15

If you win, the fae in question owes you service, if you lose, same for you. The penalty keeps most humans and fae from trying to call for it. Plus, the court is always on the homeland of the defendant, so you have to have moxie, or a real grievance to get yourself to go into the opposition's home to accuse them.
The others settled when the judge bade everyone be still. “Present you case.” he said to me, dour-faced. He didn't like something, maybe I interrupted his nap before bedtime. I outlined my association with Mr.Cobb, what I was contracted for, and the results of the activity. Then I described the situation when I got back to my office, what happened, my actions , the results of my actions, the possible repercussions. That I had never left my office building in all of these actions, that although materials had been moved, I could easily have done something unexpected and hurt myself or others while under the glamour. I laid it all out. The only thing I didn't do was accuse Cobb of doing it.
I wanted the drama of pointing him out when the judge asked me who was responsible. Let this be a lesson to all of you. Don't get pissed to get even, think it through and REALLY get even. I didn't think things through. If I had, the judge's reluctance for this trial I'd have understood better. He smelled trouble from the get-go, and had tried to let me know without saying so. Toruble was, I was so thoroughly upset I wasn't listening to anyone but my own little internal dialog. The result of which you might see coming now.
The judge had a very sour face when he asked me, “Do you accuse someone of this manipulation?” “Yes, sir, I accuse... “ and I paused for the dramatic effect, which shows how stupid and overly dramatic we humans can get, and pointed at Cobb, “him.” “Are you certain of this, that you accuse him?” the judge asked. “I am certain that it was him, Cobb, as he presented himself to me.” See the dramatic wording? I still wince when I think about how full of myself I was at that moment. I was so certain, which only proves never trust ANYTHING involving fae that what you see is what you're getting.
“I ask for the third time, is this”, and he indicated Cobb, “the one you accuse of this crime?” “For the third and final time yes.” “then I am unjustly accused, and demand redress!” said Cobb angrily, a triumphant smile on his face that belied the angry words. The fact that I might have been snookered started to seep in. “How so are you falsely accused then?” “I had no part in the casting of the glamour, that was the work of another!” he said loudly, and sweeping his arm in front of him in a calculated, dramatic fashion. Humans aren't the only ones that go for drama.
“Can you prove this?”, the judge asked Cobb in a resigned way. He didn't like how I had been tricked, but laws being what they are, are notoriously unbending, and if you fall in the black and white, no matter how you get there, you are considered responsible under the law, circumstances be damned.
Cobb's daughter stepped forward. “I confess sir that it was I who cast the glamour on this human, of my own free will and through no coercion from anyone.” Oh, crap. “She's lying!” I practically screamed at the judge, but fae can't really lie, it's something to do with how they use their magic Larry told me. They just can't lie.
I was well and truly caught by the legal definitions of the agreement between fae and humans. I accused the wrong fae. Whether I had been hit with a glamour or not didn't make any difference. I made a false accusation and I was guilty in the court's eye of trying to illegally coerce another being into servitude. The punishment was to perform a service for the one I unjustly accused.
I looked over at Zik'k and he looked at me like I was a rabid escaped loony. He just stood there gaping at me like all his brains had just leaked out both ears. He stared for a good five seconds, then shook his head and looked over at the judge. “Sir? I don't mean to be rude, but she hired me a short while ago.” The judge straightened and looked at the Troykin with irritation. Zik'k continued, his voice quavering under the judge's stare. “With her being guilty and all, do I have to serve with her? I mean I didn't know anything about this I swear to you sir....”