Chapter 2: A Hero's Welcome
In a whiz of swirling light and colours, Link was deposited rather unsteadily on the ground. Fervently looking around, Link found himself among a group of tall, strange trees. There was no grass and the unusual plants seemed to be composed of a single, broad, flat stalk. It was then Link realized with a start what they truly were. Navi hovered questioningly by his ear.
"Are those...blades of grass?" She asked increduously.
They stood and stared, at a loss for words. A sudden noise roused them from their shocked stupor. The disturbance among the tall grass caused Link to draw his sword. Something was fast approaching. Link readied himself for a fight, every muscle in his body tense. The rustling grew closer, but Link remained calm. Finally, it emerged. Link's eyes grew wide as he watched the creature draw itself out of the shadows. It was a giant black spider. Even from that distance, Link could see every hair that protruded out of its eight, thick legs, and each individual shiny, black eye. The incredible creature's body came up to Link's middle as it stood there, watching them. There was a pause, the silence filled the air, but the spider made no move.
"Link, what should we do?" Navi asked, a little anxiously.
"Oh! I'm sorry." The spider suddenly exclaimed apologetically. "I forgot my manners. My name is Hero, and I will be escorting you to the palace."
There was a moment of stunned silence.
"Wait... you can, talk?" Navi finally spluttered.
"Of course," Hero replied, "many of us can, but not all."
"Oh..." Navi didn't know what else to say.
"First, however, I would like to say, on behalf of all the citizens of Entamolia, thank you for coming to save us, and that we hope you succeed." As she said this, she did a graceful bow (It is quite something to see a spider bow, much less bow gracefully). "Now, if you don't mind, you can ride on my back and I will take you to the palace. The princess is waiting for you."
Link looked at Navi and nodded. He sheathed his sword and approached Hero. Closer up, Link could see her fangs and, though she didn't seem like the fighting type, he didn't relish the idea of standing against her. Climbing rather awkwardly onto her back, the three set off at an even pace in the direction Hero had come from. Soon, and to his own surprise, Link grew used to riding on an enormous spiders back. At first, there was nothing to see except tall grass, but eventually they began passing through small villages. It was very strange, seeing all of the houses made of various natural materials, but even more unusual were the people. They would peek out from windows and doors to stare at the passing trio. Others would openly goggle at them in the streets. They were all very buggy, but some looked more human than others.
"We'll be able to see the palace soon." Hero informed them.
And sure enough, the grass suddenly ended and they found themselves gazing at a tall cliff in the distance. Carved into the cliff face was a magnificent palace. The stone was polished to a shine and glimmered in the sunlight. Bright green ivy leaves wandered over it and spiraled up its tall towers. The effect was simply stunning.
"That is the Mantis Palace, home of the Princess Blanche, high ruler of Entamolia and the surrounding country." Announced Hero grandly. Then, once again, they pressed on.
The inside of the palace was just as, if not more, beautiful than the outside. They entered the main hall and there, sitting on a throne of ebony, was Princess Blanche. She rose, lightly stepping off of the raised platform, to greet them. Link saw that she had four arms and her skin was the colour of leaves in early spring. Two long antennae sprouted from her head through her brown hair and her eyes were those of a praying mantis.
"Welcome, great warrior." Her voice was as clear as a crystal lake. "We have waited so long for you to arrive."
Link nodded, he didn't know what to say.
Navi decided to speak up, "We are honored to be here and will gladly help out in any way we can, but first we would like to know more about what we're up against and how we can go about stopping it."
"Of course," Blanche replied, nodding. "I will start from the beginning...