The purpose of all this? The author simply wants to see more of the Horned King and Maleficent, because, for reasons unknown, she REALLY loves the two. X3
The Kraken Guard is highly disappointed in the lack of The Black Cauldron, so she writes fanfiction.
Reviews are welcome, and if you spot a goof-up or typo, let the Kraken Guard know, so that she can go back to edit.
It had been twenty-seven years since the Horned King was first introduced to the villains of Disney. Most of the Horned King's predecessors had complimented him, saying that he would be an excellent edition to the Disney Villains family, as they had called themselves.
"You are quite possibly the scariest villain since Chernabog and Maleficent," they had told him. While he was not sure what to think of their words at the time, the Horned King eventually learned that it was a complimentary statement.
And yet, here he was. The year, 2012, now going onto 2013. It had been twenty-seven years since the Horned King was introduced to his family. Over the course of those twenty-seven years, the Horned King was ostracized by his fellow fiends.
The Black Cauldron, the 25th film in the Animated Canon, was an ambitious step for the Walt Disney Animation Studio. They had wanted to start a new era that would be geared more toward an older audience.
However, once the film finally hit the big screen, it proceeded to bomb at the theaters. If you were to ask a character or viewer why, their responses would vary: Some would say that the film was "too dark and scary," while others would say that "it differed too far from the original books by Lloyd Alexander." There were even those who said that the characters themselves were dull and lacked in characterization.
Either way, for whatever reason, the film had left the studio overboard, until a little mermaid swam along and helped them back to shore. The mantle of shame was eventually passed on over onto number 45, Home on the Range, but that did not help The Black Cauldron much, as far as popularity. Even to this day, The Black Cauldron is held in a high disregard, and the rest is history.
As the years flew by, more films were introduced to the canon, and with them came more characters. But with each new film, The Black Cauldron fell deeper into the shadows of obscurity. Hero, Princess and Villain alike were welcomed by the other characters of the canon, while the characters of The Black Cauldron faded from memory.
No one remembered Princess Eilonwy, and no one gave much thought to Taran, the protagonist of the film. For what all it was worth, many consider the lovable(if somewhat cowardly) Gurgi to be a relatively memorable character, as well as the Horned King himself, who served as the main antagonist of the film. But even then, they were all overshadowed by the other characters.
Taran, Eilonwy, Fflewddur and the rest of them? They were just there among the rest of the characters. Taran never saved the princess from an evil vizier. And, aside from being visually terrifying, the audience witnessed very little activity from the Horned King. He wanted the Black Cauldron, the titular artifact of the film, to rule the world. But the antagonist never placed any curses on the princess, nor did he transform himself into a fire-breathing dragon.
No. Compared to the rest of the characters in the Animated Canon, characters of The Black Cauldron were viewed as having little importance, if any. They were just a smear. And the villains were quite open with reminding the Horned King of the films failure.
"You were just an experiment," they had now started to tell him. "A failed experiment. You failed to garner any kind of recognition. No one will remember you, and if they do, they will only remember you as being a failure."
"You are nothing more then an embarrassment. A disgrace."
That was how it had been for the past twenty-seven years. While the heroes and heroines might not have been so cruel to the characters from The Black Cauldron, the villains were merciless.
The Horned King was bitter. Technically, the character was one who was unconcerned as to what others thought of him. He was well aware of the crimes he had committed. The lengths to which he would go to achieve his goal were great and terrible, but finding the Black Cauldron was his ambition. He would not give up his quest until he found and obtained that dreaded crochan.
That was how he was on-screen. Off-screen, the characters were very much like themselves portrayed on-screen. Aladdin was exactly like himself off-screen as he was on-screen. The Tremaines? They were exactly the same. Unfortunately enough.
Surprisingly, there have been instances where Aurora would have friendly conversations with Maleficent herself, much to the dismay of Philip and the three good fairies, Flora, Fauna and Merryweather.
