took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of the ocean.

“It’s over there!”

She looked over at her best friend who was standing a few feet up ahead. [user=Last_chance] could see the gathering from where she stood. Originally, their invitation directed them to a ballroom on the other side of town. However, most of the guests resided at the nearby ocean front hotel. The hosts decided to switch venues last minute to throw a beach party instead.

huffed and tried to pick up the pace. She was nowhere near as athletic as [user=Last_chance] and her ball gown dragging through the sand certainly wasn’t helping any. The change of venue was so abrupt, neither of them had changed into beach wear, much less brought any.

[user=Last_chance] tried to soothe their worries, "We can always cast our Chaos Glamour spell."

Luckily, the pair never traveled anywhere without the ingredients. You never know when a change in appearance can come in handy.

With a few convoluted steps, and a final wave of a peacock feather, the two had extravagant costumes imitating sea creatures. After casting their glamour spell within ear reach of the bumping music, the girls made their way to the party appropriately dressed in their beach wear.

There, they were greeted by the hosts and other travelers in line for the food table. Wearing ball attire for the trek under the hot sun left them desperate for a drink.

They started with a cup of water. That led to two. Three. Seven?

They switched to other beverages but their thirst could not be quenched!

[user=Last_chance] nibbled on her bottom lip worriedly. Was the spell backfiring? She went over the steps in her head repeatedly. Everything had gone accordingly. What was going on? Maybe...

She looked over at the two powerful mages hosting the party. Could it be that they—-

Her thought was interrupted by a squeal next to her. was covering her ears, or at least trying to cover what they morphed into.

[b]HER EARS WERE FINS![/B]

[user=Last_chance] raised her hand trying to cover her own gasp of surprise, instead she shrieked when she noticed her newly webbed fingers.

Yells and screams came from the other guests. The attendee next to them at the drink table grabbed the punch bowl and poured it over her head gasping for breath. All around them costumes changed into real fins and tails as the guests morphed into sea creatures. The hosts quickly took charge and ordered everyone to jump into the water.

grabbed [user=Last_chance]'s wrist, “Maybe if we jump in, it’ll wash off the side effects too.”

They could only hope!

Their outfits mimicking mermaid tails and tentacles slowly became the real thing, and they ran clumsily through the sand. They managed to get to the water just in time and swam further out.

Minutes later, everyone was fully transformed, everyone was also glaring at them.

“Of course, the Chaos Twins had to be behind this,” someone exclaimed.

Both girls refused to make eye contact with anyone, embarrassed by their spell work. One of the hosts addressed them. “What went wrong with your spell? Maybe we can fix it?”

[user=Last_chance] responded, “I noticed you cast a protective shield barrier for the party, I think somehow our spell interfered.”

“We should have performed our spell further away, but we didn’t think of it,” added.

Both girls apologized profusely but were met with a few snorts and jeers. Two green mermaids quickly silenced the crowd.

“Cut them some slack! They didn’t plan for this!”

One of the mermaids swam to the center, “There's no reason to stop the party now! Let's make this a real party under the sea!”

“With what music?” Someone exclaims.

The first green mermaid winks before casting a spell. Not a second after, music can be heard playing on the ocean floor.

You know the song...

The dance starts up again without much fuss.

One of the hosts turns to the duo, "I'm glad this all worked out. But exactly how long does this spell last?"

Our Chaotic duo share a look and a nervous laugh.

[img]https://darquedreamerreads.files.wordpress.com/2018/05/shell-divider.png[/Img]

[box=#dcd0ff]The purple ballroom gowns and the purple mermaids are us, and [user=last_chance]. The green mermaids represent the secret squad.

Out of the two outfits we created, our mermaid avatars are our official entries for the judging portion of the event.

Our guesses for the Dancing in the Dark - Guess who edition are Bicoastal or Salty Sweet.

If you liked our story, let’s dance! [dance=last_chance] [/box]