My whole body felt anxious again. I opened my mouth to reply, but realizing how dry my throat was, I closed my mouth. 

    "Well?" the guard asked, obviously annoyed. 

    I gathered up my courage again and replied "my name is Steve." 

    I paused a second and then continued, "I am lost. I need somewhere to stay, and I need food. I also need directions back to my own village. " 

    "Alright, come in. I will lead you to the king." the guard answered. 

    I heard a mechanical moving sound again, and the window the guard had been peeking out of closed. I stood there for a few moments, waiting for further response. I looked around. There was no one else to be seen. Then, I heard an even louder mechanical sound. The gate had opened. On the other side was a group of guards, all equipped with armor and iron swords. 

    The guards grabbed me and forced me through the gate. Shocked by their rough attitude, I could do nothing but let myself be pushed through the gate. They led me throughout the streets of the village. The villagers nearby gave me strange looks. I tried to ignore them and focused instead on my surroundings. We were inside the walls, passing dozens of different houses and workshops. 

    Unlike my hometown, this village seemed organized. The workshops, stores, and houses were all separated into different areas. I could tell it was built with precision and detail. They even had specific areas for their own man-made forest and lake. I would have admired the whole thing for its beauty if I had not been being pushed around by a bunch of tough guards with swords.

    Soon, we arrived at the castle I had seen, which was behind the village. I looked up to see a colossal structure, with towers reaching high into the sky. The castle itself was much larger than it had appeared before. It must have contained many different rooms. I wondered who lived inside it. The guards forced me up the main steps into the castle. 

    The stairs were made of some type of stone brick. As we entered, I noticed archers in the towers overhead, bows at the ready. I gulped. If I made one wrong move, I was dead. After we entered through the main door, we passed through a large main hall. A red carpet ran through the middle of the main hall. There were many ornate paintings hung on the wall as well. Gold and emerald blocks sat in piles as decoration as well.

    The main hall also had three hallways connected to it, one on either side of the main hall and one at the end of the hall. We marched through the hallway at the end of the hall. Next, we passed through a series of other rooms. Some of these were neat and cozy bedrooms, some led to more hallways, one led to a garden, among others. As I passed through the different rooms, curiosity built up within me.

    Who lives here? Where are these guards taking me? I thought as we passed through the different rooms. At last, we arrived at a room with a large door. One of the guards, the one that appeared to be the leader, knocked on the door. 

    Then he said, "it is the royal guard, your majesty." 

    "Come in." a voice replied.