Page 14 of Once Upon a Curse for True Love
“Fine.”She dug deeper into her closet, past the everyday wear, to the section she labeled ‘grown-up.’The stuff she wore when meeting corporate clients.
She settled on black tailored trousers and a cream-colored knitted sweater.After a quick shower, she emerged from the bathroom transformed.Her wild blonde waves were tamed into a sleek bun, her makeup understated but polished.
“Will I do?”She turned to Quill for inspection.
The hedgehog assessed her.“It’ll have to.Now, sit down.We have ninety-three minutes to prepare your defense.”
***
The DMJ loomed before Andromeda like a Victorian headmistress—all imposing columns and judgmental bricks.She straightened her cream sweater, while Quill, packed in a magically enlarged compartment in her bag, gave an encouraging little sniff, which for him was basically a motivational speech.With a deep breath that did nothing to calm her nerves, she pushed open the heavy doors and stepped into the cool marble hallway.
“Remember,” Quill whispered, “Address the judge as ‘Your Honor.’And no sarcasm.”
“I’m not an idiot,” Andromeda hissed as she followed the signs to Courtroom C.
The room was smaller than she’d expected.Three neat rows of wooden benches lined the back, thankfully empty.At the front, a raised dais with the judge’s bench presided over a table on either side, right for the prosecution and left for the defense.
While being the same size, the table on the right was dwarfed by the two men sitting behind it: Detective Cocky and an equally tall and dark wizard who Andromeda recognized as the Chief Inquisitor, Riley King—her roommate’s boss and Malatesta’s too.Andromeda hoped the chief was here to keep his rabid dog on a tight leash and not to earn her a harsher punishment.
As if hearing her thoughts, Malatesta turned his head.Their eyes met across the courtroom, and the corner of his mouth lifted in a half-smile—smug enough to make her worry.He was up to something.
“All rise!”A disembodied voice boomed before Andromeda could decide whether to flip Malatesta off or just ignore him.“The Honorable Judge Templeton presiding.”
A side door opened and a woman with snow-white hair pulled back in a severe bun swept in.At first glance, she could’ve passed for everyone’s favorite grandma—the one who bakes bone-chip cookies and hands out broomstick brownies.But the glint of steel in her gaze gave her away as the type of grandmother who’d have you scrubbing cauldrons until your fingers fell off if you broke her rules.
“Be seated,” Judge Templeton commanded, settling into her high-backed chair and adjusting her black robes.She peered over half-moon glasses at the papers before her.“Andromeda Swan versus the Magical Commonwealth of Massachusetts for a violation of the Magical Communication Act, Section 12.3.”
Andromeda slid into her seat at the defense table, feeling alone without Sarah Michelle beside her.But after keeping her best friend up for half of the night, she’d preferred not to drag her to court mid-shift.And given that Sarah Michelle’s boss was present and on the opposing side, that had been the right call.
Judge Templeton’s piercing gaze fixed on Andromeda.“Miss Swan, you stand accused of sending a cursed electronic communication.How do you plead?”
Quill gave an imperceptible nod.They’d agreed it was better to show remorse, accept responsibility, and hope for leniency.
Andromeda stood up.“Guilty, Your Honor.”
From the corner of her eye, she caught Malatesta’s smirk widening into a dangerous grin.He sat like he owned the room.Like he’d already won.
Andromeda didn’t give him the satisfaction of a second glance.He could hex off.
“Very well.”Judge Templeton’s expression revealed nothing.“The court accepts your guilty plea.Normally, this type of misdemeanor would result in a simple fine.”
Andromeda allowed herself a small breath of relief.
“However,” the judge continued, shuffling papers, “the prosecution has requested a harsher punishment, citing the particular nature of your offense and its relevance to an ongoing investigation.Detective Malatesta, you have the floor.”
That broom-witted, ego-puffed, toad-brained bastard.
Andromeda glared at him as Malatesta unfolded himself from his chair with an offensive grace.Before he spoke, he turned his head toward Andromeda, their eyes locked, and the jinxweasel had the gall to wink at her.As if they were sharing some private joke, not litigating a proceeding that could upend her life.
“Thank you, Your Honor,” he began, his deep voice rolling through the courtroom.“The defendant’s actions represent a troubling trend in magical cyber security violations.Her curse, while technically harmless, demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of magical code injection that, if applied differently, could have devastating consequences.”
Andromeda’s jaw dropped.Was he seriously painting her childish prank like cyber terrorism?
“Miss Swan bypassed the victim’s antimalware security wards exploiting weaknesses in the magical firewall, proving an ability to nullify sophisticated protections.She then embedded a curse that altered the system functionality without consent.”Malatesta paused for maximum dramatic effect.“This type of digital cursing, if taken to its extreme, could disrupt critical magical infrastructure, interfere with emergency communication spells, or even compromise the darknet itself.”
“Objection, Your Honor!”Quill squeaked, rising to his tiny hedgehog feet.“The prosecution is catastrophizing a simple prank into a doomsday scenario.Next, he’ll claim my client could have caused the apocalypse with her keyboard.”
“The familiar has a point, detective.”The judge’s lips thinned.“Perhaps you could stick to the facts of this hearing rather than hypothetical worst-case scenarios.”
