16

The judge looked over at me. “Was this being in your hire before these events took place?” he said curtly. “No sir, I hired him just before I came here as a second if things came to a duel.” I told him. The judeged waved his hand at Zik'k and said “No, you are not bound by the judgement here. and don't ask me to adjudicate your arrangement, I had quite enough manipulations for one day.”
Zik'k sagged in relief and then stared guiltily over at me. I knew he didn't want any part of what I was going to have to be doing for the fae, and knowing the fae, I wouldn't quite be certain what kind of trouble I would be in until I was hip-deep in it. With fae, nothing is ever as it looks. I know I said that before, but it really, really bears repeating. hey may be one of the 'good guys', but even good guys can be a royal pain in the ass.
I waved at Zik'k and motioned him to come over. He trundled warily to me. “Sooooo, what's next?” he asked with a nevous innocence. “I get to work for the fae, and you get to go home. You finished the job Zik'k. You were here if I needed help, and thank gods and grandfathers we didn't have to do anything.” I told him morosely. I was in a funk, and being the drama-queen I am at times, I didn't care who knew it.
“Uh, yeah, so how do I get back home then?” He looked at the road. “Walk?” I shrugged “Walk, that's a good idea Zik'k. See you later.” “Ms. Fatelli, come over here please, we need to go to Underhill to prepare you for your service to me” Cobb said happily. I noted that he was about the only one that was happy about the situation. I wondered why.
I gave a mental shrug , told my idiot self to shut up, and looked back towards the road. Zik'k had wasted no time at all and was already jogging back towards town. I turned back to Cobb, and walked over next to him. He looked down at me. “Leave anything of iron or steel here, Ms. Fatelli. I promise to bring you back here, and until then I will have my daughter watch over your vehicle and things until we return.” I glared back at him, then slid my stare over to his daughter. “Fine, let's get this charade over with, okay?” I growled at him. I shucked my my shoes , my belt, earrings, and pendant.
He quirked an eye at me. Oh, yeah I thought sourly, the jeans have steel buttons. I slid out of my jeans and he handed me a dress to wear. I batted it away and stalked over to my car. “no, I am not accepting gifts! I'm not being fooled again!” I dug in the back and pulled out a piar of sweat pants and a sweatshirt, and put them on. I then reached behind and took off my bra, the wires were steel, so a no-no. I checked myself over. No steel or iron anywhere. I walked back to Cobb, and he gestured, and opened the way into Underhill.

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....”

14

The Troykin got a slightly panicked look on their faces and assured me hurriedly that there would be no problem at all for Larry's mate-sister. “Yah, talk all yah want abrt it, ah'm the onet hasta go wit her.”, Zik'k said to the others bad-temperedly. “Look, I'm sorry, I didn't want to impose so if you don't want....” “No no no no! Nod dat at ahll, Magick madeb mah nodse clug up.” He took a deep breath through his mouth. “I'db beh fine inna libble bit.”
I looked Zik'k over and then at the others. “You all have this problem too?” I asked, half-amused and half-frustrated with the whole situation. The ther Troykin had watched our conversation, and the leader said to me. “I don't know dab edb dose.” He rubbed the side of his face, then smiled sheepishly. “I gebb we'db do gob de probbem too. You got lotsa mabjick. Idb tink dab's it.” His speech was almost inarticulate.
He backed up about ten feet to where the other three were standing and suddenly looked better. “Ah, yes, that feels so much better. Well, good day, and say hello to Mr. Larry for us.” They whirled and all but ran away, before I could ask any more questions.
I turned to the red-faced Troykin who backed up and got out of the range. “Gah, girl, that is the worst feeling.” He looked at the car, and his face fell to around his knees. “He looked at me and jerked a thumb at the car. “I gotta ride with you all the way back now don't I?” “Yep”, I said brightly, just to dig it in a little. “Just you and me for twenty minutes all the way back, and then we get to talk to another wizard.” I'd never seen a face drag along the ground before, but his tried very hard as we got in the car.
Along the way back to my office, Zik'k alternated between holding his nose while breathing though his mouth, and rolling down the window to stick his face out of the car like a dog, nose into the wind, presumably to clear his head of my magical odor. But he never made one noise of complaint, just a whole lot of body language. Once there I packed up my possibles bag, and filled two extra hand-sized sacks with iron filings, and added them to it.
As I threw the bag in the back seat, Zik'k asked me, “So why dib yuh azk for ub?” “Because you guys are tough to touch with magic, and you have a good reputation as being trustworthy.” I answered. I started the car and we drove to a location I knew of where the fae had a presence. If I wanted to talk with “Mr. Cobb”, that would be the place.
We drove through Halifax to the northwest and just outside of Lower Sackville, I pulled off the road and parked the car. Just off the road was a small trail that led to the edge of a small pond near a low hill, and one of the more beautiful places I'd seen in a while. Peace and a sense of wonder permeated the area. Now before you go wondering about how I knew about this place, it wasn't exactly a secret. A number of merchants used the location to trade with the fae for a number of years, so nothing mysterious about it. It was however, the off-season for trading, so we were the only ones here.
Zik'k trailed me by about twenty feet, that allowed him to watch my back and not have an attack of magical sneezes. I didn't expect any real trouble yet, that might happen when I accused “Mr. Cobb” of casting a glamour or three at, and on, me. The path ended between the pond and the hill. Showtime. “All right!”, I shouted to the empty space, “I have a grievance with the fae and demand justice!”
I really didn't like this whole thing much at all, I don't mind telling you. Things had piled up fast and I was feeling somewhat frazzled with a job, a glamour, hiring backup, and now bracing a fae about magic. I was not enjoying this one bit, and it felt like I was missing something in the whole mix. I just wasn't able to think of what it was.
A few moments after I had shouted to the world I was pissed, the fae showed. Mr. Cobb was there, so was his daughter, and six other fae I didn't know by sight. The oldest looking one wore brilliant sapphire blue robes that resembled a monk's habit. He was the judge, and in this instance, once we got started, his decision would be binding on us all. You call for faery justice, you accept the ruling. Period.
“Why have you called for justice, human. Surely you know the penalty for false accusation.” he said with a VERY serious touch to his voice. He clearly didn't like this, but I was already committed in my mind. In for a penny and all that. “I'm here because one of the fae cast a glamour on me without my knowledge or consent, that caused me near grievous bodily harm, and to others I may have contacted while under the glamour.”
Doesn't sound like much? It is. Long ago when fae had the upper hand with magick, such a thing was considered their right as long as they weren't caught doing it. Power with no consequence. That changed when humans made the first contact with the revived magic. we're on an equal footing now, and the fae found that difficult and hazardous to their well-being, so about twenty or so years ago, this form of legalese was concocted to address the problems between fae and human.