Outside the grotto, Aurora and Senna were waiting for Lily to come out and both of them were saddened by what had happened earlier.

Aurora was crying, as she was sad for her best friend and that her wonderful surprise had been ruined and Senna was feeling guilty for having revealed Lily's secret and being unable to stop Daisy during her meltdown and lamenting on the rotten luck she had been having lately.

'Poor Lily, I've never seen her so upset,' Aurora said, sniffing, 'Senna, you said that you wouldn't tell the queen and now look what has happened!'

'I honestly didn't mean to, it was a complete accident!' the crab said defensively, 'I tried to keep quiet but the queen kept hounding me until I cracked like my old shell!

You're right, Aurora I do have loose lips and they have indeed landed me in trouble and the worst run of luck I've had in years! Oh, how can it get any worse?'

As soon as she said it, a dark shadow floated above them and they looked up to see Lily swimming off with two sinister-looking eels and it made Senna shiver and curse her poor choice of words mentally as she swam over to the mermaid, who ignored her and kept on swimming.

'Oh look, it's Snitchy St. Chatter,' Teale said, mockingly as Senna scowled at him.

'I sir, am Senna St. Clair, the distinguished court composer and a dear and loyal servant of Queen Daisy and I demand to know what you are doing with the princess!' Senna said.

'Why don't you ask her?' Teale replied, looking at Senna like she was an idiot.

Giving the eel another fierce scowl, Senna swam in front of Lily, who kept looking ahead as she was still hurt from the crab's betrayal and had made it clear that she never wanted to see her again, but Senna was not to be deterred.

'Lily, where are you going?' she said, 'what have I told you about associating with unsavoury types like these eels? What are you doing with them?'

'I'm going to see Sharla,' Lily said, coldly which made Senna gasp in shock and horror.

'Lily, no, you can't!' she said.

'Sharla is nothing more than a demon and a monster that uses and abuses poor innocent merfolk and sea creatures for her own evil means! Your mother had her banished for a very good reason and she is NOT to be trusted!

I know that you're still upset about what happened in the grotto and that you don't want to see me again, but there is no need to stoop to Sharla's level to deal with it!'

'Well, what are you going to do, tell my mother? Oh, that's right, you already did!' Lily shouted, 'what's stopping you this time?

Go ahead, tell her for all I care, I won't be living in the sea for long anyway!' throwing the crab's betrayal in her face and she sped off after Teale and Neale, leaving a trail of bubbles behind her.

'Yes, buzz off snitch if you know what's good for you,' Teale said, flicking Senna away like she was an annoying piece of seaweed and both eels and the mermaid disappeared from view as Senna sighed heavily.

'Blooming heck, I really am an unlucky crab,' she said, looking at Aurora who was already frightened about the eels, more so about what they were doing to Lily and both of them knew what they had to do.

'Come on,' Senna said, as the little fish followed her as they sped off behind Lily and ventured into the dark depths of the ocean.

The happy calm waters soon gave way to darkness that no light could reach, underwater volcanoes, shrivelled up plant life and skeletons of unfortunate sea creatures that had accidently wandered into the bleak forest and this made Lily feel nervous about being in this awful and dark place.

Nevertheless, she followed Teale and Neale towards a huge skeleton of a lionfish that sat in the middle of the ocean floor which was a cave that served as the lair of Sharla.

The eels swam towards the mouth and waited for Lily to follow them but the mermaid was starting to have second thoughts about coming here and asking Sharla for help.

If she had any common sense left in her, Lily would have turned around and swum hurriedly home and forget about the whole thing, but there was no turning back now as she had gotten this far and the eels wouldn't let her get away that easily.

She had to do it for Ben since it was the only way that she could be with him and there was no reason to stay trapped in the ocean to lead a miserable life and the eels certainly thought so as they saw the hesitation in Lily's eyes and they weren't going to let the naïve little mermaid escape their clutches, as they turned to look at her.

'This way, dear,' Teale and Neale hissed, 'We can't keep Mistress Sharla waiting any longer,' before they swam into the cave, ushering Lily to follow them again.

