Terezi jumped over the rail, the tail of her dragonhood flowing behind her. She knelt when she touched to ground to adsorb the shock then sprinted off into a maze of dark alleys only few knew how not to get lost in them. The troll emerged from darkness at the city's outskirts, the point of rendez-vous she had given to that famous mail lady. She hoped the Witch didn't tell lies and PM would really deliver her letter. Terezi sighed of relief when she smelled honour and determination near her.

- I believe I must give this to you...

Her voice was soft, completely different from her usual rough and high pitched tone. She handed to PM a manuscript neatly rolled and sealed.

- Please, give it to someone from the resistance on Derse.

Terezi waved goodbye to PM who mysteriously suddenly disappeared in her invisible ship. The troll returned toward the dark of the alleys, hoping her letter would fall in good hands.

<< H3LLO!!

1 4M FROM PROSP1T. W3 H4V3 H34RD OF TH3 B4TT3RW1TCH COUP D3T4T. 1T 4LSO 4FF3CT3D US BUT 1 DOUBT TH3 GR4V1TY 1S TH3 S4M3.

4NYW4Y, 1V3 T4K3N TH3 1N1T14T1V3 TO S3ND YOU TH1S L3TT3R B3CUZ OUR L34DER 1S 4N ASSHOL3 4ND WONT T3LL M3 3V3RYTH1NG H3 KNOWS 4BOUT YOU. 1V3 M1L1T4T3D FOR Y34RS FOR TH3 LOWBLOODS'R1GTHS B3FOR3 TH1S CR1SYS H4PP3N3D SO 1 C4N H3LP YOU BU1LD 4 PROP3R R3B3L1ION.

H3R3 4 L1ST OF WH4T YOULL N33D:
- 4N HQ 1N TH3 L34ST 3XP3CT3D PL4C3. 4LL C4S3S OF GR34T FUG1T1V3S W3R3 FOUND 1N TH3 UNL1K3L13ST PL4C3S.
- F4K3 1DS TO 34SILY CONFUS3 GUARDS. TH3YR3 R34LLY DUMB
- LOTS OF CH4LKS

1 HOP3 TH1S H4S F4LL3N 1N GOOD H4NDS 4ND H3LP3D. 1F YOU R3PLY B4CK, 1 W1LL T3LL YOU WHY 1 WR1T3 L1K3 TH1S. H3H3H3.

- G4LLOWSC4L1BR4TOR>>

Derse's low district was quite crowded. The Empress ordered to strengthen guard surveilance from Jack's advice that any big change in a realm's politic would cause tension all around it. Actually, the Draconian Dignitary was behind Noir's mischief to confirm the posibilities of any possible rebellion. The low district is full of little places to hide and the streets are like a big purple labirynth, who knows what is really happening in here.

The Draconian Dignitary had to keep an eye on the guards for few day, just to make sure everything is in order. It looks like it was his lucky day. A little later, during the night, a bright figure was wandering around the streets, sneaking aroud much like she was hiding something. Who knew that 40% of the new guards were still on duty at night... And hidden too. On a fork road, some guards quickly intercepted PM and the Dignitary came as fast as possible.

- Well, well. What could a Prospitian do here at such time? It is quite uncommon
to find any prospitian postal worker outside the proper offices.

DD asked for the bag wich PM didn't really wanted to give. Noticing that she was outnumbered, she had to give it, a single mailbag with only one letter... wich was actually a nice sealed scroll. The Dignitary took it and opened the manuscrit. The writing was quite hard to understand, DD's eyes came back and forth quite a lot, he took a bit more time to decipher the number-riddled letter. He then took out another paper and started writing using a wall.

«Derse Office of Law
To: All senders having a letter transported by employee named Parcel Mistress.

Under Derse law on Postal Services, an authorized Prospite Postal Employee was intercepted in an unauthorized zone of action. If you receive this letter, the said agent was transporting a letter from you and we simply wish to notify you of this event, in case of any suspicion about the said
worker.

