behind the bar. Turning her head back to her she wondered if she would tell the guards about the princess being in a bar.

"Please do not tell anyone about me being here! I'm not exactly allowed to be here." Levy pleaded the barmaid.

"Oh do not worry dear, whatever happens in Fairy Tail, stays in Fairy Tail. Right Gajeel."

Gajeel only grumbled angrily and took a clunk out of his drink. Mira only smiled at the odd duo and walked away. Levy's eyes followed the barmaid until she turned back to Gajeel who was staring at her intensely, but turned his head away quickly when he saw her turning around. The very tip of his ears a bit red. She was about to make a comment about it when two other voices reached her ears.

"PRINCESS LEVY?!" they screamed. The whole bar got quiet and everyone was looking at the young girl seated at the bar. Levy slowly turned around and looked at the two persons yelling at her. Levy's eyes widened when she recognized them.

"Lucy? Natsu?" she yelled.

The pair made their way over to the young heiress and stopped in front of her.

"What are you doing here?" Levy asked the two servants.

"We should ask you the same thing your highness. You shouldn't be out here talking to strangers without a body-guard. Especially not in a bar." Lucy lectured the princess. Around them the other bar customers was buzzing again and didn't mind that they had a royalty among them.

"Who are you?" Natsu suddenly asked and looked at Gajeel who was still seated next to Levy. Gajeel looked up from his drink and turned around slightly so he could face the young man. He snorted and turned back to his drink. Natsu who loathed being ignored yelled at the man before him. "HEY, I'm talking to you. Who the hell are you?" The tavern quieted down once again and looked at the scene. They all knew not to piss off Gajeel, some learned it the hard way while others learned it by watching.

Gajeel looked over his shoulder and hissed at the pink haired jester, "It's none of yer business."

Natsu who was getting frustrated quite quickly grabbed the mans glass and threw it away. Natsu may have been simple-minded but he had a short temper and really didn't like when people ignored him, most certainly metal-faced jerks.

Gajeel who himself had a problem with keeping his temper in check grabbed the young man by the collar and lifted him up in the air.

"Listen to me you punk, if you want to know who I am then ask anybody in this bar but leave me the fuck alone." He snarled at Natsu. His glare was scaring the other customers but Natsu wouldn't back down for this, no matter who this idiot was. Natsu was just about to talk back to the dark-haired man when a big hand gripped the ones that was holding him up.

"I suggest you calm down or leave Gajeel, we wouldn't want any fights with the guards around would we? That isn't very manly." A large man with white hair and a scar over his right eye said. True to his words a pair of guards was seated near the entrance keeping a close eye on the group, though it seemed that they still hadn't noticed the princess among them. The whole tavern was now looking at the men fighting and saw how Gajeel was doing his best not to punch both of the men near him. Slowly he let go of the jester and sat back down on his chair with a huff. He ordered another drink and took deep breaths, trying to calm down.

The large man turned to Natsu this time, "Perhaps you should calm down to or we will need to kick you out."

Natsu just stared up at the white-haired man. "No way, that ass won't get away that easily!" He shouted and pointed at Gajeel.

"Natsu calm down, we don't want to make a scene." Lucy said trying to calm her pink haired friend down.

"But Luce." he whined.

Mirajane who had served another customer walked over the group and put the tray down on the bar. "I suggest you listen to your friend, we don't want trouble with the guards around. Got enough warnings as it is already." She said and gave Natsu a deathly glare that easily could match up to Erza's.

"A-aye" He stuttered and sat down next to Lucy. Levy who was finding the scene quite amusing tried to stifle a giggle but couldn't quite hide the smile that was spreading on her face.

"What's with the face, shorty?" Gajeel then asked her. Looking up at the man beside her she just shook her head and ignored the nickname.

"Nothing, I just found the scene quite amusing, that's all. " Levy answered and was quite sure that Gajeel was about to make a stupid remark when she heard something interesting from a table just within earshot.

"Oi, did you hear about the eastern forest? Completely gone! It's like everything just died." A man said.