'Do it for Ben,' Lily whispered to herself as she took a deep breath and swam inside the cave where she was greeted by a huge garden of moaning and screeching polyps that surrounded the entrance floor which frightened her as their miserable faces looked pleadingly at her as if they were saying,

Please help us, little mermaid.

Lily gasped as one of the polyps stretched out and wrapped itself around her arm which made her scream only to cover her mouth with her free hand at the last minute so as not to make herself heard and she struggled furiously against the polyp who was then thrown against the wall when it was released from Lily's arm and moaned as it slithered back to its place in the garden.

Lily shivered at the creature's slimy trail it had left on her arm, more so when she heard Teale and Neale announce her arrival to their mistress, like she was freshly caught dinner, in the main chamber of the cave,

'We got her, Mistress Sharla' they said proudly.

'Well done, my precious poopsies, the fish is truly in the net now,' Sharla's voice echoed around the passageway, as she petted Teale and Neale, which made the polyps wither and moan even louder before being silenced by a loud growl from Sharla as she noticed Lily lurking in the passageway.

'Come in, my dear,' Sharla said in a honey-dripping tone, 'I've been expecting you. We mustn't lurk in doorways, it's rude.

Let me see you face-to-face, there's nothing to be frightened of, just ignore those annoying little polyps in my garden.'

Lily cautiously swam towards the sea witch, away from the moaning polyps, who was sitting on her throne in the middle of the main chamber of the cave which was decorated with dark and light teal streamers, as if to brighten up the otherwise dark and miserable place.

Teale and Neale were flanked either side of her and she had a huge smile on her face as she looked at the mermaid like a hungry shark would look at a guppy before devouring it for dinner.

Apart from her shark tail, heavy makeup and the unnerving smile on her face, Lily didn't see why Sharla would be dangerous, especially since she spoke in such a motherly and sweet tone, like she had eaten a whole jar of honey and was willing to help her dream come true.

'Ah, Princess Lily, at last we meet,' Sharla then said, as Lily stood in front of her and the sea witch looked at her up and down, which made the mermaid feel uncomfortable, 'and what a beautiful young lady you are.'

'Uh, thank you,' Lily said, uneasy.

'I can see why you're considered the most beautiful of all of the queen's daughters, but one does have to question your upbringing.' Sharla said, as she hastily put a few streamers over the portrait of Daisy so that Lily wouldn't see it.

'But I know that you are miserable under the sea, I can see the sadness in your beautiful blue eyes and that your black hearted mother has caused you that pain.' Sharla cooed.

'How do you know that, Sharla?' Lily said.

'I see all, my dear and believe me, you're not the only person that has been wronged by Daisy, for I myself was the victim of her unjust rules and horrible temper just because I believed that I would be a better ruler than her,' said Sharla.

She gave a slight chuckle and then swam over to her vanity, making a silly face in the mirror and picked up a shell comb and ran it through her hair, although the stray bits kept flying back out.

'But that is not why you're here, isn't it?' she then said, giving up on her hair and going over to her cupboard that was filled with various potions and bottles with strange-coloured liquid in them and poured herself a drink of what looked like boiled seaweed into a glass mug and took a huge swig from it.

'Oh, how rude of me, dear, would you like a drink?' Sharla said, offering the foul-looking liquid to Lily, who screwed up her nose in disgust.

'I'll take that as a no, then,' she then said, finishing the entire thing in one gulp and wiping her lips with her hand and continued speaking, as she put the mug down,

'Anyway, you're here because you have a thing for that handsome human fella you rescued a few days ago. Not that I don't blame you, he's quite the dreamboat, isn't he? And you certainly do have an excellent taste in men, even if they happen to be human!

But fate, as cruel as it is, is keeping you two apart and your dear old Mummy put the final nail in the coffin by not only destroying your precious grotto but also your only link to lover boy and that is tearing you up inside, isn't it?' Sharla said, in a somewhat sympathetic manner, as she stroked Lily's cheek.

'Yes it is,' Lily said, shivering at her gesture and was wondering how the sea witch could help her with her problem but knew better not to question her.