Any content that the employee was transporting is now under Derse's control and its position and status will remain undisclosed to the public. As for the postal service worker, the name will be added to a warning list. Further offense will lead to a wanted warrant. Punishment and actions taken remains under the discretion of the current agent on duty.

For further information, you may contact the Office of Law.

Draconian Dignitary
Agent on duty»

The unauthorized letter came back, sealed back as close as possible from the original sealing. It isn't perfect, but it seems pretty close enough. No punishment would be done. The Draconian Dignitary decided to let PM do her work to prevent suspicion from the Dersite (possible) rebellion. The Prospitian sender would get a really bad surprise. If that GallowsCalibrator receive both the agent's letter and an answer from a possible rebellion at the same time, it would make things even better.

- Please take your letter as intended. Also, I would like you to bring mine back to the sender.

With a signal, the guards let PM go away, giving the letters to the right persons.

Dirk was sitting at one of the tables in the basement of the liquor shop, studying a map of the area surrounding the armory under the light of an oil lamp, sometimes scribbling something in a notebook. He let out a sigh, closed his eyes, and started massaging his temples; it was late, and he was getting tired. He raised his head when he heard footsteps coming down the stairs. He was a bit surprised when he saw that it was his friend Equius. He handed Dirk a letter, telling him that it came from Prospit. He also told him to be careful not to put compromising information in his reply, since the Parcel Mistress had been arrested while delivering the letter, and that it would most likely happen again.

Dirk thanked his friend, and while Equius was leaving, he started reading the letter. As soon as he was done, he started writing a reply:


"gallowsCalibrator,

As the instigator of the dersite rebellion, I would advise strongly you reconsider acting against your leader's judgement. I can understand your frustration about important information being kept a secret to you, but I believe you should trust in your leader's decisions which are probably justified.

My allies and I have communicated with your leader previously, and I believe he will disclose any important information to you and fellow rebels in due time. Especially in a time of crisis, having trust in your allies is important. Remember: united we stand, divided we fall.

However, I am grateful for your insightful advice, although I have to admit that the part about chalk confuses me a lot. We already have head quarters, and even if we didn't have a lot of choice regarding unexpected places, I believe it is unlikely enough to be safe.

Although I would love to know more about you, I believe it would not be safe to disclose further personal information. Considering how your first letter was intercepted, it might put you at risk of identification. Therefore, I believe we should stick to a minimal communication.

I sincerely hope that everything is alright on Prospit and that everyone is, and will remain, safe, for I consider each and every one of you, my ally. I appreciate your use of a pseudonym, which is very clever, and I shall do the same.

-timaeusTestified"


Dirk had to wait a few days before he could give his letter to PM, because he had no means to contact her. Jade eventually came to visit the HQ, and he handed it to her, since she probably would see PM sooner than him...

It's been several days since Terezi gave the letter to PM and she was still newsless. It was begining to worry her. True, she had never sent a letter to Derse before, even before the coup d'état; having no friends or related on the purple planet. It seemed to her nearly two weeks was an in inacceptable delay for a interplanetional delivery. Something bad must have happened. Terezi hoped the mail lady was alright but she feared something much more terrible had happened to her letter. The night fell faster then the troll wished and so she put on her get up to wait at the rendez-vous point for the 13th night.

Terezi had just finished her red chalk and was licking the dust off her hand when PM finally arrived. The young troll stopped in the arc leading to the city when she sensed the faire carapace. Her smell was different now; the same smell of determination and responsability Terezi always appreciated but it was clouded by the stentch of fear.

- You're back! Have you got news?

PM didn't anwser, making things ackward. She handed the young troll two letters, quickly bowed and left, leaving her puzzled. Terezi looked down at the two letters; she didn't remember telling the maillady to get as many responses as possible so the multiple replies was clearly suspicious. Nevertheless, Terezi tigthly close her hand on the papers and returned home.

