They all fall down
This is one
of my fan arts for the Wardstone chronicle books by Joseph Delaney; this is
based on a scene from the 8th book Destiny. The books are told from
Tom Wards POV and this scene focuses on his best friend Alice.
This scene
was dramatic and shocking, the writing was very descriptive and it left me
thinking of it long after I finished the book.
My drawing
features Alice Deane dancing and spinning in the woods after she’s killed and
created chaos. Without spoiling the plot, before this scene Alice had
experienced something awful and wasn’t herself, this is the first time since
then that she has come down to reality.
Each
chapter in these books has a small silhouetted picture .I took inspiration form
that and of course the story itself.
This is the
passage from the book that I took inspiration from;
‘It seemed as though nothing could save me,
Then I heard a rumble from somewhere deep within the ground,
and all at once the whole world began to move.
Above my head the branches bounced and writhed as if the
tree trunk was being twisted and shaken by a giant’s hand. The witche’s gaze
left me and she glanced upwards fearfully. But the danger came from the other
direction.
A huge crack suddenly opened in the earth. With a grinding,
splintering roar, it gaped wider, moving towards Scarabek faster than a person
could run.
At the very last moment she tried to leap clear, but it was
too late, the earth swallowed her up and closed with a deep reverberating thud,
leaving only the fingers of her left hand visible.
With harsh cries, the flock of crows quickly took flight,
then the ground beneath my feet began to buck and shake, and the surface became
as liquid as an ocean, with waves rolling across the forest floor. They seemed
to be radiating from where Alice was standing, and even above the noise I could
hear her chanting a spell in old tongue. Mages and their servants were now
running in all directions.
The trees were leaning at crazy angles, their roots
dislodged by the violent movement. Then suddenly, everything became still and
quiet again, as if the whole world was holding its breath, appalled at what had
happened. Now there was only one thing moving; one new sound to fill the
silence.
Alice was spinning, dancing across the grass with her arms extended,
blood still dripping from her wrists. Her eyes were closed, and she was smiling
and humming something under her breath. She spun faster and began to sing just
loud enough for me to hear the words;
“A ring a
ring of roses, a fist full of thorns,
A ring a
ring of roses, a head full of thorns.
I’ll give
a laugh and then a frown
So they
all fall down!”
She giggled and repeated the last line as if it pleased her
“so they all fall down”.
My favourite
quotes from this passage are;
‘Then suddenly, everything became still and quiet again, as
if the whole world was holding its breath, appalled at what had happened’.
The book is
from Toms POV, his friend has done something evil and atrocious and he is
stunned with the magnitude of it! I love this line because it also reflected my
thoughts at the time and I realised that I was holding my breath as well!.
My second favourite
quote is;
‘She giggled and repeated the last line as if it pleased
her: “so they all fall down!”
For me this was the climax of the
scene, she does something terrible then relishes in it. ‘So they all fall down!’
sounds so final and menacing.
Emma McGrath