'Well, pufferfish, the solution to your problem is simple. In order to be truly happy and to get what you want is to become a human yourself.' Sharla said.

Lily had expected that to be a possibility, since there were a limited number of ways for a human and a mermaid to be together and if she became a human, there was no stopping her from being with Ben and Sharla obviously had that solution to make in happen.

'And can you actually do that?' Lily said, softly, 'can you turn me into a human?'

'My dear sweet child, you're asking ME that question?' Sharla cooed, as she swam around Lily, 'it's what I do! It's what I LIVE for! It's my true calling in life and what gets me up in the morning each day!

To help poor, unfortunate merfolk like you, those poor souls with no-one else to turn to and I can help you get your man, pufferfish since dear old Mummy is standing in the way of you two being together.'

Sharla then started to sing as she swam around her lair and Lily, who was still frozen on the spot, watching the shark-woman in both awe and fear,

'I admit that in the past I've been a nasty,' Sharla sang, 'they weren't kidding when they called me, well a witch.

'And that's something I can't deny,' she muttered under her breath,

'But you'll find that nowadays, I've mended all my ways, repented, sent the light and made a switch.

True? Yes!'

'And I fortunately know a little magic. It's a talent that I always have possessed,' Sharla sang as she swam over to her large cauldron that was in the middle of the chamber and opened it, as she said another cutting remark about Daisy,

'And what does your mother have? A silly old sceptre!' as she created an image in the cauldron of a very overweight mermaid and a very skinny wimpy-looking merman and they both had miserable expressions on their faces, clearly not happy with the way they looked.

'Now, lately dear and please don't you laugh, I use it on behalf of the miserable, lonely and depressed.'

'How pathetic,' Sharla whispered to Teale and Neale before continuing,

'Poor unfortunate souls, in pain, in need. This one longing to be thinner, that one wants to get the girl and do I help them?'

Sharla then snapped her fingers and in an instant, the merman became muscular and the mermaid became thinner and they joyfully swam into each other's arms, happy with their new forms and finding love.

'Yes, indeed! Those poor unfortunate souls, so sad, so true. They come flocking to my cauldron, crying 'Spells, Sharla please!' and I help them!

Yes I do!

Now, it's happened once or twice, someone couldn't pay the price and I'm afraid I had to rake them across the coals,' Sharla sang as she waved her hand and showed the downside to her spells as the poor merpeople were transformed into the creatures that resembled the ones in the passageway which made Lily flinch as the polyps moaned again before being shushed by Sharla's steely glare.

Undeterred, Sharla continued singing as she pulled a streamer from the roof and wore it like a headscarf while Teale and Neale flittered around her, like back-up dancers for a singer at a concert,

'Yes, I've had the odd complaint or two but on the whole, I've been a saint.

To those poor unfortunate souls!'

Sharla then wrapped the streamer around Lily like a feather boa as she guided the mermaid towards the glowing cauldron, where the spell to turn her into a human was soon to be cast and said,

'Now here's the deal, pufferfish. I will make you a potion that will turn you into a human for four days. Yes, you heard me right, not two, not three, FOUR DAYS!'

'Didn't it used to be three days?' Lily said, 'because from what I heard, it's traditionally..'

'Yes, well, times have changed, pufferfish and it's lucky for you that I'm in such a generous mood today.' Sharla interrupted.

'As a special treat since you went through such a rough patch with Mummy, I'm giving you an extra day on the house, but don't be relying on anymore freebies after this!'

'Oh, thank you so much, Sharla, that's really kind of you,' said Lily.

'Don't thank me yet, pufferfish, I haven't finished the deal,' said Sharla, rather dryly, as the cauldron produced images to match the deal, showing a glowing tiara with a heart in the middle of it, which looked like a creepy puppet show.

'Now listen carefully because this is important and I'll only say this once as I hate repeating myself.

Before the sun sets on the third-sorry, fourth day, you've got to get that hot young man to fall in love with you. That is, he's got to kiss you and this isn't just any kiss. Not a simple peck on the cheek, let's-be-friends type of kiss, this is the kiss of TRUE LOVE.