The rebel carefully sneaked back in her house not to wake her kind tutor. The man needed his sleep, the few nights he actually gave in to slumber instead of spending nights reading the books of their ever growing library. It was actually making things easier for Terezi the carapace picked that day to rest; she wouldn't have to wait to read the letters. The teacher still had the habit to nurse his blind little creep despite her age and didn't like it when she was messing with her sleep schedule. She went to the library and lit up the oil lamp.

Terezi set the two manuscripts one over the other at exactly 2.35 inches away from one another in a parallel line. Both of them were neatly sealed but one of them had been corrected. It was suprising to recieve such nicely packed documents, she didn't expect the dersite rebels to be this fancy and hoped Karkat was as cautious as them with the outside package. The troll persued her riitual by picking up the scrolls by the sides and take a nice, long sniff. She shivered hard and swooned over the smell of the first scroll she chose. It was overwhelming with the sense of law and righteousness. That perfectly tied ribbon had burst of perfection blossoming from it, making the young woman feverish with the envy to eat the thing like her favorite kind chalk.

- No, no, no. Terezi, you must examine all the pieces before making a choice.

The midblood relucantely set the letter back where it belonged before taking the other one. The smell immediatly picked her interest. It also smelled of the sweet perfum of Justice but it was spiked by tones of rebellion, courage and a burning passion for freedom. This little extra couldn't anything then remind her of her dear leader; the qualities she appreciated in him. It didn't make her swoon though, it seemed to be somehow tamed. There was something else tainting this bouquet, something she had never smelled before and couldn't identify even with a lick. If only Terezi knew it was the scent of Royalty. Another thing was strange, the ribbon didn't smell the same at all; it beared the special trace of magic.

Both manuscrits were interesting, both holding abnomalities. Secrets. In the end, Terezi cracked for the one which gave her tremors. She gasped when she read the content, dropping it on the desk. Her heart was racing, nearly making her dizzy. She didn't only be spotted, she also had been identified. It was a good thing she used a nickname or else it would have been big troubles for her. Terezi didn't open the second letter, passion overpowering her senses and started to write feriously.

<< Dear Draconian Dignitary,

I have recieved your letter and I send the message back for this one reply. I plead you not to hurt her, she is only doing what she must do. I ask you to return to me the letter I have sent. It consists of a standard manuscript rolled in the properly manner with a ribbon seal. If it will not reach its reciever, it has no purpose anymore.

At the attractive smell of your letter, I can tell that you are a lover of the law and so, must be highly ranked. Allow me to ask you to reconsider the embargo on the interplanetial mail. You are obviously already scanning the mail. You would save many problems for both sides and spare the worries from hundreds of thousands of famillies waiting for news from loved ones on the other side like myself.

Greatest regards,
- Zeyrei Propte>>


Terezi sealed the letter with the utmost care, even going as far as sealing it with the crest her tutor offered her for her 6th sollar sweep. Finally, it was out of her system and after a break to cool down, she was able to properly read the second mysterious letter. She frowned upon reading the letter, it made no sense. Her letter still reached its rightful destinator after being intercepted. That Draconian though himself clever but not enough. She layed a new piece of paper and taped her chin with the writing feather before writing until the sun rose.

<< MY D34R R3SPOND3R,
My leader yells a lot but never did much. I truly want to help you.
YOU W1LL N3V3R H34R FROM M3 AGAIN but I will contact you later when the suspicions have dissipated. Do you need anything I could provide you with?
- G4LLOWSC4L1BR4TOR>>

She wrote the three lines in the middle of a abnormal long paper for the length of the message. Terezi gasped when she heard noise from her tutor and ran for the safety of her room. There she folded the paper as much as possible. The next week, she gave the messages to the ever so brave PM who was still at her position. PM seemed confused when she identified the reciever as the Dignitary. Terezi felt bad for her and gave her extra money for the risk after instructing PM to hide the folded piece of paper on her.

