Sian Chaney-Price Extract from Questers: Book the First – The Tale of Three Once Upon A Time There Were Three Children…
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nce upon a time there were three children, let us call them Margot, Silence and February because those were their names. Margot? We hear you cry, what an unusual name and you would be right, you do not get a lot of Margots in life, that is probably why she is starring in this story because she is special. Silence, on the other hand, you tend to hear from parents who are trying to get their children to be quiet. Silence was a waily child and so her parents thought that by naming her Silence she would embody her name – it did not work, as Silence talked a lot. February was a bit less original in that he was born in February and his mum thought that it was a nice name and something memorable. February thought otherwise, as in it was a bit too memorable for the other kids in Scouts, but he had learned to live with it in the same way that some children have to live with curly hair or bright orange eyes. No? Only us, who have eyes that shine like the brightest marigolds? Anyway, back to the story... Margot, Silence and February had all been sent on a quest into the deep, dark woods1. The envelopes that had come through the post had even been stamped, “Quest – open if you dare!” in big red letters and yet still Margot, Silence and February opened them. Even more crazily, they had packed their bags, or in Silence’s case just put on her coat and left immediately.
A quest is a normally a journey that has to be carried out by a hero or heroine and tends to be long and arduous, a bit like narrating this sorry tale. 1
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