'Lily!'

Lily was still sitting on the pier awaiting the inevitable when she heard Sandy squawking her name for the second time today and she looked up to see the seagull wide-eyed and very flustered, as she flew down, clearly out of breath as she explained what she had seen,

'Lily, I was flying, duh, of course I was and I saw the watch, I mean, WITCH, dressed in an elegant wedding gown and watching the mirror…'

Lily bent her head down slightly, unsure that Sandy was telling the truth or just spouting well-meaning but total nonsense to make her feel better while Senna just tapped her legs, bemused by the seagull's lack of self-control as Sandy kept rambling on,

'And she was singing with a set of stolen pipes!' she said and Senna raised an eyebrow at her.

'What are you squawking about this time, you featherbrained idiot?' she said.

'DO YOU HEAR WHAT I AM SAYING?!' Sandy squawked louder than ever, grabbing the crab, 'BEN-IS-MARRYING-THE-SEA-WITCH-IN-DISGUISE!' and repeatedly slammed Senna against the pier.

'It's Sharla, Lily, with your voice!' Sandy then said, 'she used it to hypnotise Ben to trick him into marrying her and to make him forget all about you!'

Lily's eyes widened as she gasped in shock.

She knew that the girl- Carly- had been so familiar, with her teal eyes, evil smirk and the way she mistreated Ruby and said that cruel remark about her, like Sharla did when she repeatedly called her a 'pufferfish', like she was overinflated for going to her to become human.

Sharla had hated her mother ever since she banished her from the kingdom, what was to stop her from getting revenge? She had wanted to for years but could never find her mother's weakness..until now.

Senna was a little more sceptical, as she knew very well that the seagull had a very active imagination and tended to see things she wanted to see and she rubbed her claw against her head.

'Sandy, are you absolutely sure about this?' she said, 'or is your imagination running wild again? Did you see what you wanted to see, because if you are, I'm having very strong doubts.'

'Listen, St. Clair, you pompous pommie, have I EVER BEEN WRONG?' Sandy squawked, hurt at not being believed, 'I mean when it matters?' when she received doubting looks,

'Well, for once in my life, I am ACTUALLY RIGHT and my eyes, which you so lovingly call glassy beads, saw Sharla singing with Lily's voice and it made Ben zonked out of his brains!'

'What are we gonna do?' Aurora said, worried for her best friend.

Lily didn't hear Aurora's question as she stood up and stared at the wedding yacht, which was now a distant speck and the fast-sinking sun, with Sharla's words echoing in her mind, rubbing salt in her already gaping wound,

Before the sun sets on the fourth day..fourth day..fourth day..

Then, the awful truth dawned on Lily. Sharla had never intended for her to meet her deal.

She had preyed on her naivety, gullibility and resentment of her mother after the business in the grotto to trick the little mermaid into signing herself over to her, knowing that she would do everything in her power to prevent her kiss with Ben, like sending Teale and Neale to dunk them into the rock pools last night.

She should've known that Sharla had been up to no good from the beginning. She wasn't her 'poor, unfortunate soul'; she was nothing more than bait, her mother's Achilles heel, the weak link in her chain.

A tool for Sharla to get her long-awaited revenge on Queen Daisy, as the sea witch knew that the queen would do anything to protect her youngest daughter, her weak and delicate little flower, like her namesake.

Lily's nose screwed up in disgust and anger. Sharla was wrong, very wrong about her.

She was not a pufferfish nor was she a weak, delicate and helpless little flower. She was a strong and determined fighter, who would fight against all odds with every bit of strength in her body to keep her from hurting her Ben.

With her inner strength rising and determination in her eyes, she leapt off the pier, diving gracefully into her familiar ocean home but realised that she still couldn't swim as she struggled to stay afloat, kicking and flailing her arms wildly.

Senna anxiously watched Lily and was wishing that she could do something to help her when she suddenly saw a surfboard nearby and its' owner was too busy chatting to a girl to notice that it was being carried away by a little crab, which was impressive considering the board was bigger than her.

