Zilferia
The Real Vlad

After that, I don’t see much of Patrick. He just leaves me alone in my room to feel sorry for myself for the most part, although he still comes in two or three times a week to put me down even more and to destroy all the things I thought I knew. During one of these visits, I ask him how he thinks he’s going to keep me here for so long without someone eventually replaceing this place. He gives me two answers.

“Actually, I doubt anyone will notice you’re gone,” he says casually.

“Ha ha. You should know that someone would notice. If no one else, Nathan would notice immediately.”

“Oh? You really think so? Hmm. Interesting. Too bad you don’t know…”

“What don’t I know? Tell me!” I exclaim, frustrated. He smiles, knowing that I would react like that.

“Oh, it’s nothing really… we just had someone watch you since you arrived until the night we kidnapped you to know how you act around others. Then, when we kidnapped you, she shape-shifted into you. She is posing as you even as we speak. That’s why no one will ever notice, although we are prepared for that possibility as well. We used magic years ago to hide this area of the forest- as well as any sounds coming from it. Even someone with very strong magic will not be able to see through that spell. You are cloaked from anyone trying to see you with magic- just like the rest of us.

“Anyone who gets close enough to this building will run into our distraction spell and it will send them in the opposite direction. Although if that failed, then the next spell causes the sound of a man running away, into the forest, causing anyone close to give chase only to eventually replace nothing and get lost.” He gets a glint in his eye as he thinks of the next one. “The last spell causes them to go blind. I would make it permanent, but I have not yet figured out how. So for now, it lasts for about an hour. And if they kept going after that, they would run into a huge porcupine-tiger we bred specifically to guard the castle and that would surely tear them to shreds. Given the remote possibility that they somehow survived the tiger, then they still wouldn’t be able to get to you, because if they could even locate the correct room, the same type of spells surround your room, which can only be dropped if they have the key- which only I have. Plus, there are two guards outside of the door. …Any more questions?”

I shake my head, overwhelmed and derived of what little hope I had been harboring of someone rescuing me. He laughs. “I didn’t think so.” He leaves, and I am again feeling even worse after the visit- just like all the others. I collapse back in the chair and sigh, too weary to cry like I have been for the past few weeks. I just don’t think I have any more tears to shed anyway.

During his next visit, I challenge him on the ‘impersonator’ he told me about. He smiles and says that he thought I’d say something like that. He pushes a button on a remote that he had brought and a picture appears in front of me. It’s me and my friends, sitting at a table in the Square. The picture then turns into a movie. I watch, telling myself not to be gullible and to watch it while challenging everything I see- just like Nathan always does.

I’m sitting next to Nathan, eating lunch and talking to Ham and Sierra as well. From what I can gather, none of them realize that the person they are laughing with is not me. What they say next really worries me, though.

“I’m so happy you guys won!” Sierra exclaims. The fake me laughs- exactly like I do.

“You’ve been saying that for the past month, Sierra!”

“Yeah, I know. I’m just so proud of you two! And now I’m even more glad you won, because we can go home soon! The Games are over! Vlad can’t keep us here much longer. I don’t care what he says. He’s lucky we stayed this long. He just said that we had to wait for the injured to heal first, and so the King and Queen can feel better so they can wish us all good luck and congratulations. Well, the King and Queen aren’t any better, but the rest of the contestants are fine, so we could go home at any time!” The four of them cheer and Patrick ends the ‘movie.’

“Still doubt it?” he asks me tauntingly. I shake my head, trembling.

“They… they’re leaving soon?” I gasp, unable to accept this.

“Yes, within the week, actually. As soon as I have Vlad send them…” he trails off, realizing that he slipped. He shrugs. “Oh, well. It’s not like you knowing would do any harm.”

“Knowing what? I realized Vlad wasn’t acting the same after he brought me here, if that’s what you mean. Are you controlling him?”

“…In a way,” he says, looking surprised that I even noticed. “I actually had Vlad captured- just like you- and he also got a replacement. Unfortunately, we couldn’t spare our best impersonator- the one who’s you at the moment, so he isn’t acting exactly like Vladimir. He’s letting his emotions rule him. I was mad at him when he put in the werewolves in the First Challenge, but I let it go since I figured you could take them. And if not, then you were of no use to me anyway.

