[Don't Starve] Forbidden Knowledge

Chapter 3- The Instruments of Darkness Tell Us Truths

Willow was, once again, bored half out of her mind.

"While this is intriguing..." She muttered to herself as she watched the shadows' display of her friends going about their daily lives. "If only I had some other source of entertainment."

"Did you call for me, dear Willow?" The voice appeared from behind her in an instant and the queen sighed. Be careful what you ask for. Willow was tired of hearing that voice, but it wasn't like she had anyone else to talk to.

"Charlie, just how did you manage to tolerate sitting here for so long?" Willow groaned. "I hate it!"

The darkness gasped playfully. "Ooh! The shadows don't like it when you say things like that, you know."

"I literally couldn't give a fraction of a shit at this point." Willow's normally calm and suave temperament was gone for the moment. Her boredom had eaten it away.

"Ohoho. Well," Charlie placed a hand on the queen's shoulder. "I see someone's feisty."

"You're so lucky I'm bound to this chair, Charlie, or else I'd tear you limb for limb right now."

"With what strength? You're completely unarmed and I'm nearly a foot taller than you in this form. To fight me is to sign the 'x' on your death wish." Charlie smirked.

"Let's not forget who's the reason you're off the throne in the first place." Willow retorted. "A very simple weapon was enough to take you down. Before you, I'd never killed a man in my life, but I'm now certain I'd do it a thousand times over to rid myself of you."

"A thousand times over, you say." There was a pause, followed by Charlie's deep, sinister laugh. Willow shivered. She hated that sound and had a feeling that using such hyperbole probably wasn't the smartest idea.

"Well, if you're so sure, dear Willow." There was a pat on the head of the younger woman, earning yet another flinch from her. "And if you're oh-so-bored on this throne...you could always have some fun with your little friends."

"No." Willow knew immediately what was implied by this. "I refuse to conjure up any wicked creation that would stand in the way of their survival!"

"Whaaat? Oh, Willow, come on. You can't possibly be pulling this card even after all the time you spent up here. Your brother barely lasted this long when it was his turn before wreaking havoc on that world." Charlie jeered.

Willow flinched. "Excuse me? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, have you lost your hearing? I said your brother. B-r-o-t-h-e-r. Wilson Percival Higgsbury, the most dysfunctional grown man I've ever laid eyes on. He can't even stand in the rain for a few moments without itching at his skin like a dog!" Charlie burst out laughing again and Willow gritted her teeth so hard it was a wonder they didn't crack.

"You may insult me all you like, but don't you ever talk about my brother like that." Somehow, there was a part of Willow repressing the idea that her brother had suffered for all the years he'd lived here before her. She didn't know why. It was a very reasonable thought to think, and yet every time she'd looked out on that small community, going about their life as if it was normal, there was always an accompanying feeling that in the end, there was no reason to worry for them. There was no danger in that world she'd only barely dipped her toes in, and if there was, they all had the supplies and experience to get it under control. She admired how strong her brother had become. "What are you talking about, anyway? What has Wilson to do with any of this?"

Charlie cocked her head, almost genuinely surprised. "Oh, he never told you? He served a bit of time on this very throne, just as you do now."

Willow's stomach wrenched and she gripped the armrests of the throne so hard her knuckles paled. "Please tell me you're kidding." She thought she'd be sick at any moment.

Charlie's cold hand touched her shoulder again. "I'd say I wish I was, but that would be lying." She sighed, almost dreamily. "He was so handsome and young looking when I liberated him from it--"

"Excuse me, you did what?!" Willow snapped, horrified. "What did you do to my brother?!" Her fists slammed against the hard surface of the chair's armrests and the shadow woman let out a tsk tsk.

"Willow, you're so easy to aggravate. You're in your mid-twenties, yes? I'd imagine someone that age would be a little wiser about who they'd pick fights with."

The other woman's jaw stiffened, so hard in fact that it began to ache shortly after, but Willow was hardly aware of this. The nerve this woman had to insult her!

"What do you want from me?!" She asked, voice strained. "I haven't done a thing to bother you!"

Charlie was silent for a moment. "Do you want to know what he did?"

"What?" Willow looked over at her. For once, the sly look on her face was replaced with something more serious.

"I said, do you want to know what your brother did while he was on the shadow throne?" Charlie folded her hands. "He doesn't remember it. Maxwell doesn't, either, and I get the feeling they want to know. All they can remember is they've hated each other for quite a bit of time. It's quite a contrast from how they are now."

Willow nodded in agreement. "That's strange to think about."

"For you, maybe." Charlie's smile briefly returned. "I originally came with Maxwell to this place, you know, back in...when was it? I'd say around '06."

"1906?" Willow's jaw dropped. "You've been here that long?"

"Yes. Quite sad if I do say so myself, but in a way I almost admire the days where it was just Maxy and I. I will say this, though, the day Wilson came here alone was probably the most interesting day of our lives." She chuckled lightheartedly.

Willow's stomach felt uneasy. "In what way?"

"Well," Charlie shrugged, "In our defense, he was our first source of human interaction in quite some time, so we may have been a biiit sadistic towards him." The girl in the chair felt like she would be sick at the thought. "But you know something, my dear Willow, your brother seemed hellbent not on getting out of here but on exploring this world as much as he could."

"Wait, stop." Willow held up a hand, her other hand gripping the armrest of the throne with a bone-shattering grip. "You mean to tell me there's a way out of this?!"

"There was, once upon a time. Maxie made a machine and had the parts strewn about the world every time a new one was generated. I believe your brother actually removed it when he was on here and just never remembered to put it back in. Wilson would find at least one or two parts, but the one time he was able to find them all and assemble the machine, he did something rather strange."

"And that was what?" Willow asked, her head starting to hurt. This was so much for her to take in at once.

"He assembled it in record time, as if he'd built it in his head beforehand. It was quite a sight to see, and even Maxwell was impressed." Charlie's facial expression was solemn again. "But after he built it...he just sort of stared at it, then turned around and looked out at the world like he didn't want to go. And he didn't." Charlie sighed. "It baffles me."

"Yeah. Me too." Willow felt her blood beginning to boil. "He had a chance to come back and find me, and save all of those people at the camp...and he didn't."

Charlie seemed surprised at this reaction for a moment, and then her smile returned. "Yes...when I think about it, you're right." She chuckled and patted her head. "That's exactly what happened. Such a smart girl."

Willow sighed and leaned back in the chair. Her knuckles were white from how hard her grasp was on the armrests by this point. "Charlie, I need some time to process all this. Do you mind?"

"Of course not, dear." The shadow woman replied with the same sly smile she had before. "Just know that if you need me, I'm just a call away~"

Willow sighed again, rubbing her temples as the other disappeared into the darkness. She hated being called "dear" by that woman, but she hated how she felt now even more. She pulled up a view of the survivors' camp from the shadows, and her brother was the first person her troubled eyes fell upon.