'Lily, grab on to that,' Senna said, as she threw the surfboard into the water and Lily clung on to it,

'Aurora, get her to that yacht as fast as your fins can carry you,' she then said and Lily grabbed the leash and put it around Aurora, fastening the Velcro loop.

'I'll do my best!' Aurora said, with the same determination as Lily, as she let the loop hug her small pink body and started swimming with all her strength while Senna and Sandy were left behind at the harbour.

'Well, what do we do now?' Sandy said.

'I'm going to tell the queen, you featherbrain,' Senna said, giving the seagull a 'duh' look, 'she must know about this, she can't be left in the dark any longer, especially since her youngest daughter could soon be in danger!'

'Then what am I supposed to do?' said Sandy.

'Find a way to STALL THAT WEDDING!' Senna said, jumping off the pier and diving into the ocean.

'Oui, mon capitaine!' Sandy said in a mock French accent and saluted the crab but then realised that she wasn't quite sure what she was supposed to do.

'Wait, how am I supposed to do that?' she asked, rather stupidly, which made Senna bob up and roll her eyes at the clueless seagull.

'I don't know; call some sea creatures and your fellow obnoxious birds to help you!' Senna said and dived back into the water.

'Hey, take that back…' Sandy said, before pausing mid-sentence. Then, as if a light bulb had briefly gone off in her head before fizzling out, she had an idea.

'Of course, why didn't I think of it before?' she said and flapped her wings while hovering above the ocean and squawked loudly which echoed around the waves,

'Let's go, we've got an emergency here! There's a wedding yacht cruising the ocean with a rogue bride on board and we're gonna turn up uninvited!'

Many sea creatures bobbed up from the surface and heard the calls, along with Sandy's fellow seagulls and birds and they were eager to help as they followed the seagull.

Sandy's eyes gleamed with pride as she received the approval of the sea creatures and birds and led them towards the yacht, like a solider going into battle.

'Alright, Sharla, time to get your just desserts,' she said, 'soon, you'll learn what happens when you decide to mess with my best friend and her true love!'

Sharla smirked as she smoothed down her dress, which was a simple yet elegant strapless number made of shiny white silk and the bodice showed off quite a lot of her bust, clutched her bouquet and forced a soft, sweet smile as she made her way down the aisle on the yacht, to 'Canon in D' which was playing on the organ as all the eyes of the wedding guests turned towards the bride who would soon become Ben's wife, as they took pictures of her on their phones.

Not that Ben was even aware that he was getting married or that his bride was a devious sea witch in disguise, as he stood still as a statue at the altar, dressed in a tuxedo with a maroon waistcoat and tie, with no emotion on his face and his eyes betraying none of the disgust that he would own up to.

Glancing at the altar, Sharla's smile became a little less forced as she looked at what was soon to be hers as the guests stared and smiled at her, in awe, like those who did at Phil and Lara's wedding twenty years ago.

Daisy's precious little daughter may be nothing more than a weak and silly little pufferfish, but she had to admit, she definitely had good taste in men, it was such a pity he had to be human.

However, Ben's friends were less than thrilled and didn't bother to hide their disgust about the bride and that they were not part of the bridal party, as there was none and their best friend had been turned into a mindless zombie, as their sarcastic comments could be heard from the front row,

'God, look at Ben up there,' Cody muttered and they all murmured in agreement 'here he is, standing there looking like a zombie, about to marry a cashed-up bogan and he doesn't even know or care!'

'Poor Lily, she must be heartbroken,' Mia said, sadly.

'I know, he must be on something if he left Lily like that,' Adam said, 'and what about that chick, Carly? Everything about her just screams 'total bitch!' What does Ben see in her?'

'He doesn't,' Matt said, 'he's totally out-of-it,'

'And this Carly lacks fashion sense,' Anna said, 'not to mention class and sophistication. I mean, look at her boobs popping out of her bodice! Does she have no shame whatsoever?'

'Shut up, she's walking near us,' Grace hissed as Sharla sneered at Ben's friends, when she passed them. She was nearly at the altar when she heard the distinct snarling of Ruby, who was sitting next to Phil, baring her teeth which meant,

'You may have fooled everyone here but you haven't fooled me. You can't keep me quiet any longer.'

