The courtyard

As people began filing out of the dining room, they each made their way to different parts of the mansion. Several wandered through the hallways until they ended up in the central courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded by the mansion's side wings, creating an isolated garden in the middle of the mansion. Small trees and immaculately kept flower beds lined paths made from pristine white gravel. Guests were already milling about, talking in small groups, or merely idling away the time. A group of guests was congregated in the middle of the courtyard, where, as always, a centrepiece was placed for the guests' entertainment.

The centrepiece this time was a statue. It was part bronze, part glass, and upon closer inspection, was sculpted to resemble a life-sized cow with intricate precision. Coming from the cow's mouth were loud noises. It sounded somewhat like a cow's, but slightly distorted. The closer you got to the statue, the more the sounds changed, until it almost resembled a human's. The statue was also mobile this year. Intricate servos and a small but powerful engine allowed it to wander randomly on the field it was placed in.

On the edge of the field, a group of people were gathered around a pedestal with a button on it. One of the guests pressed it, and the statue wandered towards the group. Once there, it stopped so its side was to the guests, and the glass pane that made up a large part of its torso revealed the presence of a woman trapped inside.

The glass pane slid open, allowing the guest who pressed the button access inside. Everyone around craned their necks to catch a glimpse of who it was that was secured inside the statue.

-----------------------

I'm going to give this new poll function a try, see what comes of it and how it's working and all that. I put five of the less-chosen celebs on the list to give them a moment to 'shine'. But if there is someone you want to see in there, you are always free to leave your choice in the comments. This poll will not be binding or supersede the comments. Whatever celeb got the most votes ends up being used, regardless of whether or not it is from this poll or from the comments. This is purely to see how the poll system works, as I have never used it.

And in case people forgot, it has been 2 years since I last updated this story after all, there is a list of active celebs in a separate chapter.

Cheers