The Man in the Iron Mask Page #9

ARAMIS:

Look at us. We are old men now. But

once we were young. And when we saw

injustice, we fought it.

D'ARTAGNAN

We have grown wiser with age. Now

we know that some problems cannot be

settled with a sword.

ATHOS:

And some problems cannot be settled

without one.

ARAMIS:

Well here is the problem at hand:

the King has ordered me to discover

the identity of the Governor General

of Jesuits, and kill him. As our

English rivals have left the

Catholic Church, Louis has struck on

a plan to dominate the whole of

Europe by uniting Church and State

and making himself head of both. He

has already picked the Pope. Only

the Jesuits, who put God above

throne or papacy, stand in his way.

PORTHOS:

But -- doesn't God ordain both Pope

and King?

ARAMIS:

So they tell us. But what are we to

believe when the king is a tyrant,

and the Church, meant to stand for

all those oppressed, has become the

tool of oppression? When no

conscience is tolerated? No

dissent, no objection?

PORTHOS:

It is a weighty problem, Aramis --

but perhaps you should leave it to

this secret General of the Jesuits,

whoever he might be.

ARAMIS:

Easy to say, but hard to do. For

what I am trying to tell you is that

I am the Governor General of Jesuits

in France.

A stunned silence.

ATHOS:

What do you propose to do?

ARAMIS:

Replace the king.

D'ARTAGNAN

I cannot hear this!

PORTHOS:

It can't be done.

ARAMIS:

It can. I know the way.

ATHOS:

I am with you!

D'ARTAGNAN

No! Stop --

ARAMIS:

I will need you all. All for one.

One for all.

D'ARTAGNAN

(jumping up)

You -- You cannot ask me to betray

my king! I have sworn to him!

ATHOS:

It is honor you serve, and when the

king is dishonorable you are removed

from your oath of honor!

D'ARTAGNAN

An oath is an oath precisely because

it cannot be removed!

ATHOS:

Why do you follow him, d'Artagnan?!

I know you have put service above

your own life, but why does this

King deserve such loyalty? He is a

monster! He executes ministers for

his own blunders, with their

families hostage so they take the

blame! He has no honor!

D'ARTAGNAN

No man is all bad... or all good. I

believe -- I must believe -- that

Louis can learn. And perhaps I can

help him.

Athos leaps up from the table, and glares at d'Artagnan.

ATHOS:

Whatever the plan... I am in it!

The next time we meet, one of us

will die.

He storms out of the rear door of the chapel.

ARAMIS:

Porthos, see to Athos, won't you?

Porthos follows Athos; Aramis and d'Artagnan are left alone.

ARAMIS:

I have heard many confessions,

d'Artagnan. But even if I were not

a priest, I could tell your heart

has a secret weight, and it is

hurting you to carry it alone.

D'ARTAGNAN

The secret I carry I cannot share.

Not even with God.

D'Artagnan moves to the door.

D'ARTAGNAN

I cannot betray Louis. I will

defend him with my life.

ARAMIS:

I know. God go with you.

D'Artagnan leaves Aramis alone in the secret chapel.

EXT. THE MONASTERY - NIGHT

Aramis leads Athos and Porthos out of the catacombs.

ARAMIS:

This way.

They move into a moonlit courtyard of the monastery. A

hooded Jesuit standing guard steps from the shadows, then

recognizes Aramis and admits the trio to the monastery's

forge, where more hooded Jesuits are working in secret,

heating iron red hot in the bellows furnace.

ATHOS:

What are they doing?

ARAMIS:

Making the key to the throne.

PORTHOS:

They are very large keys.

One of the blacksmiths uses tongs to remove something red

from the fire; he hammers it in a shower of sparks and

plunges it into water. Aramis pulls the result from the

water and shows it to Athos and Porthos.

It is an iron mask.

EXT. A CARRIAGE - FRENCH COUNTRYSIDE - NIGHT

The carriage rolls through the long sweep of the French

countryside, traveling fast.

INT. THE CARRIAGE - NIGHT

The three Musketeers -- Aramis, Athos, and Porthos -- have

been traveling for some time. Porthos is asleep, snoring.

ATHOS:

Porthos sleeps, and you plot. Don't

you think it's time you told me what

it is you are plotting?

ARAMIS:

Soon enough. Here we are.

Kicking Porthos' feet to wake him, Aramis opens the carriage

door, and they step out...

EXT. FRENCH COAST - NIGHT

Lying just off the coast is the forbidden island, where the

imposing fortress prison rises on the promontory off shore.

ATHOS:

The Prison of Belle Sur.

ARAMIS:

Come, we have a boat waiting.

As hooded Jesuits appear from the shadows to guide them,

Athos and Porthos glance at each other; Porthos shrugs.

EXT. AMONG ROCKS AT THE BEACH - NIGHT

The guides lead the Musketeers down a hilly path to a long

boat, hidden among the large rocks that dot the coast.

Sitting next to the boat is a scrawny little man in priest's

garb; at his feet is a long narrow bundle, about the size of

a mummy, with a rope tied at either end.

The guides drag the boat across the sand into the surf.

Aramis throws off his cape, and strips down almost naked.

He's still fit and hard. With the guides helping him, he

lifts the bundle by its ropes and ties it around his waist.

ATHOS:

What is that?

ARAMIS:

A body.

ATHOS:

I see that is a body! But where did

you get it?

Aramis ignores the question, and the guides dress him in

priest's garb. With the robes spreading over the big bundle

added artfully to Aramis' waist, it appears he is a very fat

priest; the wig and false beard the assistants give him adds

to the illusion of Aramis as a wild, reclusive monk.

The sun is beginning to come up over the mountains.

PORTHOS:

He gets one day of confession each

year. Today is the day.

ATHOS:

Who does?

PORTHOS:

Best not to ask. Shouldn't even

talk about it.

Aramis steps onto the boat. The little priest who first

joined them gets in too, along with a couple of rowers.

ATHOS:

What do we do now?

PORTHOS:

I don't know about you, but I plan

to wait here.

The rowers pull the boat toward the fortress prison.

INT. FORTRESS PRISON - DAY

The pink light of the new day barely penetrates the gloom of

the prison. The boat carrying Aramis and the little priest

reaches the gate of the prison, which reaches to the water

line. As Aramis steps out, GUARDS meet them.

HEAD GUARD:

Who is this, then?

The little priest remains in the boat, slumped over. One

GUARD speaks to the little priest in Italian, and the little

priest seems barely able to left his head; Aramis answers for

him, in Italian, and the guard translates --

GUARD:

He says he's the replacement.

Aramis rattles off more Italian.

GUARD:

He says it is only one day a month

when the prisoner gets confession,

and the little one is too sick to

move. The big one doesn't speak

French either.

HEAD GUARD:

Then let's get it done.

The head guard gestures to let them pass.

INT. CELL OF THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK

The prisoner has used the torn Bible to make all sorts of

amazing origami, invented from his own head. He looks up as

he hears the door open, and sees Aramis, the priest.

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