'Oh, yes I can,' Sharla hissed and kicked Ruby again, thankful that no one heard her whimpers again.

Finally reaching the altar, she smiled at Ben as he took her hand robotically and turned to face the priest who smiled at them warmly as he cleared his throat, ready to begin the ceremony.

'Dearly beloved,' he began, 'we are here today to celebrate the marriage of Benjamin and Carly..'

'Don't worry, Lily,' Aurora panted breathlessly as she pulled her best and treasured friend along the waves that the yacht was making as they trailed behind it.

It was fortunate that the surfboard wasn't heavy, so it was relatively easy for Aurora to pull, but a little fish like her was bound to give out sooner or later.

'We're gonna make it, we're almost there,' she gasped, as she tried to combine her strength and speed or rather lack of as her fins were soon starting to give out but she still kept going, determined not to give up.

Lily looked up at the yacht, which was still a distant speck no matter how close they seemed to be getting to it, then back at the little pink fish who was clearly struggling, no matter how hard she was trying.

There was no way that Aurora, who had the strength and speed of a guppy, could get her to the yacht, at least not on her own.

Looking at her charm bracelet and keeping a firm grip on the surfboard, Lily began kicking her legs furiously in an effort to make them go faster.

Her actions made no difference at first but her strength soon shone through and she developed a steady pattern in her kicks as the two began surging through the water.

The priest droned on, which was testing Sharla's patience and she drummed her fingers in annoyance at his dithering. Why did humans have to take so long to get married?

All they had to do was to say 'I do' and be declared husband and wife; they didn't need to hear this entire boring and meaningless dribble, especially since she had a mermaid and ocean to claim in a few minutes.

'Excuse me,' Sharla said, rudely interrupting the priest, who frowned at her, 'We haven't got all day to listen to your pointless dribble, can we just skip ahead to the vows?'

'Well..' the priest said, faltering while the guests tittered and muttered about the bride's lack of manners and Phil and Melinda rolled their eyes at each other and the whispers of 'bogan' could be heard from Ben's friends.

'Well, if that's what you want,' the priest said. Ben made no acknowledgement of his bride's impatience or of the rushed ceremony. He was like a wax dummy, meant to stand there and be wed without a word.

'Alright then, Ben repeat after me,' the priest said, 'I, Benjamin Phillip Steele,' and nodded to Ben, who replied in a monotone voice,

'I, Benjamin Phillip Steele, take thee Carly to be my lawfully wedded wife..'

As he spoke, Sharla grinned maliciously as she watched the sun sink lower into the horizon. Not much longer now and the ocean would be hers as she looked back at Ben, just as he said,

'..til death do us part,' effectively ending his vows and the priest turned to her and said, 'Carly, repeat after me. I, Carly..'

'I, Carly,' Sharla said, just as the loud and obnoxious sound of a seagull's cry could be heard in the sky, as Sandy and her mob of birds flew towards the yacht, glaring at the rogue bride with disgust and hatred, followed by the sea creatures.

'Take thee, Benjamin Phillip Steele to be my lawfully wedded husband…' Sharla continued.

'Alright, Sharla, the party's over now!' Sandy said and signalled to the birds to swoop down and they dived towards Sharla who looked up and screamed loudly as the rats with wings flew around her with some sending the skirt of her dress flapping in the air as they flew underneath it.

Shoving Ben to the side and seeing the hateful looks in their eyes, Sharla attempted to get rid of the birds only to be met by angry squids and octopuses who wrapped their tentacles on her head and squirted ink on her face and dress, turning the pure white silk into a dark purple.

The guests gasped in horror while some found the whole thing amusing like they were watching a Disney movie, even recording it on their phones and Ben's friends were watching with barely-restrained excitement.

'Take that, you bogan bitch!' Anna yelled.

'Oh, this will have a million hits on YouTube by midnight!' Cody said, chuckling.