“The mermaids, however, were the last straw. I had no idea you had gotten so under his skin, Princess. I had actually sent someone to kill him when I got the feed of you with the mermaid King. You seemed to be doing fine, so I stopped and watched. …So now you know that we are, indeed, at war with those fish. It really doesn’t matter anyway. But just so you know, your actions prevented the fake Vlad’s death.”

“…Where’s the real Vlad? Is he here?”

Patrick laughs, scolding me. “Is he here? Of course he’s here! Where else do you think we’d put him? He’s a man with power. We aren’t going to put him on our less guarded building so the Sohos can come snatch him like they did Kate.”

“Wait… Kate wasn’t in the main building?”

Again, he laughs, mocking my stupidity, I suppose. “You aren’t very bright, are you? Of course not! Didn’t the Sohos tell you they burnt most of the building in that raid?”

“Uh, yeah…”

“Didn’t you notice that this building is made of stone?” I almost hit myself in exasperation. How could I be so dumb?

Patrick laughs at me some more, clearly enjoying showing me his superiority, but then there’s a beeping sound in his pocket that interrupts him. “I’ve got to go,” he suddenly says. “Stay here.” Yeah. Right. Like I’m going anywhere. He then quickly goes out the door, locking it like he always does. I sigh, hating myself more than ever and climb into bed and try to fall asleep.

Just as I’m drifting off, I have an idea for how to get out of here. But I won’t be able to do it alone… Next thing I know, I am dreaming once more. I’m walking around in the woods, looking for something. I can’t seem to replace it. Frustrated, I call Gale’s name. There’s no reply. I’m confused, for he’s supposed to hear me if I call for him. I desperately need his help, but my plan failed.

The next morning when Patrick comes in again, he brings welcome news. “You have earned a break from this room. It’s clear to me now that your body and mind are deteriorating while staying in here. Let’s go.” He grabs my arm and hauls me out the door. The two guards fall in behind us, trying to discourage me from escaping, I suppose. I might actually think about it, were it not for Patrick’s iron grip. That and my promise to my friends. Although… they would understand if I just couldn’t do it, right? If I just bailed? I’m not doing any good while being Patrick’s prisoner anyway.

As we walk briskly through the hallways, I quickly memorize all I can, but there are lots of turns, so I’m not too sure I can too well. By the time we emerge outside, my head hurts from concentrating so hard for so long. Not only that, but the bright sunlight burns my eyes. I collapse, ripping out of Patrick’s grip so I can cover my eyes. The searing pain stops, but my eyes are still watering like crazy. It’s obvious that staying indoors in the near darkness for a month isn’t good for my eyes.

Patrick sighs impatiently and pulls me to my feet. He tells one of the guards to give him a piece of cloth. He pulls my hands away from my eyes. I keep them squeezed shut, fearing the light. I feel a strip of cloth settle over my eyes and around my head.

“Open your eyes,” Patrick orders me. I hesitantly blink them open. The black cloth on my eyes is thin enough to see through, but it also keeps out most of the sunlight. I sigh with relief. He then again grabs my arm and we continue into the forest. I stumble a lot in the beginning because my body is so weak, but I get better as we go along. When we reach the porcupine-tiger, it turns towards us and growls, but Patrick shakes a bell, warning it off. It backs away, wincing as if the sound hurts it. I put this information in the back of my head, storing it away for when I’ll need it.

We travel quite a ways, trying to get me some exercise, I guess. We stop right before the trees start to look more green- in fact, there seems to be a prominent line where they start to die. The ones closer to the Dragon Hunter’s main building are more wilted and brown. As soon as we stop, my legs wobble and I collapse to the ground at the base of one of the trees. I’m astounded by my weakness. I remember when I had to swim more than a mile at one time in the Third Challenge- and that wasn’t that long ago! We barely even walked a mile and now I’m panting!

“Rest,” Patrick orders me. “I need to check the border. Stay here. We can hunt you down anywhere- not that you’ll even get far in that state.” Sadly, I think he’s right. I watch as he walks along the line of smaller, weaker trees away from me. My two guards stand on either side of me as I lie back against the tree and close my eyes.

I suddenly realize why my idea didn’t work last night- Patrick said that the first spell kept in both sounds and magic- and calling a dragon requires both! I open my eyes and peer at the line where the first spell must be. Everything must be dead because that spell keeps everything out- and that means no water! It obviously lets through oxygen, though, or else we all would have suffocated by now. Thinking quickly, I yawn and change positions, laying on the grass and almost going across the line. Darn! So close!

