“Hey Edna! Who's this?!” June asked in surprise as Edna and George passed by. Hart, who was talking with June, lightly shoved her. “Obviously someone important! Look how clean he is!”

“Um…I’m George Cartwright-ow!”

“You don’t have to say the whole thing!” Edna barked, punching him in the arm. George yelped and rubbed his arm. “….the names George, pleasure to meet you…” he said.

“Woooow, are you a noble? You’ve gotta be! Wow, these clothes are soft…” June and Hart assailed George with a variety of questions, while also grabbing his clothes and enjoying their softness. “Guys, come on! Have some manners!” Edna protested. “If you don’t straighten up I’ll hug you!”

“Noooooo! Anything but that!” June and Hart instantly backed away from George, apologizing and hanging their heads in shame. “Eh? Why is hugging so bad?” George asked. Hart and June stared at George with an abject look of horror, while Edna grinned wickedly. “Eh? Why are you staring at me-gyah?!” George let out a startled scream mid-sentence as Edna wrapped her arms around him, embracing him in a bear hug.

“Ack…” George was immediately flustered, especially since a girl was currently wrapped around him. Before he could indulge in such feelings, they were quickly dispersed by the discomfort that assailed him. “WHY ARE YOU SO HOT?!” George wailed, trying to peel Edna off of him.

His frustration was justified- hugging Edna was kind of like hugging a heater set to low- not hot enough to burn, but definitely enough to cause discomfort from touching for too long. The warmth went away thereafter, leaving a rather flustered, sweaty George and a cackling Edna.

“You are the most terrifying girl I’ve ever known!” George protested, unbuttoning his shirt slightly in an attempt to cool down. “You poor, poor soul…” June and Hart said in harmony, patting him on the shoulder. “Guys…come on…my hugs aren’t that bad….” Edna said, quickly becoming dejected. For Edna, who very much enjoyed hugs, a world where everyone hated her hugs would not be enjoyable to live in.

Her displeasure was mostly exaggerated, however, since her mood quickly bounced back. “Guys, I’m going to show George the place!” she told them. “You mean…that place?” Hart asked with wide eyes. “What’s so special about this place?” George asked.

“Can he be trusted to keep it a secret?” June asked. Edna nodded. “Eh? Secret? What the heck?!”

“The place is something that can only be shown, not told,” Hart told George in a sagely voice. “It must be mighty important then,” George said. Hart, June, and Edna all nodded together at the same time. “Right, let’s go!” They all said together.

They continued forward through the alleyways of the slums. In between the gaps of the buildings, they saw the large city walls looming above them. “Quickly, hide!” Edna hissed. The group ducked into a shadow, cowering as a security golem slowly strolled forward, accompanied by two guards wielding swords. As they passed, Edna let out a soft exhalation of breath.

“I must say, sneaking around like this has me wondering if what we’re doing is legal…?” George queried nervously. “Um…what’s legal?” Hart asked. “It’s when you’re really smart, duh!” June corrected him. “…its what’s right,” Edna remarked. “Um…this isn’t legal, though?”

“Good heavens!” George exclaimed in abject horror. “What, you scaaaared?!” Hart said with a sneer. “Yes! What if we get litigated?”

“Liti…what the heck is that?” Hart and June were puzzled by his words. “It’s when you-“

“Boring!” Hart dismissed his words with a hand wave. “Alright, smarty-pants, I double dog dare you!”

“Excuse me?” George asked incredulously. “Oh man, now you really have to do it,” June said, in awe. “What? How?”

“Double dog is like, the ultimate dare. You absolutely can’t refuse it,” Edna informed George, who frowned. “That’s dumb, but, alright…” He thought, and utilizing the higher education he had received, the highest type that could be obtained with money and clout, smirked as he came up with a brilliant riposte. “In that case, I’ll counter you!” He jabbed a finger at Hart. “I triple dog dare you to go to where we’re going!” Hart’s mouth dropped, and June let out a startled squeak. “Did he….he didn’t…”

“Woah….” All of them were in awe. To think there was a dare that transcended even the mighty double dog dare, which carried double the weight of a dare, but there existed a triple dog dare, carrying three times the weight of a dare. It was an absolute existence that trumped the former absolute word, a God ruling the Gods.

“Shoot…” Hart kicked the ground and grumbled. “Why the heck do I gotta do it? I was going there anyway…”

“He’s right,” Edna said, realizing that. “In that case, George, It is I who shall triple dog dare you to follow us!”