Ruby, happy to see this imposter get what she deserved, barked happily as she tugged on her leash, despite Phil's attempts to control her.

People screamed as more birds dropped angry baby turtles and Sharla backed towards the edge of the ship to get away from them, wiping the ink from her face, as they were nipping at her ankles and feet and the remaining birds showered her with seaweed, kelp and starfishes who attached themselves onto her, muffling her screams of pain.

'Get off me, you slimy little…' Sharla said when she got a starfish off her mouth and almost slipped back into her normal voice while she tore off several starfishes and seaweed before some blue lobsters appeared and pinched her nose, which made her scream loudly.

Then, just when she thought things couldn't get any worse, two seals jumped onto the yacht which startled both the dishevelled bride and the wedding guests.

They then started bouncing Sharla back and forth like she was a volleyball before tossing her into the wedding cake and she then fell backwards into the champagne fountain which drenched her entirely.

The crowd watched the chaos unfolding before their eyes and were so absorbed in it that they didn't notice Lily climbing onto the deck.

Sandy, grinning like a Cheshire cat that her plan was going off without a hitch, the wedding now forgotten and giving way to a comical scene of debauchery, whistled and three dolphins leapt from the ocean and sprayed the bride with water, chirping happily.

Sharla then gasped as Sandy made a beeline towards her, her eyes firmly locked on the shell that was hanging around her neck and she squawked loudly in her face as the seagull tried to grab the cord.

'Why you little…' Sharla said as she grabbed Sandy by the neck and strangled her like Homer Simpson would strangle Bart, protecting what little was left of her plan.

Ruby continued to watch, still barking happily before her leash broke and she charged towards the strange woman who had hypnotised her dear owner and broke his true love's heart.

She then bit Sharla on her bottom, which caused her to scream and let go of Sandy who then grabbed the shell as Sharla landed on the floor with one final scream and the seagull dropped it near Lily, as it shattered, releasing both her voice and Ben from his hypnotic enchantment.

Ben's eyes briefly flashed gold before they returned to his normal blue colour and he gasped as his body gave a shudder and he felt his senses coming back, his mind finally free of the haze that had clouded it.

Moaning as he stood upright, his eyes were focused on Lily as she felt the beautiful melody of her voice circle her neck, echoing through the yacht as the crowd watched in amazement and disbelief as the voice made its way back to its rightful owner.

Lily, her voice now restored, sang the melody which came out from her clear as a bell and Ben gasped in amazement and shock when he realised where the voice had come from.

'Lily?' Ben said, as Ruby ran towards her, jumping up and down and barking excitedly as if to say, 'It's her, Ben, it's her!'

'Ben!' Lily said, looking at him with the biggest smile on her face.

'You can talk?' Ben then said, while his father and his friends whispered to each other, shocked at what they had seen and heard.

'She can talk?!' they said.

'It was you! You're the one who saved me!' Ben said happily as he ran down the aisle, ignoring the looks from the wedding guests, towards his love.

'It was you the whole time,' Ben then said and his eyes were misty with tears as he gathered her in his arms and held her close, breathing in her familiar ocean scent that he loved so much, 'but why didn't you tell me?'

'Oh, Ben, I wanted to, but I couldn't,' Lily said, leaning against his chest, 'but you have to kiss me now if we are to be together forever,'

'Why?' Ben said before Sharla shouted,

'Ben, get away from her!' and then covered her mouth as her normal voice returned as Lily and Ben leaned towards each other for their long-awaited kiss just as the sun finally disappeared.

'Ben, NOOOO!' Sharla shouted and Lily suddenly gasped in pain and collapsed in his arms.

'Lily, what's wrong?' Ben said with panic and concern in his voice as Lily slid down onto the floor and transformed back into a mermaid, revealing her true form to a shocked Ben and the crowd as her pink tail flicked back and forth.

The sun had set on the fourth day. She had run out of time.

Now comes Sharla's rise to power in a war for the ocean with Mermaid Beach the unwitting host! Who will win? Find out in the next chapter!

Read and review and apologies for the minor swearing (It's rated T for a reason!)