Eramus arrived at the Bastille late.
It was the most infamous prison in France, and he was there to see one of its prisoners.
"'I will speak to him alone,' Eramus said.
He took the guard's lantern and stepped inside the prisoner's cell.
Then he signaled for the guard to close the door.
Beneath the cell's one small window a young man was lying on a bed.
His face was half hidden by his arms.'
Aramis sat on a chair next to the bed, and the young man lifted his head.
What do you want of me? the prisoner asked in a cold, strong voice.
I want you to think back to your childhood, Aramis said.
Do you remember a man who used to visit and a lady who wore black silk and had fiery ribbons in her hair?
Yes, said the young man thoughtfully.
I asked once who that man was, and my nurse told me that he was a priest.
I remember being surprised by how much he looked like a soldier.
When I questioned my nurse about it, she said that he had once been a great musketeer.
She told me that the musketeers were the best soldiers in France, dedicated to protecting the king.
The young man looked up.
It's you.
I recognize you now.
You're the man who used to visit me.
Eramus nodded.
I am now a bishop in the church, he said, and I have risked everything to find you.
If the king learned of this meeting between us tonight, tomorrow I would see the depths of a dungeon far darker than this cell.
Fortunately, he doesn't know of your existence, but there are others who do and they might inform him.
Listening to these sharp words, the young man sat up in bed and stared into Eramis's eyes.
And am I doomed to spend the rest of my life in this cell?
He asked.
It appears so, Eramus replied, unless you do something about it.
I don't know why I've been put here, but my enemy must be great and powerful to keep me locked away for my entire life.
The young man said.
He is, and you have been brought here because you pose a great danger to him, Eramus said.
"'I suspected as much.
I don't think I was always meant to be locked up,' the young man replied.
"'My tutor and nurse took care to raise me as a well-rounded nobleman.
Why would they do so only to put me in a cell?
But then one morning, shortly after I turned fifteen, I was dozing in the summer sun.'
"'That was eight years ago,' Aramis interrupted.
"'More or less.' the young man replied.
I've lost track of time.
That fateful morning, I heard my tutor calling for my nurse.
He was frantic.
I overheard them, you see, and learned that they had lost a letter.
My nurse, Perronette, called it the queen's latest letter.
After searching the garden for some time, I saw them look into our well.
Then Perronette became even more upset.
She said the wind had carried the queen's letter into the well, and now it was gone forever.
I suddenly realized that the woman who visited us regularly, who brought these letters, must be the queen herself.
Perrinette told my tutor that the queen had gone through great trouble and danger to hand deliver each one.
She was sure to be punished for losing it.
Eramis nodded, then asked, Do you know what was in the letter?
From what Perrinette told my tutor, I learned that the letter contained specific instructions about Philip.
Philip is my name, you see, so naturally I was curious.
As soon as my tutor and Perrinette left the garden, I hurried to the well and climbed down.
I found the letter sinking slowly and was able to retrieve it.
Then I crept back to my room.
The water had faded the writing, but I managed to read it anyway.
And what did you read?
Enough to learn that I must have been special, since the queen wanted me looked after.
She was trying to find a way to have me taken away from France, so the king would never find me.
What happened next?
Eramis asked.
Foolishly, I caught a chill from my dip in the well.
As I lay in bed recovering for the next few days, my tutor found the letter under my pillow said Eremus.
Now I understand how you ended up here.
I'm not sure exactly what followed, the young man said.
My nurse must have written to the queen to tell her what happened.
After which you were arrested and dragged off here to the Bastille, Eremus said.
When the queen learned that you had seen her letter, she probably thought you had also discovered the great secret she so desperately wanted to protect.
She must have panicked and sent you here.
The young man nodded.
And here you have remained.
This is how powerful her secret is, Arama said.
Now, I will tell you a secret.
One that is thought to be dead and buried.
I'm listening, Philip said.