If he does kiss you before the sun sets on the third-FOURTH day, you'll remain human permanently and you and lover boy will live happily ever after in his world, which is what you want most of all, isn't it?'

Lily nodded enthusiastically as the cauldron produced another image which was a pink silhouette of her, only she was walking on a pair of human legs and was running up to a silhouette of Ben as the two embraced and she sighed happily, knowing that it would soon be a reality.

'But,' Sharla said, which snapped Lily out of her daydreaming, 'there is a very big BUT and I don't mean my own derriere, thank you very much,' which made Lily giggle, 'if he doesn't, then I'm afraid that you'll turn back into a mermaid..'

The image then changed to make the Ben silhouette disappear and when Lily looked at it again, she saw herself with her familiar pink tail in lieu of the legs she wanted badly.

'And YOU WILL BELONG TO ME.' Sharla said, sinisterly and that could only mean being transformed into a polyp like the ones in the sea witch's garden.

'No, don't do it, Lily!' a very familiar English accent cried out from the doorway, as Senna and Aurora were hovering outside the cave, desperate to save their friend from the evil clutches of Sharla,

'Sharla is just using you to…' which were the last words to come from the crab's mouth as Sharla ordered her eels to wrap themselves around Senna and Aurora to silence them and their protests were muffled by the tails of Teale and Neale.

'So whadda say, pufferfish?' Sharla said, putting her arm around Lily, 'are you ready to leave your miserable life under the sea and start a new one in the human world and live with lover boy forever?'

'Oh, yes, I love Ben and there's nothing more that I want than to be with him,' Lily said and she meant every word of it. To be with Ben forever and having been given that chance on a silver platter, well rather a scraggy cauldron, was a dream come true and she was going to take it.

'I know, too bad dear old Mummy had to be such a spoilsport about it due to her petty hatred of humans.' Sharla said.

'But,' Lily then said, as a thought came to her mind. To be in one world, she would have to leave all her family and friends behind in the other one and she cursed herself mentally for not thinking it over.

'But what?' said Sharla, noticing the hesitation in Lily's voice.

'You're not having second thoughts about this, are you? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, don't let it go to waste! Don't get cold fins now, pufferfish!'

'If I become human, I'll never be with my mother or sisters again,' said Lily.

'Ah, yes, that is true, but after what Mummy did to your grotto, I sincerely doubt that you want to see her or your snotty older sisters for the rest of your life. Then again, life is full of tough choices, isn't it?

But you'll have your man,' Sharla said, 'Oh, there is one other thing! How could I forget? I can't believe we haven't even discussed the subject of payment! The best things in life aren't free, you know.'

'But I haven't got anything to give you!' Lily protested and that was true as everything she had that would've been of high value had been destroyed in the grotto.

'Oh, pufferfish, I don't want any silly treasures from you!' Sharla scoffed,

'I don't normally ask for much but what I want is far more valuable than any diamonds, rubies, pearls or coins. It's just a token, really, a trife, something that you won't even miss!

What I want from you is..YOUR VOICE!'

'You want my voice?' Lily said, putting a hand to her throat. Getting Ben to fall in love with her in four days seemed hard enough, but to do it completely mute was practically impossible.

'That's right, pufferfish, no more talking, singing, zip! But a beautiful young girl like you shouldn't have any problems with that!' Sharla said, chuckling.

'But without my voice, how can I get Ben to fall in love with me if I can't even talk to him?' Lily said.

'You don't need a voice to get a man, pufferfish…' Sharla said,

'Stop calling me that stupid name!' Lily shouted, getting fed up of being compared to those silly fish that did nothing but puff up and be inflated, but that was what Sharla was seeing her as.

'..not as long as you have your looks, your pretty face and actions speak louder than words, so don't underestimate the power of body language, ha!' Sharla said, as she swayed her hips to and fro in a comical manner.

Sharla then swam up to the cupboard that she got her foul-looking drink from and tossed out various ingredients and liquids that were needed for the potion, effortlessly throwing them in the cauldron without even looking as it started to fizz and she sang,

'The men up there don't like a lot of blabber; they think a girl who gossips is a bore!

