Unfaithful
It had started innocently enough, almost like a fairytale. On the first of spring, a young man named John came to Flower Bud Village on the farming plan. He chose to live in the village, just north of the Junk Shop. After raising some crops, he chose to mine in Mount Moon. That was when he met her.
Her red hair drew his attention. Her bright smile intoxicated him, and instantly he was smitten. Her name was Ann, and at that point he was in love. Descending into the mine, he found valuable ores, and soon learnt that she loved the minerals he loved to mine. Copper, Silver, Gold, and most of all, Rare Ore, were what drew in her eyes.
What could have been no more than a meek friendship changed when he found out that she lived just next door to him. He began to frequent the store, always hoping to spend quality time in there. Early on, he needed money in extreme amounts, and shipped most Rare Ore rather than give it to the apple of his eye.
He was excited when he found that her father's store had expanded. Never had he been so close to a woman, and she was always so kind to him. Her father was a great man, and he always had a great selection of items to sell.
What drew him to the farmer's life were the gentle care of crops, the experience of raising animals, and the peaceful country life. However, the Harvest Goddess needed his help, and so he chose to help her as often as possible. This often distracted him from his love, but they were not close enough for it to matter.
Then, one day in winter, everything changed. On his birthday, Mayor Theodore came to his house. He was told of a Bluebird who lived atop a mountain. He had climbed it before, but there was never anything at the peak. On this day, however, with encouragement from Theodore, he found a Blue Feather. According to his good friend the mayor, this was needed for proposing.
The climb alone took the day, and the day after was the Starry Night Festival. Then came Tuesday, the dreaded day on which he could never find his loved one. On the Wednesday, he proposed to her. Finally, on Thursday 27 of winter, John and Ann were married on Starry Hill, before a loving crowd including the best friends of both Bride and Groom.
With the expanded store, Ann's father had begun to need more help. When it expanded, he hired Louis, a small-time inventor who was much more adept at his craft than Ann was. Michael, Ann's father, felt happy the two spent time together, and hoped Ann would settle down like her mother. Though John was a good customer, and he was happy for his daughter, he could not help but feel that she would have been happier with Louis.
His daughter came to him, telling him about how awkward it was to be living with a man as husband and wife, even if she was old enough to. She began to spend less and less time with her father, however, and began working on her inventions with Louis. She preferred the caves, of course, where John had brought her the spoils of his hard work, but the shop was much more special, as it was the place he proposed.
Though still small, the farm was successful by the spring of Year 2 of John's life in Flower Bud Village. Winter was particularly profitable, and he now had a chicken that produced Good Eggs, along with a brand-new lamb. His dreams coming to fruition, he could only hope his young wife would soon be with child. Every night, he tried to ensure this dream, but saw no signs she was.
Things went downhill for the young couple in the summer. Ann began to confide in Louis, about how John would go off to care for the animals and not come back until late at night, when he was almost unconscious. Not knowing of the difficulties of farming, she thought something was wrong with him.
John, of course, was still trying to free the Harvest Goddess, who was still forgotten by all but John and Jaime. However, he had begun to feel dejected by the haphazard and distracted way Ann told him she loved him. Whenever he went to the Junk Shop, he spoke to Louis, who always mentioned working on an invention with Ann. In fact, the man barely acted like he knew Ann was married to his conversation partner.
Over time, John grew jealous. He felt Ann disliked him for upgrading his tools rather than buying new ones. He began to see Louis as a threat to his marriage. So, he decided to take matters into his own hands. Rather than upgrade his Axe to the copper level, he instead bought a new one, keeping the Iron Axe in the toolbox.
He befriended Louis, and told him of a great discovery. The pair travelled deep into the bowels of Mount Moon, where John first loved Ann. On Floor 100, John told Louis to look on the shrine. Sneaking up behind the supposed lover of his wife, John brought his axe to bear. As the blade penetrated the back of the skull, only a slight moan was heard. The blood ran from the wound, the iron of the blood mixing with the iron of the axe.
As the blood covered the shrine, John pulled out his Goddess Hammer, and used the power of the Goddess to destroy the body of Louis. The bones crunched, the organs squished, and the bodily fluids drenched John. The energy of the Goddess, however, removed any trace that could imply John killed Louis in a flash. The golden hoe struck the ground, covering the blood that surrounded the shrine.
John looked disapprovingly at the now blood-stained shrine. The blood of Louis began to reach the four pillars, and not even the energy of the Goddess could remove it, apparently. He was about to leave when he received a note. The Blood Note, for killing someone, a note of forsaken innocence. Disgusted more with the scene than with himself, he left the mine.
Mere days passed before the stench reached the upper levels. Alex took forever to reach the bottom, but when he did, he found the Blood Shrine had been the site of a killing. Everyone knew Louis was dead, but the words were never spoken by anyone. Ann remained distraught due more to John's seeming unfaithfulness than by the death of her confident.
Finally, at the end of summer, Ann was noticeably pregnant. John was the happiest man in the world, and everyone knew it. Such good news brought the village out of the dark shroud which had covered it since the death of Louis.
Finally, in fall, the big day arrived. John ignored everything and went straight to the clinic at 6:00am sharp. Ann gave birth to a healthy baby boy, but John noticed one thing about the baby, and everything else was ignored. The baby looked ever-so-slightly like Louis. John remembered the crushed skull… The pouring blood that gushed from such a small hole… The complete and utter obliteration of the body…
That night, John confronted Ann. He accused her of cheating on him with Louis, and the shock that filled her face as she finally understood almost killed him inside. He had upgraded his axe since then, only pleasuring her once in that regard. Rage filled him, and he let loose the axe of death. This time there was no plan, no premeditation, and no purpose. Only the wrath of a man made mad fuelled the blow as her head was severed neatly from her neck.
Blood poured from the neck of the woman he had loved, and another note came to him. The Sacrifice Note, for the killing of the first love, a note of regret. He turned to the child he felt was not his own, and took it to the kitchen. Upon it were the knife set, the frying pan, and the oven. The baby was just small enough for the oven, and, turning it on, John himself went to the knife set.
Michael came in the next morning to congratulate his son-in-law and young daughter on their young child, finding instead his decapitated child, along with her newborn child, his grandson, burned to a crisp in the oven. Blood soaked the wood floor, and neither the dog nor the pig dared to tread where the blood had been spilt. Alex came then, with news that he had prepared to check on the baby, and found John with bleeding wrists.
Alex took a quick look at the scene and understood what must have happened. He explained everything he knew, from Louis' murder to the bloodbath at the house. Michael concurred on all points but one. "Ann loved John very much. She was never able to express herself very well. She was always open with Louis; ever since she found out he was gay. I didn't like John as a son-in-law, since I thought he might become unfaithful."