As the pain in her stopped and her vision returned to normal, Arianna removed her hands from her head and took a look at herself to see what had happened. Or at least, she tried to. But to her quickly mounting horror, she realized that not only could she not move her hands away from her head, she couldn't move at all! Her arms, her legs, her torso, her neck, not even her eyes - she was completely immobilized.
She tried to scream for help, but found that she couldn't do that, either. In fact, she realized with even more terror and confusion, she couldn't even feel herself breathing. What was happening to her?!
"Well, you didn't last very long, did you?" a familiar mocking voice spoke up, as Kyrena Darkleaf stepped into Arianna's now singular field of vision, holding the half-eaten fruit the princess had dropped in one hand.
"I filled this forest with many of my magical experiments," the Bandit Queen explained, "My men had a betting pool running on which one you'd run afoul of first. If it's any consolation, Fredrick lost - he thought for sure you'd fall into the Pit of Endless Nightmares. But, I'm sure you're curious as to what's happened to you? Here, have a look."
Kyrena held up a hand mirror in her free hand, which reflected the image of a statue in the perfect image of Arianna as she had been moments before - naked, clutching her head, and face twisted in pain and confusion. It didn't take long for Arianna to have the terrifying realization that it was actually her! She'd been turned into a statue!
"Behold the power of the Gorgon fruit," Kyrena said with a smirk, "Eat it, and you're turned to stone, but left completely conscious and aware. But don't worry, it's not permanent. It will wear off... eventually. Results vary for each victim. You may change back tomorrow, or next week. Or perhaps not until your youngest siblings have become grandparents, or maybe not for a thousand years. I honestly don't know, and I can't say I care. Goodbye, princess. Have fun whenever you regain your flesh."
Arianna could only watch in silent horror as Kyrena walked away, leaving her frozen and mute, unblinking gaze locked onto the woods around her.
True to what Kyrena said, the effects of the Gorgon fruit did eventually wear off, and Arianna was freed from her stone prison after...