Yes, on land, it's much preferred for ladies not to say a word and after all, dear, what is idle prattle for?

Come on, they're not all that impressed with conversation, true gentlemen avoid it while they can.

But they dote and swoon and fawn on a lady that's withdrawn

It's she who holds her tongue who gets her man!

Come on, you poor unfortunate soul, go ahead, make your choice!

I'm a very busy woman and I haven't got all day,' as a glowing image of Ben appeared from the fizzing cauldron and Lily smiled as she leaned closer to it only for Sharla to burst right through to sing,

'It won't cost much, just your voice!' You poor, unfortunate soul, it's sad but true!'

Sharla snapped her fingers and made a scroll appear out of thin air and handed Lily a quill pen, which she picked up with shaking hands, as the sea witch kept singing,

'If you want to cross the bridge, my sweet, you've got to pay the toll. Take a gulp, take a breath, go ahead and sign the scroll!'

'Teale, Neale, now I've got her boys!' Sharla whispered to her eels before singing, 'The boss is on a roll!' This poor, unfortunate soul!'

Without a second thought or common sense, Lily hastily scribbled her name on the scroll to the horror of Aurora and Senna, as they watched her sign her life away to the evil sea witch and all for the love of a human boy.

Sharla smiled evilly as the scroll was rolled up and vanished as quickly as it appeared and she chanted a spell from the now bubbling and fizzing cauldron of Posideon only knew what,

'Beluga sevruga, come winds of the Caspian Sea,' Sharla chanted, her voice echoing and bouncing off the walls which sent chills down Lily's spine but she stayed frozen in place, unable to move, as two skeletal hands stared to emerge from the cauldron.

'Larynxes, laryngitis, la voce to me,' Sharla chanted the last line of the spell as she raised her arms at the same time as the skeletal ones who mimicked the witch and she turned her gaze towards her victim like a hunter ready to catch its prey.

'Now sing!' Sharla commanded.

Lily began vocalising which edged the hands closer to her and her voice lit up as a glowing green ball and the beautiful melody rung out, only it was to fall in the hands of the sea witch, whose eyes were bloodshot in pure insanity from her spell.

'Keep singing!' Sharla screamed and the poor mermaid kept vocalising as the hands reached down her throat and took what it had been commanded to do.

Poor Lily was forced to bend backwards as her voice was pulled away from her and placed into the shell that Sharla always wore around her neck and she could only watch as her voice echoed around the cave before fading completely, as she held her throat, now unable to speak.

But the worst was yet to come as the cauldron crackled and fizzled which caught Lily in a massive gold bubble and blacked out her vision to the horror of Senna and Aurora, who could only watch helplessly as the agonising transformation soon took place.

In an instant, pain shot through Lily's tail and her bones shifted uncomfortably as the tail turned into human legs, the pink scales were smoothed and flattened into skin like peach hues and her fins morphed into feet.

It was incredibly painful for her but she couldn't cry out as she no longer had her voice, as Sharla's evil laugh echoed around the cave and soon the transformation was complete and Lily was now a human..and at the mercy of the elements as she could no longer breathe underwater nor swim without a tail and she flailed her arms uselessly in a desperate attempt to get to the surface, but was making very little progress.

'Quick, Aurora, we must get her to the surface so she can breathe!' Senna cried out, as she and Aurora hurriedly swam towards the now former mermaid.

Aurora tucked her fins under Lily's left arm and Senna's claws wrapped themselves around her shoulder and the crab encouraged her to use her new legs, which she did rather unsteadily.

But with her friends helping her, Lily managed to get out of Sharla's lair and up onto the surface and the muggy Gold Coast air entered her lungs as she took her first breath as a human.

She nearly sank back into the water since she forgot to use her arms but soon resurfaced after realising her mistake and Aurora and Senna helped her to stay afloat as the trio wordlessly made their way towards Mermaid Beach as the early morning sun was rising behind them.

And up to the surface she goes!

Read and review to see how Lily adjusts to life in Mermaid Beach!