"Can we trust him?"
Barrie looked over to see Stephen eyeing Ballard who stood a few feet away talking to one of his men. Barrie looked back down into the contents of her bowl. She wrinkled her nose at the withered vegetables and took a halfhearted bite of the weak stew.
"I trust him with my life Stephen."
"Men change my lady."
Barrie gave a small huh of laughter. "I know that Stephen."
Stephen sat down beside her on a low rock. He gave her a concerned gaze before he spoke with carefully chosen words. "Are you doing this because you feel like you owe him?"
Barrie chased the vegetables in her bowl with her spoon before she spoke. "I owe it to him Stephen. Without him I wouldn't have a beautiful daughter or have spent the best years of my life with the man that I loved. It's not his fault that Arthur let jealousy and greed rule his heart. His wife is my aunt."
"Can we trust him?" Stephen iterated again.
"He's a blacksmith Stephen. In all the years that I've known him, he's always stayed true to his word. He's made of iron. Iron doesn't bend easily."
"All metal bends if it's heated just right." Ballard sat down across from Barrie. His words were to her, but his eyes were fixed on Stephen. Stephen grunted and sat back. Ballard's eyes flicked over to Barrie. "If it eases your mind Princess, I have men in the castle who are busy helping your men escape. The King has yet to figure out who's helping his prisoners escape. We've been doing this since the first prisoners started trickling in. Your father is a cruel man Princess."
Barrie laughed. "Oh I know Ballard. I've felt his heavy hand more than once."
Stephen suddenly spoke. "What of the Queen?"
Ballard looked at him. "What do you want to know about her?"
"Is the King strong on his own or is a spineless bastard who is ruled by his wife?"
Ballard raised a big hand in uncertainty. "I have only seen the Queen a handful of times. The King used to visit the village regularly. I remember being a young boy and seeing him ride through town. He used to spend time in my father's forge, but that all stopped once he married the Queen. He changed once he took her as wife."
Barrie leaned forward in curiosity. "What was he like before?"
Ballard smiled at her. "He was much like you. He brought mischief with him. The guards were always dispatched to find him. More often than not, he would be found hiding in my father's forge. As he grew older, he spent many long hours talking to my father about the stories of old."
"What stories were those?"
Ballard's eyes glowed with memories. "They were the stories of the Warrior Queens. He would sit and listen enraptured to all of the stories that my father told him. His visits started tapering off once he married the Queen. He stopped coming altogether when you were but a babe of two years old. My father missed him and told me to never let a woman change who I was. A good woman will add to your character while a bad woman will detract from it."
Barrie didn't answer Ballard once he stopped speaking. She looked over at Stephen who was nodding his head. Stephen looked at her when he felt her gaze.
"Do you believe we can trust him know?"
Stephen nodded. "Aye my lady. Those are words of wisdom he spoke. A man who is out to catch you in a web of lies does not speak wisdom."
Barrie hid a smile as she turned and looked back at Ballard. "What more can you tell us?"
"What do you want to know?"
Barrie leaned forward with her hands on her knees. "I want to know what the Queen and my half siblings are up to. Don't leave anything out."
Ballard had a thoughtful look on his face. "Jacinda has friends in the palace. She has heard much. Where do you want me to start?"
"Start at the beginning. I want to know what has happened since I fled to Beau's kingdom."
Ballard nodded and took a deep breath before he launched into a detailed account of everything that had happened the past few years. Barrie listened attentively to every single word that Ballard said. She was busy filling away the tidbits of information he gave her to puzzle over later. Everything that her stepmother did was important because it could lead to a way to defeat her father without killing him."