Several days after intercepting PM in the low district, a letter arrived from Prospit for the Draconian Dignitary. The workers and the postal service employees were quite surprised of such event, Agents don't usually receive letters even though they fill paperwork and send some from time to time... Receiving one from Prospit is making things even more weird amongs the workers.

Arriving at his office, after a long shift outside, the Dignitary saw a little Dersite holding a manuscrit. Looking at the worker's uniform, he was clearly from the Postal Services. He told with a trembling voice that the agent received a letter from Prospit. The Dignitary asked him about the Prospitian agent who brought it. He quickly replied that it was the Parcel Mistress. He also added that they know about her, since she is on a warning list, and that she had nothing else to give although some workers beleived that her bag wasn't empty. It would have probably contained one last letter. Then, She went away silently. The agent took the letter and told that the Dersite could go away now. The postal worker exited the Dignitary's office nervously.

He was all alone in his office now. Slowly reaching his seat behind his office, he took the time to open and start reading the letter. The Dignitary's face stayed emotionlessly cold until he read the sender's name. At that very moment, he half-grinned. Dersite workers and agents knows from experience that when the Draconian Dignitary smiles, something goes well, it is also quite scary since he barely show any emotions.

He left the letter on his desk for few days. After thinking on multiple outcome of his actions, he took back the Prospitian letter, read it one last time and called someone to write a reply:
"To: Zeyrei Propte

This letter is a reply for the one that you sent. About the Propistian Postal Agent, no punishment was done. A single warning was given, since there were only a single letter, she was free to go and deliver it. No further action was taken and the letter probably reached his destination, since we never heard from it afterward.

About the current Postal Service on Derse, no modification was done so far. Please be assured that we do not wish to interfere with relatives on any side. Agents and the royalty are not involved in this department except for giving orders. Although we haven't gave any specific orders regarding mail scanning, we have similar rules regarding packages and letter standards much like Prospit.

Our best regards
Derse Office of Law"

After telling what to write in the letter, the Dignitary came back behind his desk, heavily falling back in his chair. The letter confirmed a lot of things about his plans and the current situation. Someone was cluelessly messing with him. Although it is unlikely that any Prospitian knows anything about the agent's reputation on Derse, it is only a matter of time that they learn who not to mess with... it would be funnier that they find out too late.

PM would receive this letter at her next visit at the post office, since she seems to be the official courier between the agent and the rebellious Prospitian.

The lonesome agent slided the prospitian letter to the lower right corner of his desk and stabbed a blank portion of it with a knife that Jack gave to him, for self-defence.

It is time to have a little chat with the Archagent.

Several days went by without Dirk hearing anything from his mysterious correspondent. The first few days he was a bit worried that his letter might have been intercepted but as he had pressing matters to attend to, he eventually forgot about it. One morning, he woke up in the basement of the liquor shop, like he usually did, and noticed that there was a folded piece of paper on one the tables that wasn't there the previous night. He walked over to the table and picked up the paper. He looked at it briefly and since he didn't find any information on what it could be, he unfolded it. It was a letter–an actually very short one–and it was meant for him. He read the letter rather quickly, since there wasn't much to read after all.

He read the letter a couple of times, frowning. There was something strange about it, but he didn't know what exactly. His correspondent had used an oddly long piece of paper for such a short letter. He put the unfolded paper back on the table and left the liquor shop; he had things to do. When he got back, a lot later, the basement was pretty dark so he lit a candle up and placed it on the table, next to Terezi's letter. He walked to the corner where he usually slept and took his cloak off, dropping it to the floor. When he walked back to the table, he noticed that the letter looked different; words were gradually appearing on the paper in a sort of brownish color. Dirk quickly picked up the piece of paper and looked at it closely. So that was it... This is why the letter had seemed so odd. His correspondent had written hidden words with some kind of invisible ink and the heat of the candle had activated it. Now that he thought of it, he remembered using this method while playing games, when he was a kid. It was pretty clever. He held the piece of paper close to the candle and read the hidden message.

