There was a flash of bared teeth and her hand tightened again, soon ending Jiminy's reprieve. "No, she won't talk about it. Because she knows what she did," she whispered through a hiss, not caring that these words would mean little to Jiminy.

She turned away from the fireplace with the cricket still in her grasp, stalking across the room with a dramatic flare of her dress. Today's defeat was still raw, and the reminder of what that wretched child had done was another wound opened.

"The only way this will ever end is when I have Snow White's heart," she promised in dark, unfurling tones, lifting Jiminy back to her line of sight.