The Horned King? Off-screen, he longed for the recognition he never had. He wanted to be one of the memorable villains, like Maleficent, Frollo, Chernabog and the others. But even he knew that he could never go back to fix whatever went wrong. Even the Sands of Time could not allow him that chance.
On-screen and off-screen, the Horned King was a formidable villain, scarce to showing any form of outward emotion. But the years weighed heavily on his shoulders, as well as the others from the film he originated from.
It tore him apart. The supposed family he was in did nothing but look down and despise him. As much as he loathed Taran, even off-screen, he could not help but to stand and defend the lad from the arachnid-like pirate, Scroop, one day.
"You're just a failure. A mistake that never should have happened."
"What would that spider know?" The horned lich mused to himself. It wasn't as though Treasure Planet itself was that successful. As of 2011, it has become Disney's biggest lost, financially.
But it did not matter. The Black Cauldron was still the film that failed. And that would never change. That would never change, no matter how the characters wished for it, and it tore the Horned King apart.
It tore him apart. The Horned King hated it. He hated every one of the villains. The Horned King felt that each and every one of them were stealing away the recognition he thought he himself deserved.
The Horned King hated being left behind. He hated being the forgotten one. But he knew that he could not correct whatever mistakes were made that made The Black Cauldron so loathed.
"Who am I fooling?" The Horned King thought quietly to himself, slowly ascending the old stairs that lead to his dark chambers. "It is beyond hope. No matter what we do, or how hard we try, we can not, nor could we ever surmount to anything. It was all an experiment gone wrong, and that is all we could ever be."
It irritated the lich when he heard himself speak these words. But he had become convinced that it was the truth. He could never be one of the memorable villains, like Maleficent. He was just there to fill in an empty gap that was so easily overlooked. No one would pay heed to him. He was the forgotten one, and he would always remain as such.
"Sire?"
The Horned King stopped, standing mere inches from the door. The skeletal king recognized the trembling voice as that of the Creeper, a small, green goblin that served as one of the Horned King's various minions.
Not to be confused with the huntsman. The Creeper is weak and frail, but the goblin was not entirely without use. In fact, the Creeper had a specialty toward taming certain creatures, such as the winged, bird-like Gwythaints.
However, while the Creeper is not without use, the Horned King seldom shows gratitude, and often strangles his minion when the lich-king's plans go awry. Both on-screen and off-screen, the goblin holds a terrible fear toward his master.
"Sire, forgive me, but..." The goblin spoke in stutters, cautiously inching his way toward the horned lich. "There is someone here. She said she wanted to talk with you," said the goblin, frightful that the Horned King would punish him. For whatever reason.
Glancing over his shoulder, the horned lich raised his brow at the Creeper's words. "And my huntsman?" The lich inquired, curious to know why there was no mention as to what actions had been taken. Judging by the way the goblin recoiled and trembled, the Horned King assumed that there were none.
"Please, sire! It's not my fault!" The goblin all but cried out in fear, bowing before the terrible, undead creature. "We could not take any actions, for fear that she would do great harm! Or- Or worse!"
The Horned King's brows furrowed as the goblin got caught on his own stammers. Try as he could, the Creeper could not speak the words on his mind. Having lost his patience with the goblin, the skeletal king turned and made his way down, walking over the Creeper in the process and leaving the goblin to give out a faint, frightful yelp in the process.
The hallways of the old castle were scarce of life, save for the occasional rat scurrying across the floor and vanishing into the shadows. The light of the torches waned as the lich made his way toward the throne room, accompanied by a chilling aura of foreboding that nearly snuffed out the flames.
Was the Horned King unaware of who his unexpected visitor was? In truth, the lich had an idea. But why she would visit him, of all villains, the Horned King did not know. They had seen each other, but they never interacted with one another. Not for many years, at least.
At last, the lich arrived at the throne room. There in the center she stood, and the Horned King found himself captivated by her magnificence. Upon sensing his presence, the dark fairy turned and smiled, bowing politely to the Horned King as the two approached one another.
"Maleficent."