Darkness was bored.  That was why he allowed the thief that tried to steal his gold to talk him into taking his daughter in his place.
 
His heart was a frozen wasteland that, it was said, could not be thawed and because it could not, the curse the witch had cast upon him, he would carry for eternity.  
 
 His mother could not remove the curse, but she cast another spell of hope.
 
One day one will come who will pierce the Heart of Darkness and slay the beast and the curse will be broken forevermore.