Chapter 2
Princess Gwenalot groaned. Her subjects had started to see the way Crooner, the sacred Minstrel, wandered the whole of Fraggle Rock … but somehow always managed to spend time with the Princess every week.
It's not that she didn't like him that way, because he could really be fun to be around … it was just … that …
… she had … things … to do.
Fraggle Rock sprawled on for ages and it was her job to protect Fraggles from danger. It left her on the "road" a lot, without a lot of time to worry about ….
At any rate, she found herself at a crossroads. To the left lay the great blue rock that tempted any Fraggle worth her mushrooms. The Old Ones said it was necessary to crack it in order to prove their worth as leader of the Fraggles. Princess Gwenalot was already leader, but she wanted to know for herself where her destiny lay.
However, to the right lay that burning piece of fur that the Doozer told her about. Fire was dangerous in Fraggle Rock: in some parts of the Rock, an errant flame could quickly lead to a Rockslide and a painfully loud noise. Her father had told her of Boom Canyon, a place where it was absolutely forbidden to camp overnight. He said over fifty Fraggles had disappeared while the Rock heard an earth-shattering "boom".
As she stared first into one tunnel and then into the other, she heard someone approaching her from the right. She hid in a corner and wrapped her invisibility cape around her. A bright blue Fraggle with a red cap and a brown robe appeared, apparently lost in thought, as he read a piece of paper with such small eyes Princess Gwenalot couldn't really see them. As he got closer, mumbling to himself about diameters and force and gravity, he accidentally stepped on Princess Gwenalot's tail.
"Ouch!" she yipped, jumping a couple of feet off the ground. She growled as she cradled her tail in her arms.
The male Fraggle screamed and jumped back in one hop to the other side of the cave, trembling. "S-sorry!" he exclaimed. "I didn't see you sitting there! Please forgive me, oh Princess Gwenelyn!"
"Gwenalot," she replied.
The male Fraggle's voice changed from booming to timid. He cocked his head to one side, the trembling stopping as he tried to hide the piece of paper behind him. "You changed your name?" he asked, confused. "Why?"
The Princess shrugged and stared at the floor, letting her sore tail fall back down. "I just like the way it sounds better, that's all."
The male Fraggle shook his head. "You hairy Fraggles are really weird," he told her. "You not only have names that have nothing to do with either your looks or your jobs … you also just randomly change them at your slightest whim."
The Princess frowned, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, smarty-robes, what's your name?"
He patted himself on the chest. "Roughchin. I use a stone for a pillow, so it leaves my chin, well, rough."
"Uh-huh," she replied in disbelief. "You think you're so smart, what about Crooner? His name is like his job … and he has hair. I guess you shouldn't be so quick to judge other Fraggles, huh?"
Roughchin shrugged. "He's a sacred Minstrel. He's bound to have more sense than the average hairy Fraggle."
"Oooooooo," Princess Gwenalot growled, practically steaming. She could feel her heartbeat all the way up behind her eyes. "Why are you walking around out here?" she barked, trying to change the subject. "Don't you know there's some burning fur out here that doesn't go out?"
Roughchin cleared his throat and tried to inch away from the approaching Princess. "Ah, um, you see, uh …."
Princess Gwenalot sighed and shook her head. Her voice softened as well. "Don't let me catch you around here again, at least until I get this mystery solved. Got it?"
Roughchin nervously nodded. "Y-yes, of course, Princess Gwen-a-pick-a-suffix." He ran off in the opposite direction.
"It's Gwenalot!" she screeched.
As she headed down the right tunnel, the tunnel began to grow more humid, while thick roots ran this way and that and a glittery light glowed stronger and stronger. As she approached what looked like a dead end, it started getting rather warm, which was strange considering how close the Rock was to the Great Rock Freeze. She gulped and spied a lone clump of red fur, with a small flame licking at its edges. There was no smoke and the fur wasn't consumed either. There was also something else … a little round cream-colored rollie, damp from the humid air. She cautiously placed her invisibility cape down so it wouldn't catch fire and approached on tiptoe, her tail waving back and forth behind her for balance. She hunched down and reached for the little rollie.
It turned suddenly on its own to reveal an iris. The flame beside it gave it an eerie orange glow.
Princess Gwenalot shrieked in surprise. "Great Piles of Doozer Dust! It's an – mmphrrmm!" A hand grabbed her snout and as she fainted, she heard cackling laughter.