Nihil Evadere

3- Ice Cream And Explanations

Being inside the gates of Nihil Evadere was way better than being on the outside of them, Thalia quickly realised. It turned out that the things that she saw looking in was only a glimpse of the fun that was to be had. To her right, a food stall, that had the biggest, juciest-looking burgers in the world, hotdogs with so much ketchup on that you couldn't see the sausage, chips that were so salty and delcious that you wouldn't belive your tastebuds. Thalia hadn't realised how hungry she was until now. There were gigantic cones of cotton candy whizzing by in childen's hands, large rainbow lollipops that would take days to finish, along with bags of colourful gummy candies and rock candies and marshmallows galore. It was a child's dream. Ontop of that, there were many exciting rides. A wacky, splashed hall of mirros with hilariously warped images of yourself, bumper carts that were painted to look like race cars and were as fast as them too, and a funhouse that was full to bursting of even wackier attractions- a giant hamster ball that could hold five children maximum, a slide that looked like a tongue with bouncy teeth to jump on, and many, many more- and hysterical laughter.

Marrigold chatted animatedly to Thalia as they purposefully zipped past the amazing rides and events, all about Nihil Evadere. One strange thing that Thalia noticed, however, was how everyone seemed to know each other, and Marrigold. As the illsuited pair wandered through the wonderland of fun, people all around them stopped what they were doing and goggled at Thalia and Marrigold. A few even bowed, and some squealed in terror and ran behind the nearest person. It was quite weird.

"...So that's Michael, he loves the ferris wheel, and there's Olivia, she's a great fan of Ms Bombacio's cotton candy- it's actually a specialty here In Nihil..." Marigold seemed to be talking about everything and nothing, so Thalia decided to block her out.

"Where are the children's families?" Thalia asked finally, unable to bear the woman's happy-go-lucky talking.

A little disgruntled from being interrupted, Marigold answered, "They don't have families. Or not anymore. Nihil Evadere is now their family!"

"What do you mea-" Thalia was cut off.

"Ah, Mr Frigus! May we indulge in your spectacular ice-cream?" Marigold waltzed towards a very startled young man who was cleaning his tables outside a pastel yellow and blue shop.

The man was handsome, with blonde wavy hair that was partially hidden underneath his stereotypical ice-cream man hat. he wore a plaid white and yellow shirt, matching the colour of the shop, with a pure white apron and some black trousers. On his pocket on the apron, NIHIL EVADERE CIRCUS, was sewn in bright colours completely contrasting from his pale shirt.

"Um...of course, Ms Marrigold...and one for the young girl too?" he asked, bowing awkardly.

"Of course, if you will, Mr Frigus. What would you like, dear?" Marrigold turned to Thalia.

"Oh...I'll just have a vanilla ice cream, please," she answered.

To her great surprise, Mr Frigus and Marrigold burst into unapologetic laughter. What is it with everyone here laughing for no reason? Thalia thought, trying to understand what she had said that was so funny.

"Oh sweetie, you are so funny!" Marrigold snorted, elbowing Thalia playfully. She nearly fell over.

"I'll surprise her, shall I?" Mr Frigus winked at Thalia. "And I know what you shall have, dear." He nodded at Marrigold, and then whisked himself away into his shop, his cloth still in his hand.

"Take a seat, little one," Marrigold said, and Thalia obliged sitting infront of Marrigold.

"Now, tell me, how did you come across Nihil Evadere?" she asked.

Immediately, as if those words had triggered her brain, the events from the past came flooding back to her once more, and she began to sob once more.

"Oh, dear, dear, turn off the waterworks, dearie! Tell me what's wrong," Marrigold whispered soothingly, producing a lace-trimmed hankerchief from out of nowhere. She dabbed Thalia's face and, between hiccups, she told the woman everything.

"And then all I remeber is everything going black...and then I woke up on the roadside and in the distance I saw this place," she finished, wiping her eyes with the hankerchief.

"Oh, that must have been terrible, dear, I am so sorry. But look on the bright side- now you're here!" Marrigold said. What use does that have to anything? Thalia thought, but at that moment, Mr Frigus arrived holding their sweet treats.

In one hand, he held a glass sundae bowl with an abundance of strawberry ice cream and cubed strawberries scattered on the top. Also sticking out from the ice cream was sticks of pink bubblegum. Thalia's mouth watered- he handed the bowl to Marrigold. She tried not to seem too disappointed, and that quickly became easier when she saw what was in his other hand.

There was a bowl twice as big as the other one, with three gigantic scoops of vanilla ice cream, hidden under a fountain of gooey chocolate sauce and littered with rainbow sprinkles. A deep red cherry sat on the middle ice cream scoop, smothered in sauce and sprinkles. The sauce dripped down the sides of the ice cream and onto two peeled bananas that sat on either side. Through the glass bowl, Thalia saw that there was a mountain of bubblegum and gumballs sitting at the bottom of the ice cream.

"Woah!" Thalia gasped. "That's amazing!"

Mr Frigus blushed as deep as the cherry and muttered something about it only being a simple banana split, before handing them their spoons and retreating back to the shop. Without waiting, Thalia grabbed a spoon and dug into her sugar-filled feast. In no time whatsoever, she had devoured the delicious desert. As soon as a spoonful of the sweet food was in her mouth, her tastebuds exploded in all of the amazing flavours. They formed together like a masterpeice in food form. Marrigold watched the amazed girl in amusement, while taking tiny bites of hers. In the end, there was nothing left of Thalia's and an entire scoop of ice cream left of Marrigold's.

"So," Thalia started, leaning forward on the table. "Can I please have an explanation of all of this? I mean, I'm still a bit confused. I was kidnapped and drugged and brought to the roadside, where this strange paradise-like circus basically grew out of the ground. Is this a dream? It seems a lot like a dream."

"Oh, dearie me, no, let me tell you." Marrigold said. "We are Nihil Evadere Circus, and I will admit that we are magical. This is not a dream, I willl assure you, it is as real as anything. This circus appears to any lost and helpless child in any situation at any time, so to provide the child with joy. The sorrows and helplessness of the child is left way back where they last were, and they are filled with more joy the closer and the longer they stay at Nihil Evadere Circus. The children sleep in that building over there, essentially a hotel, before when they are happy enough to do so, they visit the ringmaster and are sent back home."

Thalia blinked, trying to take all of this new information in.

"So, I'm going to stay at a magical circus until I'm happy enough to go back home...how long will it take until I can go home?" Thalia asked slowly.

"It's different for every child, dear, it depends how sad you were before. It's never been less than a few months before," Merrigold explained, playing with the rest of her ice cream, which was melting into a creamy pink soup.

"What about the parents? Won't they notice that the children are gone?" Thalia asked.

"What a lot of questions you ask! For the time while you are at Nihil Evadere, your parents are put into a trance by the magic. Don't worry, it's only until you get back, and they will go about their normal life and forget that they had a child. When you go back to your parents, you will forget all about this circus aswell," Merrigold said. "Now, it is time that we take you to your room to settle in. I'll go and pay Mr Frigus and then take you to the hotel. Your circus director, essentially your camp counseller, will assign some children to give you a tour. Don't worry dear, only think of this as summer camp. Come along!"

Before Thalia could open her mouth to protest or ask anymore questions, she was whisked away by Marrigold's firm but gentle hand and lead through the circus, which was alight with sunlight and laughter still. One thought kept Thalia's mind occupied: There is something Marrigold isn't telling me about Nihil Evadere. Something bad.