"No way!" another replied. "I guess the rumors about Hargeon must be true too then." he continued.

"What about it?" The first man asked

"I heard it completely disappeared, no trace of there ever being life in that place." The second man answered.

"Unbelievable, what will the king do about this?" asked.

"I heard he sent out some soldiers the other day and they apparently haven't returned yet." The second man said

Levy, who had listened intensively, gasped at the information. A town disappearing and a dead forest. How was this even possible? She needed to ask her father about this right away. Finishing her tea she pushed the cup away, and dropped some money on the counter, and started climbing down from her chair, slowly making her way towards the door. Just as she was about to open the door she felt a large hand at her shoulder.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?" the owner of the hand asked. Turning around Levy was looking in to a chest, even though she recognized it. The blacksmith himself was standing before her, his hand still resting on her shoulder. Gently, before the guards was able to notice, despite the fact that they had been there all along and probably heard Lucy's and Natsu's screams they had been drinking a bit too much, he grabbed the hood and pulled it over Levy's head.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she asked as she looked quite shocked at the blacksmiths face.

"Trying to blow your cover the first thing you do? Better be careful if you wanna make it home without being seen, princess." He said and glanced over at the guards who were now looking at them quite suspiciously. Gajeel lowered his head so his mouth was just beside her ear, his warm breath against her ear making her shiver. "Just be quiet and run when I tell you to." He whispered.

"Something wrong?" he then asked the guards who were standing beside them.

"What are you up to Redfox? You have been remarkably quiet the last few months." One of them sluddered, clearly affected by the alcohol. Gajeel just glared at them until he snarled. "What makes you think I'm up to something?" he asked. The guard just scoffed at him while the other stifled a laugh.

"You're always up to something Redfox, and one day we will put you in the cage where you belong." The guard said, not realizing what the blacksmith was doing before he got punched in the face by said man himself.

The other guard stared at his fallen comrade and raced his weapon and pointed it at the black-haired man. "Y-you are b-being arrested for v-violation against a g-guard." He stuttered and his weapon was shaking in his grasp.

Gajeel who noticed the commotion that was beginning in the back of the tavern turned to Levy. "Run" he said and punched the other guard as all hell broke loose before he followed the princess out of the tavern.

Levy leaned against a wall and tried for all her might to catch her breath. Never had she suspected the man beside her to punch the guards only to get her out. Perhaps there was more to him than caught the eye. Looking at him again she saw that he too was out of breath but she also caught that glint in his eyes that showed how much he had enjoyed to hit the wardens.

"Ready to return home, shrimp?" He asked her as he straightened his back and stood up. Levy looked up at him an realized that she needed to get home and ask her father about what was happening in the forest.

"I rather not, but I guess it is my duty as the princess to help my country in any way I can. Even if that means marrying a total stranger and stand behind the castle walls for the rest of my life." She answered with a dull expression.

Gajeel blinked bewildered at the heiress. Never had he expect her to be so sad about returning home. She had everything, right? Enough money to do whatever she wanted to, food that wouldn't run out, servants that did everything for her so she didn't need to lift a finger. Why on earth would she not want to return to a life like that?

"I know what you're thinking." She said and snapped him out from his thoughts. She sighed and continued, "Sure I have everything I could ever ask for, everything anyone would want, everything except one thing. Freedom. This was the first time I ever left the castle, and I loved it. I have never had this much fun in my entire life before and frankly, I'm not sure if I want to go back to being locked up like a bird in a cage." She avoided his gaze for she wouldn't be able to face it. This man could probably go anywhere he wanted to, he was free to do whatever he felt like doing.

"I get the feeling" He said which startled the young girl. She looked up at him and noticed that his expression too had changed. From the excitement before it was now sad. He had his arms crossed over his chest and was looking at the people living their lives before him.

"Being trapped in your own house because someone else tells you that you can't do whatever you want since you have a duty to do. I have lived alone for the last few years with a cat. I have been close to starving many times just because the damn guards feel like they can take whatever the hell they want just because they work for the king." He sighed. "Fuck it" He muttered as he covered his face with his hand.