Trying to act like I’m not up to anything, I sit up after a while and look around again. I then stand and take a step toward the line. “Don’t cross the line,” the younger guard says. “Patrick’s orders.”

“But…” I turn to protest, but stop in my tracks as I realize he’s just a boy- about my age, in fact. “You… you aren’t very old,” I say before I can stop myself.

He looks surprised and a little offended. “So? I’m seventeen! What, did you think we were all old geezers except your brother?”

I blush. “Um, I actually hadn’t thought about it.” I bit my lip, unsure of how to act around a boy my age. The only person I’d seen in over a month was Patrick. The boy looks sympathetic.

“It’s okay. The only person allowed in to see you is Patrick, so I understand the confusion. My name is Chet, by the way.” He pulls off his hood, revealing his features a little better. He has sandy-blond hair, bright green eyes, and boyish freckles. He smiles and I can see that he isn’t a bad guy- probably just mislead.

“C-Crystal,” I reply, shaking his outstretched hand. “…But you know who I am.”

He nods. “I only heard about you, though. It’s nice to meet you.”

“S… same.”

Chet glances over at the other guard, seeming to debate about something. Finally, he says, “Hey, George. She needs more exercise- that much is obvious. And she needs air that isn’t tainted. This air is disgusting.”

The other Hunter has a glint in his eye like he knows what Chet’s planning. “Fine. Take her out. …Just don’t go too far- Patrick will be back in a few minutes!” He calls as we start walking away.

“Sure thing!” he calls back. Chet leads me away from George, until he can’t see us anymore. He then has me sit on a fallen tree while he sits on a rock across from me.

“Now then, what’s the real reason you wanted to get across that line? No one even knows you’re gone, they won’t be looking for you with magic.”

I hesitate. “Well, I…” my voice stops and I can’t seem to make the words come. Why should I tell the enemy what I’m planning anyway? For all I know, this Chet person would try to stop me- and it wouldn’t be hard to drag me back over the line in my state. But then again… he seems to be trying to help me. …Maybe if I can make it so he thinks my plan will never work…

“…It’s okay,” he says, understanding in his eyes. “I understand. You can’t tell the enemy anything.” He looks at the ground, hesitating before he continues. “I… I don’t have to be your enemy, you know.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Really? …Because when you serve Patrick, you can’t not be my enemy. I… I’m sorry.”

He looks up at me, suddenly excited. “That’s just the thing- I don’t want to serve him!”

This catches me off guard. “Wait… what?”

“He just enrolled me in his army a couple years ago, threatening me if I didn’t comply. So, of course, I did. I did everything he told me to. I was expendable. If I fought him, then he would kill me. What other choice did I have?”

“You didn’t,” I whisper.

“He… he took my parents and me right from our home. They start with the homes nearest them- on the edge of the village- so no one will react much if they go missing. They think we got dragged off by wild animals or something. …My dad was killed because he fought. He told Patrick every day that he meant to escape. So one day, he just killed him, to show all the newbies- my mom and I, the others he took- not to mess with him or try to get away.

“So I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to escape- I just don’t make the same mistake dad did and tell him about it. The only one I told was George- and now you.” He looks at me pleadingly. “Please, if you have a plan… please include me? …I understand if you can’t. I mean, you are the important one. Only you really need to get away.”

My heart softens. I may be too gullible, but I can tell this boy needs help. …And maybe I can be the one to help him. “…Okay,” I say. He looks disbelieving.

“Really? …Can you do that? Will it endanger your plan?”

“No,” I say. “It shouldn’t. In fact, you can help immensely. You see, my plan is to contact my friend Gale.”

He looks confused. “Gale?”

“Yeah. He’s a dragon- the main leader, actually.”

“And you think he can help you?”

“Yes. See, he said that if I’m ever in trouble, then I can just call him- with both my voice and my mind- and he’d help. But something else he said stuck with me. He said that a few can go almost unnoticed in a large group.”

“Oh, I see,” he exclaims. “You’re going to ask him to get help- but not from a dragon!”

I’m surprised. “Well, yes. I am going to ask him to alert my friends to my absence, and I will also give him my memories to relay to Nathan about this place, the spells and such.”