The next day, he went to the market to get supplies so that he could write his reply.

"gallowsCalibrator,

I do have something in mind; I believe it would be useful if we had a means of transportation to facilitate exchange of information between Derse and Prospit. I believe it would be much safer if we could meet in person. Unfortunately, we don't have access to any spaceships, and even if we did, I believe that kind of transportation would still be too slow to be safe; there is a high chance we would get caught.

I hope my letter didn't offend you, but considering your short reply, I will assume it has. I apologize for being harsh, but I do have your best interest in mind, that is, yours and your allies' safety. I hope we will be able to collaborate in the future.

I was thinking that some kind of transportalizer would be useful but I have yet to figure out how such technology would work, and it might require magic of some sort. This is something I would like the dersite rebels to work on in collaboration with the Prospitians in the future. I have yet to tell any of this to my allies, but any idea would be appreciated.

-timaeusTestified"

He used the same method as Terezi while writing his reply, using invisible ink for the important parts. When he was done, he slipped his letter in an envelope. This time, he was lucky and was able to hand his letter to PM the same day, when he bumped into her in the street.

It had been a little over a month since Terezi had received any news from TT and DD. It had been so long, she had nearly forgotten about it; thinking the Draconian didn’t care and Dirk simply judged corresponding to dangerous. Needless to say she was surprised when she smelled the morning air from her jarred window with two letters stacked beside it. She picked them up, rubbing an eye, before even putting the glasses she used at home to rest her eyes from forcing to see her familiar surroundings without her sensing abilities.

She decided to mix things up a little and opened Dirk’s letter first. She was relieved to smell news from him. She was afraid her intercepted correspondence might have caused him more trouble then she thought it would. It was still as neatly sealed and folded as ever, signaling the derse human took his sweet time for writing and sending it. Maybe he wasn’t in such troubles after all; she hoped she would get some news on his situation this time.

Upon the first reading, Terezi didn’t find much to feed upon. A simple fake message to cover up a much more important one. Dirk had caught on to her game like she had predicted, the human was cunning. The troll crawled in her pajamas to her desk and lit up the candle she used for her late night studies. Running the paper over it, the citrus smell of invisible ink filled the room as it appeared on the manuscript.

The hidden part was much more interesting. Dirk was entrusting her with something important, a project that would make both rebel parties advance and maybe even have a certain chance against the Evil Troll Queen. Though for the realisation of Dirk’s grandiose plan to reunite both parties, Terezi would need to reveal her secret correspondences to her lovely leader and he would surely be mad at her for it.

Or maybe there was another way… A little white lie never jeopardized the outcome of a critical case, right? Justice will prevail nonetheless, she was sure of it. Anyway, for now, replying to dirk was the priority, she would meddle later.

<< D34R TT,

1 4M HONOR3D W1TH TH3 T4SK YOU B3STOW UPON MY FR13NDS 4ND 1. S1NC3 W3 4R3 OBV1OUSLY MOR3 FR33 OF OUR MOV3M3NTS TH3N YOU 4R3. 1 MUST W4RN YOU TH4T YOU MUST NOT 3XP3CT 1MM3D14T3 D3V3LOPM3NT. 4S 1T GR3W B1GG3R, MY G4NG B3G4N TO H4V3 L3SS COOL P3OPL3 TH3N WH3N W3 ST4RT3D TH3 R3B3LL1ON. SOM3 SH4DOWY CH4R4CTH3RS H4V3 SN34K3D TH31R W4Y 1N TH3 GROUP.

1 HOP3 YOU UND3RST4ND 1 MUST S3CUR3 TH3 S4F3TY OF MY FR13NDS 4ND MY OWN B3FOR3 4NYTH1NG 3LS3. R3PORTS R3V34L3D TH3 B4TT3RW1TCHS GOLLOW3RS R34CH3D D33P3R 1NTO PROSP1T TH3N W3 THOUGHT 4ND ABOUT THR33 HUM4N 4R1STOCR4TS W3R3 4SS4SS1N4T3D UND3R H3R ORD3RS.

