Lora was planting potatoes on her parents’ farm when she heard an earth-shattering sound. What was that sound?

She left the fields and ran towards their home, which was at the edge of the village. Lora opened the wooden door and noticed her father and mother talking to two strangers.

“Lora?” said her mother. “You came at the perfect time. I was about to send your brother to pick you up.” She pointed at a young man who stood next to an older man. “Your father and I both thought you should get married as soon as possible. Meet Ivon, your future husband.” The man gave a smile and extended his hand towards Lora.

“Future husband?” Lora said, spurting it out. “I don’t want to get married yet.”

Her mother’s smile turned sour. “Don’t act like this in front of the guests. Ivon’s from an excellent family. His father’s a famous blacksmith and he’s planning to follow in his footsteps. Ivon could provide you with a comfortable life. Much better than the life your father and I can provide for you.”

Lora’s mother said the last sentence with a bitter tone.

Lora looked at Ivon and studied him. He doesn’t look bad. Maybe I should give him a chance?

“Alright.” Lora grabbed Ivon’s hand—which hung in the air for a minute—and said, “I’m Lora, nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” he replied.

They both smiled.

Then the door opened.

“Brother,” Lora said as she ran towards the man. She placed her mouth close to his ears and whispered, “can you convince our parents to cancel the betrothal? I don’t want to get married.”

Her brother laughed. “Silly girl, you’re turning 16 next week. You should marry as quick as you can so can leave this place. We’re holding you back.”

Lora pouted. Even my brother wants me to get married?

“Son,” Lora’s father said. “Did you have a successful hunt?”

Her brother’s expression turned serious. “I haven’t because I heard a loud explosion, that’s why I came back as soon as possible. I thought something bad happened here.”

“Brother, I also heard the explosion. It was loud,” Lora said, being relieved she wasn’t the only one hearing it. Her parents acted as if it hadn’t happened.

“It seems it was loud then,” Lora’s brother said, replying to his sister. He looked at his father with a stern expression. “I want to find out what caused such an explosion. I don’t want something unexpected to happen to my family, that’s why I have to find the cause.”

“Son, you have my permission, but be careful. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry dad, I’m almost 20. I have to get used to danger if I want to become an adventurer.”

“I see… come back without missing pieces.”

“Father,” Lora said. “Can I go with brother? I’m sure brother is strong enough to protect me if something bad happens.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good id—”

“Sir, I’ll also go with her.” Another person interrupted. It was Ivon.

“Then I don’t have to worry,” said Lora’s father. He didn’t want the others to think he was looking down on Ivon, that’s why he agreed.

“Thanks for entrusting your daughter to me. I’ll promise I’ll keep her safe.”

“That’s a promise,” Lora’s father replied.

 

***

 

The trio picked up some weapons and left the house, venturing into the woods.

There was a long silence until Lora broke it. “So how old are you, Ivon?”

“I’m 18. I turn 19 in a few months. How about you? How old are you?”

“I am 15 turning 16 next week.”

“Next week? You’ll become an adult then.”

“That’s true… Ivon, what do you think about us getting married? Don’t you think it’s too early? Don’t you have other passions in life you want to follow?”

Ivon smiled bitterly. He replied. “I didn’t expect my parents would set me up for marriage. The whole idea sounded strange, and I was against it at first, but after I saw you, I have to thank my parents.”

Lora blushed at Ivon. Shameless, such a shameless man. Couldn’t he be a little more subtle?

Ivon smirked. He was proud of his victory.

“Stop it, you two lovebirds. You should focus on your surroundings. What if a wolf or something worse attacks us?”

Ivon and Lora nodded, agreeing with him.

Lora thought about her looks. Am I pretty enough? She looked at her small hands and touched her small face. She held her long brown hair and looked at her brother. The difference between the two was immense. One couldn’t tell the two were related. The only similarities were their brown eyes and brown hair.

Her brother was tall and muscular, while she was average in height with a delicate body. Although her brother wasn’t ugly, he wasn’t handsome either. He was average-looking while she was a well known beauty in their village.

“Why are you staring at me?” said Lora’s brother.

“Oh, sorry, big brother. I was just thinking about stuff…”

“Less thinking and more looking at your surroundings! If it’s one small wolf, I think I can defeat it, but if it’s a group. We’re screwed.”

“Alright, I’ll try to watch my surroundings.”

“What’s your brother’s name, if I may ask?” said Ivon, looking at Lora’s muscular brother.

“The name’s Theo,” said Theo. “But Lora likes to call me big brother. I like it when she calls me that. She had preferred to call me brother instead of ‘Theo’ since we were kids.”

“I see,” said Ivon, not caring about the back story.

“What the fuck?” said Lora, out of a sudden. “This crater, it’s huge…”

The trio stared at the crater in the far distance. Even from this far away, it was enormous. The crater appeared to be several kilometers big and a few hundred meters deep.

“How is this possible?” said Theo, talking to himself. “A creature that’s capable of creating such a hole must be huge and powerful. We have to be careful.”

“Isn’t it better if we leave?”

“Do you want to leave that bad, Ivon? Don’t tell me you’re scared. How can I entrust my sister’s future to you if you’re such a coward?”

“I’m not a coward. I’m just being realistic. You just told me you couldn’t defeat a group of wolves. How are you planning on defeating this behemoth?”

“I don’t intend to defeat it. I just want to explore the being behind such a devastating attack. Let’s keep searching.”

Ivon wanted to refuse, but he didn’t want to annoy Theo, so he went along. Lora said nothing and went along with her brother.

“Brother, what do you think caused this?” asked Lora.

“I haven’t much knowledge about the outside world, but I’m almost sure it’s a gigantic monster. I can’t imagine a person doing this.”

She nodded at her brother’s answer. Her brother was right, it was impossible for such a person to exist. The tales she used to hear as a kid were about heroes strong enough to defeat dragons. It was a well known fact that dragons were the strongest race in the continent. Although she couldn’t read, she heard it from other people.

After a couple of minutes, the three of them came across a river. Ivon suggested they should take a break until Lora saw something.

“Why is there a person standing at the river’s edge? I should go ask him.”

“Lora, I don’t think that’s a good ide—”

Before her brother—Theo—could warn her, she was already shouting at the man. “Uh… Sir, you’ve been staring at the water for over 30 minutes now.”

The man had a confused look on his face and turned around. Lora couldn’t see the man properly because she was a great distance away. But when she tried to look clearly, she noticed her mistake: the man was butt-naked.

She started screaming as she put her hands before her eyes.

This was my first time seeing a man’s private part. How can I get married now?