Anna and Eric swam together, down, down, down into the depths of the sea. It was a long dive; the ocean was, after all, miles deep in places.
As they descended, Anna thought about a word she'd used to describe herself mere moments ago. "Mermaidenhood." How appropriate that was, she mused. Mermaid. Maiden of the mer. Virgin of the sea. It was a fact that even though she had a lover now that she longed to call husband, even though she had mated and possibly produced offspring, even though she was willing to be a mother to a merbaby and perhaps a matron to a whole freaking school of merchildren, the plain fact was, her body would be forevermore virginal in the strictest sense. Her vagina was no more; her womb, nonexistent. She would never again be penetrated by a human dick.
Her love for Eric, and the wondrous experience of being a mermaid, served to make that sacrifice worthwhile, but that did not change the fact that it was a sacrifice. Something lost for something else gained.
Eventually, the village was in sight once more. Eric held the shopping bag with the golden rock and the Aztec coin. To safely keep them separate, Anna had her two starfish—in fact, she was wearing them over her boobs like pasties now, and they simply clung there inoffensively. Wile the magic of the coin was inactive, they didn't torment her. And in fact, Anna was actually grateful for the small nod to modesty. (Plus, her boobs were huge now, and the starfishes both offered some support and lifted her tits in a way that made them look spectacular).
Eric led Anna down to one of the smaller "houses" (really it was a giant seashell the size of a house). Passing in through the portal-like hole that served as the front door, Anna found herself in a comfy living room: a couch made from giant sea sponge, furniture of shell and rock and glass, even some tasteful decoration—items that were scavenged from the seabed, like a sand dollar and a conch shell on a side-table, and an anchor and helm-wheel from a shipwreck in the corner of the room.
Eric showed Anna the kitchen, the bedroom, and the humble house's few other chambers, and Anna was charmed. "I love it," she said, kissing Eric. "Which room will be the baby's?" Then she blushed and added, "Once we have one, I mean."
Eric pointed down the short hall that curved with the spiral shape of the shell. "That one, right next to our bedroom."
Anna sighed contentedly. "Oh, Eric, it's perfect. Everything's perfect." She kissed him again and said suggestively, "You know… the first thing newlyweds do when they enter their bedroom together for the first time is—" Anna stopped, frowned, and looked away.
"What is it?" asked Eric.
"Sorry," mumbled Anna. "I was gonna suggest something we can't do right now."
"What can't we—?—Oh." Eric's face fell. "…Oh." He hugged his mate, and he could feel her chest heaving again, as if she was trying to restrain herself from crying. "Oh, Anna, it's okay; it'll be okay, you'll see." He rubbed her back and whispered soothing words into Anna's ear and tried to be as comforting as a good made could be.
But it didn't change the fact that Anna wanted sex and couldn't have it anymore.