R3ST 4SSUR3D YOURS 4S W3LL 4S YOUR P3OPL3S 4R3 ST1LL 4 TOP PR1OR1TY. TH4T 1S WHY 1 W1LL L1ST3N TO YOUR 4DV1CE 4ND STOP R3GUL4R S3ND1NGS. 1 W1LL ONLY CONT4CT YOU WH3N 1T F33LS N3C3SSARY L1K3 4 B1G UPD4T3 ON WH4T YOU H4V3 4SK3D OR 1F MY D34R L34D3R OM1TS TOO M4NY 1NFORM4T1ONS 1 JUDG3 C4P1T4L FOR YOU.

ST4Y S4F3 4ND W3LL,

-G4LLOWSC4L1BR4TOR>>

There, another invisible letter done. She was beginning to have a lot of penpals; an ironic thing to have when considering she was blind. She sealed the letter mimicking the Derse fashion as always and set it aside until she would meet the Parcel Mistress again. But for now, she had another letter to honor. She had just picked it up from her wooden desk and sniffed the sweet perfume of Law when her old carapace called her to do some errands. The troll sighed audibly before leaving the unopened letter behind to answer to her good daughter duty.

Terezi only returned after the warm inner light of Prospit had dimmed for the night. She was exhausted from the day’s numerous chores but no way was she going to bed now. The unattended letter had haunted her all day, leaving her with a sour taste in her mouth and misinterpreted signals to her brain. Terezi shivered as she took another deep sniff. The scent of this particular penpal made her head cloudy from a twisted pleasure. The content of the letter was uninteresting; merely a generic response sent to a generic demand. There wasn’t much to reply without waging too much but it mattered not, Terezi had the occasion to have one last reply from the mysterious Dignitary. She casted the letter aside, sent her last letter to Dirk through PM and moved on.

Or so she thought.

Every night, she wouldn’t be able to find sleep until she sat on her bed and smelled the dersite executive’s letter for nearly an hour. Some segments of the writings were gone because she had licked it off. Terezi had tried to forget about it but even the expensive red chalks she would eat only in case of emergencies would not do. She was beginning a new addiction, a very, very dangerous one. She knew Draconian Dignitary was the enemy and meddling with him was bound to end into a grandiose disaster but she couldn’t help herself! She had never smelled such a strong sense of justice before, even the soothing scent of her caretaker did not contain so much righteousness. Terezi was scaring herself again.

After a month and a half of stress and insomnia, the Scale troll broke under the pressure. She slapped a piece of paper against her desk, lit up her candlelight and began to write. As the words stained the thick paper, Terezi tried to reassured herself it wouldn’t harm anyone to write this man one last letter and promised herself she would burned all the letters he ever sent her way.

<< To the attention of Mr. Draconian Dignitary,

Once again I beg you not to shoot the messenger. I am not sending you this letter for the matters we have discussed on priors letters. There is nothing to answer to your last correspondence, you are obviously as powerless as I am for this particular situation.

No. This letter is personal matter. I seem to have become infatuated with your writing style and wish to know if you would be willing to bend the rules to become one of my official penpals. It is rather hard to find good ones and you have highly impressed me with your precise replies. You already have bended the rules by communicating with a prospitian not once but twice. I feel silly for asking but even after a month, I still read your letter and check my mailbox everyday though I know you have not written to me.

If by next month, I did not receive any news from you, I will take it the answer is no.

Best regards,

- Zeyrei Propte >>

Terezi quickly sealed the letter and threw the letters in the library fireplace before hurrying to bed for another horrible night. She gave the single letter to PM the next evening with an extra grist for the trouble. The brave maillady looked at her in a confused way but Terezi simply shrugged it off and claimed it was important with tired eyes peeking for underneath her hood.