“And then they’ll come for you? …You’ll tell him that I’m a good guy, right?”

“Of course. I also remembered the way to my room from the outside, so I’ll tell him that too.”

“Wow,” he says, impressed. “Were you working on this plan for a long time?”

“…No,” I admit, a little embarrassed. “Just late last night and this morning as well.”

“Well, go ahead and call your dragon friend. I won’t stop you. Just… you’re going to have to make it fast. I don’t know what’s holding Patrick up, but it won’t last much longer.”

“Right! …Gale!” I shout with both my mind and mouth.

For a second, I think that it didn’t work when I hear his deep, rumbling voice in my head. “Crystal? There you are! I couldn’t sense you for a month! What happened? Are you with the Dragon Hunters?”

“…Yes. They kidnapped me- and they’ve been holding me here this whole time! I need help getting out! Can you contact Nathan in a dream like you did for me?”

“Yes. Why? What do you need me to tell him?”

There’s no time for words, so I just shove all my memories since the winner’s banquet on him at once, not bothering to pick through them to see which ones he’ll need. “Nathan doesn’t need to know all of that, but I need to hurry. I don’t have much time before Patrick comes back!”

“…Okay. Good luck, Dragongirl. …Do you want your other two friends to come as well?”

“Yes! Anyone you can get- just don’t make the party too big!”

“Hold strong, Princess. Your rescue party will come. Good luck!” And with that, he’s gone. I look over at the worried Chet.

“Done,” I say. He nods, relieved.

“Good. We need to get back- now!” He grabs my hand and hauls me back over the line. We get there just in time- Patrick comes striding up soon after. Chet quickly drops my hand before he gets too close. George winks at Chet. I don’t think he quite understands what happened, but I need to catch my breath and act like I’m not up to anything before Patrick gets here. I take a deep breath and act like I have no hope at all, not in the entire world. I am once again completely devoid of happiness- at least on the outside.

When Patrick comes back, he’s flustered. When George asks why, Patrick replies that the Sohos have been waging an attack, and so have the dragons and mermaids. He glares at me. “It seems our little Princess has encouraged them, gave them heart again. You undid a lot of my work, girl,” he says as he once again grabs my arm and hauls me back toward the building. I stumble along after him, unable to keep up with his quick pace. “It looks like I’ll have to start from scratch to remove their hope. I even have an idea of how to do just that…” he ends there, letting fear settle in my heart once again.

He takes me back to my room and locks the door behind me. I take off the cloth around my eyes and collapse onto the bed. My body is so much weaker than it was a month ago, I’m shocked. I just can’t get used to it. I’ll just have to build my strength back up again. And until Nathan arrives, I guess I’ll just have to try and stay on Patrick’s good side. I won’t promise him anything, but I can stop resisting so hard.

Pleased with my plan and full of hope once again, I feel better than I have in a month. For the first time, I climb into bed and fall asleep with a smile rather than crying.

‡‡‡

After spending another great day with his friends, Nathan heads home with Crystal. As they walk, she seems to zone out, just like she has for the past month or so. Ever since we won, she’s been acting differently, he reflects. Yet… no one else seems to notice. …Maybe I’m just paranoid. I mean, who says you act the same after you win as you did before? It’s not a drastic difference, so… maybe I’m just imagining things? …I may be imagining that, but I am definitely not imagining this feeling I have that we shouldn’t leave. It’s real, I’m sure of it… I don’t know. Maybe I’m the one who’s changed. I mean, I never thought it was a bad idea to leave before.

He looks over and sees Crystal nodding slightly with a hand near her ear. This just reconfirms how she’s acted differently for the past while. What changed? She’d acted… a little colder to him at times, and then at others, she would suddenly be happy and talkative and would follow him closely… all he knows is that this is not like the old Crystal.

Most of that was at the beginning of the month. Now she’s more back to normal, but for some reason she tries to avoid talking to anyone whenever possible. Crystal notices Nathan watching her and smiles at him. He smiles back, although the pit in his stomach grows. That isn’t right. Crystal’s usually inquisitive, wanting to know everything that’s going on. If she saw him watching her, she would usually ask why, not smile!

