The Island Curse

Preparations

"This would be so much easier if we knew yer tail color," Niko said as she shuffled through dresses. Each one was quickly discarded, and there were far more on the bed than on the rack.

"I don't see why this matters," I replied.

Tara and Niko's faces morphed into twin expressions of disgust. Tara shook her head and brought the yellow sheath dress back up to her chest as she studied herself in the mirror.

"We may be using this as a distraction, but it's still yer birthday. And a masquerade party."

"Who knows when you'll get the chance to be this glamorous again. Besides, we have a theme, and we need to stick with it. It's just kind of hard because we can dress in our tail colors. We don't know what yers is."

I thought of Kieran's description and reached for a bit of gold material wedged between two fluffy ball gowns. "Fine. What about this?"

"Holy crap," Niko shrieked, snatching the gown from my hands. She held it up and whistled. "Where did this even come from? I don't remember seeing it at the store."

"Who cares? It's perfect. A little risque."

"Kieran is going to swallow his tongue."

I bit my lip. "Are we sure it's not too much? I'm not trying to use Halloween as an excuse to go half naked."

"First off," Niko admonished, "there's nothing wrong with that. Secondly, all the important bits are covered. The bust portion and panty portion aren't sheer. I swear, it looks like someone was trying to replicate a Merrow woman in her sea form."

"It does, doesn't it?"

Tara clapped her hands. "Try it on!"

They didn't have to tell me twice. After spending the last hour moping while they tried on dresses, I found a sudden sense of enthusiasm for dress up. Tossing my sweats aside, I turned my back to the girls as I unlatched my bra. Their snorts of laughter drew my attention, and I glared over my shoulder while clutching the dress against my front.

"Some of us are a little more modest than others," I snapped.

"Yer going to to have to get over it once yer a Merrow," Tara insisted as her head popped out of the top of the dress she was trying on.

"I'll save that hurdle for later."

I stepped into the dress and tugged it up, wincing when I barely managed to get it over my round hips. The filmy material was not vanity sized, and there was no stretch to it. By the time I had the sleeves on, I felt as though the gown had molded itself to my body, and when Niko finished zipping me up, I took a deep breath before turning to face the mirror.

"Wow," I gasped, running my hands over my body, trying to convince my brain that the person in the mirror belonged to me.

"You really only like boys?" Niko asked, her eyes darkening as she looked me over. Even Tara seemed entranced- normally, she would've elbowed her girlfriend over that type of statement.

The dress was two-toned. I hadn't noticed it before because it was so subtle, but now I could see how the top portion was a darker gold- almost bronze. The high necked bodice was made of sheerest tulle, and intricate gold leafing covered my breasts and swirled across my abdomen and over my hips. Two glittering jewel encrusted bands circled my waist- the first above my navel, the second below it. Matching bands edged the end of the long, sheer sleeves.

The tulle continued below my hips, hugging my shape to mid thigh, where it flared out into a translucent champagne train that sparkled with every movement. The same gold leafing covering my upper half dotted the gauzy skirt. As I traced my reflection in the glass, I had no problem imagining this girl in her true form.