After learning of her lover's betrayal, Queen Gertrude cursed Lord Waldebert as she petrified him like how Medusa did with her prisoners and burned his body in a far cave until what was left of him was ashes that eventually faded along with the wind.
It might be hard rock to swallow, but what she did actually pained her. Of all the lovers she had, Lord Waldebert was the most convincing. He was successful in convincing her she was worth it compared to his dreary family—and worth it even for King Arnulf's life. Yet, Gertrude wanted more. Not only did she want men to bend on their knees before her, she wanted them to worship her—to be their goddess and abandon the faith that she deemed restricted women. After all those years of social climbing, a crown was finally on her head and supposedly a lover on her bed. However, the latter ended up squandered.
As the breeze blew out the last spec of ashes and the embers slowly died down, Queen Gertrude left the cave with a heart darkened even more and eyes mad with rage that it did not even dare to shed one tear when the rising flames burned her lover's stone body.
Once she returned to the palace, she hastily slithered towards the underground chambers where one was turned into her secret lair, where her potions and ancient scrolls, as ancient as the pyramids of Egypt, were stored. Passing through chambers that were once used as torture rooms for criminals felt menacing, yet the anger inside the queen was far more formidable and redoubtable.
She gritted her teeth as she walked down the desolate halls and cursed upon Maria Blanca, stating, "May your corpse be eaten by a beast for a whore like you deserves death ten times more."
As she stepped inside her secret room, she immediately took some herbs, some scrolls, and hurriedly went back to her private quarters, where her magic mirror stayed.
Upon closing the doors behind her, she disregarded her scrolls and herbs on the floor, and walked straight towards her magic mirror and breathily said, "It is not wrong for a woman to ease her vulnerable mind, right?" She sighed momentarily. "Magic mirror on the wall, do tell your queen, who now is the fairest of them all?"
The mirror glowed and sparked when thunder and lightning rolled in the heavens. An enchanted being then appeared behind the looking glass, staring at the queen and answered, "Fair you are, my Queen, amongst all of the Eves in the world. But right at the deepest part of the crystal forest, where the sun began to shine, Maria Blanca is a thousand times fairer than you."
Queen Gertrude was astonished by the reply of the magic mirror. Her eyes grew wide, and her lips trembled with fury. With a hand to her heart, she bellowed a screeching curse—mad at herself for being too confident at the thought of the pale princess's death. "That can't be!" She clenched her fist until flesh turned blue. "That girl should not be alive! How can that be?" As her anger boiled up, she grabbed the scrolls, inspected each of their contents, and when she found what she was looking for, she curved a dreadful smile that could scare a child for a lifetime and laughed like a cackling crow that impended an uncertainty. "Ha! Ha! I hope your prayers are enough, Maria Blanca. You took my love from me, and I will take something from yours." Her grin illuminated in ominous glow as darkness fully consumed what was left of her soul.