Chapter 3
Princess Gwenalot still floated in darkness, though now she could hear fluttering wings and tiny female voices….
"Why do we have to do this by ourselves?" one voice whispered angrily. "Where's Hanna?"
A clinking sound and the sound of scratching on paper followed. "She said something about finding a gig making shoes or something."
A long pause followed and then the first voice said, "Well, at least we're not stuck doing that."
The two voices giggled for several moments.
Princess Gwenalot opened her eyes, thick and heavy as they felt, and the blurry image of a large room covered in stucco appeared. She didn't move as she glanced around at the ceiling: there were cobwebs and spiders and tiny lizards skittering in and out of cracks in the wall. She found the strength to lift her head and she saw dozens of strange objects, all made out of metal. Some were round like rollies, though a lot larger (almost Fraggle-sized), and some were very pointy. She recognized some … they were called "swords". She used to pretend having one when she was little, using a branch and waving it around in her parents' room.
She groaned as she sat up, and heard buzzing around her ears. She swatted.
"Hey, watch it, furball!" the two voices screamed.
Princess Gwenalot looked around and spotted two strange dragonfly-like creatures with smooth pale skin and silvery long hair, wearing what looked like leaf remnants. They weren't insects, though … she didn't know what they were.
"Are you just going to sit on that pile of armor all day, or are you going to get up off your big furry butt and let us do our job?" taunted one, with her hand on her hip, her wings flittering madly.
"I don't have a big furry butt," Princess Gwenalot protested. "I'm very petite among the Fraggles. I don't have an ounce of fat on me!"
The other creature smirked. "You look like a big fat waste of fur to us."
Princess Gwenalot stood angrily, pumping her fist as her tail started to flicker about. "You aren't very nice!"
The first creature stuck out her tongue. "Who ever told you fairies were nice?" she replied, laughing. "Stupid little furb--." The fairy stopped mocking the newcomer when the newcomer grabbed her in her hand and squeezed slightly.
Princess Gwenalot grinned with a devilish grin. "I'm smart enough to know that you little things can be swatted like the weird bugs you are," she coldly informed them. "Now, how do I get back to Fraggle Rock?"
The other fairy flew at Princess Gwenalot's hair, pulling and tugging. "Let my sister go!"
Princess Gwenalot casually flicked the nagging fairy away, sending her sprawling into a pile of swords that fell down with a raucous clanging. She glared at the one fairy she had captured. "Fraggle Rock?" she asked again with one eyelid drooping down halfway.
The fairy stopped struggling and sighed. "If you've got a thing for rocks, we really can't help you," she replied wearily. She looked up pleadingly. "Please let me go … we've got only 'til one o'clock this afternoon to finish up our inventory for all these weapons."
"Why do you need all these 'weapons'?" the Princess asked.
The fairy shook her head. "I really don't know. You have no idea what it's like to live only to serve a ruler who's stronger than you. We'll be severely punished if you don't let us finish." She tried to free herself once more. "Please! These aren't even for us!"
Princess Gwenalot let her go and the fairy flew over to her bruised and groaning sister. She watched them flick their wings once or twice as one tended the other, happy to be free from the Fraggle grip. "So, who knows how to get me back to Fraggle Rock?"
The bruised fairy looked up at the Fraggle and pointed to the door to the room, which was only twice the Princess' size. "Go out that door and head south until you reach a gate. Sometimes around noon you'll see a big fat hairy animal with horns and long ears snoozing right in front of the gate until he's chased off. If you get to him before then, he can help you."
Princess Gwenalot picked up a short sword that looked almost new and was easy for a Fraggle to carry. She picked up another one and grunted as she opened the door. She stopped and turned to look at the tired fairies. "I really am sorry that I had to be mean to you, uh, 'fairies'," she told them submissively. "You could have avoided all that if you had just been nice to me." She left and gently closed the door behind her.