“Eh?” George was stunned to have his own words flung in his face. “But…you…uh…”

“Ha, ha! Now you have to follow us!” Hart said, completely forgetting the previous dire predicament he had been in. Defeated, George hung his head, dragging his feet after the intrepid kids, towards wherever they might be going.

They came upon the base of the large stone wall. It towered high above them, perhaps at around 8 meters high. There was no one around. “So what’s so special about this?” George asked them. “This!” Edna murmured, tapping a particular section of the wall, which was cracked and pitted. She slid her fingers into a particular crevice and pulled, pulling out several stones, revealing a small stone. “This leads directly into one of the towers,” Edna explained. “Wait, seriously!?” George exclaimed.

Hart and June nodded. “Edna, you go first,” Hart said. Edna nodded, and slid into the hole, wriggling her way into it and vanishing into the darkness within. It was small enough that only a little kid could possibly fit through. Hart and June also followed suit, leaving it just George, who reluctantly struggled his way through the hole, due to being a little bit bigger than the others, but he managed to fit.

They found themselves in a narrow passageway, dimly lit with torches. Though none of them knew, only certain sections of the walls had passage ways below them, either to give access to the towers, which also had doors at their base on the inside part for easy access, or to give access to stairs which would lead to the ramparts above.

Edna moved forward, followed by Hart, June, and George. They came upon a spiral staircase, which moved up and to the right. “Oh, I remember something my Father said,” George remarked as they began moving up them. “Apparently, these stairs spiral to the right so that invaders can’t make effective use of their sword arms, so they’re forced to fight with their left hand,” George explained.

“Wooow, really?” Hart exclaimed with shining eyes. “Wow, you’re so smart, George!” Edna exclaimed. George laughed, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. It was very tiring, but sometime later, the hallway became brighter…and then they emerged at the top. George let out a startled gasp as he saw the landscape before him. Hart, and June promptly sat down collectively, exhausted from the climb.

“Woah…” George mumbled, walking towards the crenellated edge and staring across the entirety of the city. The wall was only about 8 meters, but for the tower, it was maybe closer to 15, so as to allow archers to fire down on enemies with deadly impunity. But for non-deadly purposes…it was hard to beat the scenery.

This high up, one could see a majority of the capital city of Harlup, and miles into the distance beyond the city walls, where the faint trees of a forest unknown to them and distant mountains even further beyond, barely visible. George looked over towards the city, observing the various plumes of smoke emanating from the factories, which were situated in the Industrial District. The capital was big enough that it could be divided into several districts, from residential to mercantile to industrial, or anything else that was majorly related to the function of a city.

“It’s…quite…tiring, but the view…is so worth it…” June remarked. Edna hopped up and down, a sharp contrast to the other three. George was able to stand, but even he was exhausted, yet Edna looked pretty fine. “You have a lot of endurance, don’t you?” George asked her. Edna tilted her head. “Endurance? What’s that? Can you eat it?”

“Ha ha, you can’t eat it…” George replied with a laugh, turning his gaze back to the city. Edna joined him, her red eyes glistening with excitement. “It’s beautiful,” George mumbled softly. “I know, right? This world is so big, so vast…that’s why I love it,” Edna remarked cheerfully. George looked at her, surprised at the deepness of her words.

As he looked at her, he realized how close they were, too. He found himself staring into her vermilion colored gaze. Even if her usually pale skin was covered in dirt and her clothes rumpled and mismatched, he found himself admiring her in a way he had never admired anyone before. It was a feeling he had no idea what to call.

Edna noticed his gaze, and tilted her head slightly in puzzlement, since the way he was looking at her was quite different from before. “Is there something on my face?” she asked him. George, who came back to his senses, let out a yelp and shook his head. “What? Um, no.”

“Is that so? I see.” Edna fixed her gaze back onto the horizon. Hart and June sidled up beside them, also admiring the scenery. “You know…I’d like to come here again,” George remarked softly. Edna grinned. “Yeah, but you can’t tell anyone! It’s our secret!”

“I solemnly swear to tell no one about this,” George said in a serious tone. He frowned, thinking, then opened his mouth. “Hey….Edna, are we friends?” he asked her softly. Edna regarded him with a strange look, then gave him a lopsided smile. “Of course we are, silly!”

“Even after I took your ball?”

“You gave it back though, didn’t you?”

“But…”

“And you always came to see me, didn’t you?” George smiled, embarrassed., but unable to refute her words.

"Well…alright then.”