Levy just stared at the man. Perhaps she didn't have as much problems as she thought she had. She had lived a fine life, no, a great life in the castle. Never had she needed to work just to get food on her table. She had always had people surrounding her, listening to her every wish. The solitude had never hit her. Despite soon being the one to take over the throne she had never heard of the blacksmith and what her guards did to him.

'Didn't he say that they had his father?' she thought and remembered the conversation he and Jet had in his shop. Standing up she brushed her clothes with her hands and turned to look at Gajeel.

"You're right!" She said to him.

Gajeel just blinked and wasn't quite sure what she was talking about. "Huh?" was the only thing he managed to say before she started talking again.

"I should not be the one complaining about my life. Sure I might hate the fact that I'm not allowed to see the world or that I am about to marry a prince I do not know, but I have never needed to struggle or work hard to survive."

"You shouldn't just accept it ya know." Now it was Levy's turn to not understand what was being said.

"What are you talking about?" She asked him

"You shouldn't accept the fact that you are being held prisoner in your own home and that you are going to marry someone you've just met. What kind of life is that? Shitty according to me."

Levy laughed a bit. "Guess we both rather be somewhere else and live the way we chose." she said and looked up at him.

"Ah." He said and smiled slightly, looking at the masses around them once again.

"Well then, if we are done standing here and feeling sorry for ourselves I guess it's time for me to head home." Levy said and started walking.

She hadn't walked very far until she heard footsteps behind her and felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Castle's the other way, princess" Gajeel chuckled. Levy turned around and was bright red in her face.

"I-I knew that" She said and started walking the other direction.

"Gihihi, sure ya did, shrimp." He chuckled and followed her towards the castle.

"Make up your mind will you? My name is not shrimp neither is it princess, it is Levy! But if you insist on calling me something else stick to one!" She said to him a bit annoyed.

Gajeel who found this amusing started laughing again.

"How 'bout midget then? Or maybe shorty?" He asked her. Levy just puffed out her cheeks and stared at him. This did nothing on making the metal wielder stop laughing, it only increased.

"You're right" He then said. Levy looked up with hope filling her eyes.

"Munchkin definitely suits you better." He said and Levy just groaned.

"I give up, you are a hopeless man!" She said and quickened her pace.

"Oi, wait up short stuff!" He said and ran after her.

Sooner than Levy had hoped they were at the castlewalls where Levy had escaped earlier. Despite being annoying as hell she quite enjoyed the company of the blacksmith. The sun was setting and created a beautiful orange hue on the sky. Shifting her gaze from the beautiful sky to the wall before her she sighed. Gajeel looked at her questioningly.

"What got you sighing now?" he asked her.

"I don't know how to get passed the wall." she sighed and looked up at the wall once again with small tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"How'd ya get passed it last time?" Gajeel asked her and followed her gaze up the wall.

Levy turned away embarrassed and tried not to sniffle. "I didn't, I got kicked out since the guard thought I was a peasant." By now her tears was streaming down her face and she looked back at the blacksmith. "How am I going to get home now?"

"O-oi, stop crying will ya? Why are ya crying anyway? Just walk through the gate or something." He said nervously.

"I don't know, I guess I'm just exhausted. Does that make any sense?" she asked and sat down by the wall.

He looked at her and joined her on the ground, "No, I doesn't make any fucking sense, but I'm warning you, if you start crying again I will walk away from here and you will figure this out yourself."

Levy looked up at him, her tears slowly dying. "R-really? You will help me?" She asked him and smiled slightly at his flushed face.

"N-no.. I-I ain't said that." He grumbled and turned away.

"Thank you." She said and dried the remaining of her tears.

"Whatever," he grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest when he was standing up.

Levy stifled a giggle and started walking towards the gates.

"Oi, where are you going?" Gajeel asked and looked at the blue haired girl.

"To the gates, you said that I could go through there right?" She answered and continued to walk.

Gajeel shook his head. How could she trust him so easily? He started walking after her towards the gates to the castle.