They All Fall Down

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 8^th 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