Maybe she’s just excited to go home, he decides. Once again, he has a sick feeling about leaving, trying to figure out what’s holding him back. They get to their little house and he changes and climbs into bed. Finally, he decides that he will go home. If he can’t decide what’s holding him back, then there probably isn’t anything. Plus, he hadn’t seen his family in months. He needs to go home.

He closes his eyes and sees a picture of his family in his head. He smiles, excited to go home, and quickly falls asleep. He instantly has a dream. He’s confused and startled, for it usually takes a while after he falls asleep before he dreams. Well, that and the fact that standing right in front of him is a dragon so huge he feels like he’s standing next to a huge, golden mountain.

He backs up, gasping. He’s almost blinded by the sunlight reflecting off of the beast’s golden scales. The dragon doesn’t waste much time.

“Nathan Anderson, your friend is in danger.”

“W-what? What friend? I just barely saw them all- they’re fine!”

“The one sleeping in your house is not Crystal.” Boy, he sure gets right to the point!

“What do you mean? Of course it’s Crystal! Who else could it be?” Even as he thinks this, he feels like he’s right. What he’s saying confirms what he’s been thinking for the past month.

“The real Crystal was kidnapped the day you two won the Games.”

“Wait… what?!”

The dragon sighs. “I don’t have much time. Time moves faster in your dreams than in real life. Here, I will show you her memories since that night. …Are you ready?”

“I… I don’t know. I guess,” he replies. The instant he thinks this, a torrent of memories assaults him. He’s Crystal as she responds to Dallas’s knock and follows him to the woods and is surrounded. He feels her fear and then her power as she retaliates. He’s her when she first meets Patrick, when she cries herself to sleep every night, and when she attacks him.

Nathan feels her suffocating hopelessness after every one of Patrick’s visits, he learns about the spells protecting their main building, about Crystal’s parents- or at least what Patrick shows her. Through her, he learns about the Porcupine-tiger and how to subdue it. He feels how she feels when she meets Chet and how hopeful she is while talking to Gale.

And then, as suddenly as it started, the memories end. He staggers back, gasping.

“Do you see now?” Gale asks impatiently.

“Y… yes. How long do you think she has? Even with her helping with her memories, it will be difficult to replace her quickly. And who else does she want to help? I know she wants a small party so we can sneak in and out, but who does she want?”

“I do not know how long she has, but I would hurry. Patrick is not a patient man. I have a feeling he will take his anger at us out on her, just because he can. She wants you, Lloyd, Sierra, and Ham. Although she said that any others you can think of that can help would be welcome, as long as the party doesn’t get too large. You know the castle thanks to her, so you can judge how many would be sufficient. Enough to sneak in and out would be best, I would think, but also enough to take out anyone who gets in your way. Chet and George will help out in any way they can- count them as allies. You must also plan on taking Chet out of there with you.”

“Of- of course,” Nathan replies, still shocked at how fast this is all happening. “But… what should I do with the impostor? If we tell her we know what’s up, then she will immediately tell Patrick we are coming. We need to be sneaky. Should we tie her up? Take her with us?”

“I… do not know what you humans would prefer to do, but since they are the enemy, we dragons would kill her, no questions asked.”

“…Oh. Well, I don’t think so. Don’t worry, I’ll come up with something. Maybe Thaddeus can help.”

“Yes, very good, but the sun is coming up. I cannot stay with you much longer. Good luck. Remember- do not fall for the spells’ tricks. It will waste time and will likely get you discovered. Farewell, Nathan Anderson. Crystal is counting on you to save her, you are her only hope…” his voice fades even as his body does and next thing Nathan knows, he’s sitting upright in bed, covered in sweat and panting.

‘Crystal’ sits up in the other bed. “Are you okay?” she asks.

He nods. “I’m just… going to see Thaddeus. I… might need some… medicine. Don’t worry, you can go back to sleep. I’m sure it’s nothing.” The impostor nods and lies back down. Nathan quickly gets dressed and heads to Thaddeus’s place, noticing that the sky is beginning to lighten, although the sun is not up all the way yet. Luckily, he’s there, already awake.

When he knocks on the door, Thaddeus opens it, glances at him, then double-takes and looks at him as if just seeing him. “Wh-what? Nathan? What are you doing here?”

“I… need to talk to you about something. …In private.”

“Oh… okay,” he says, letting him in and closing the door. He quickly mutters a spell to make it so that no one will be able to hear them, then sits down at the table. He gestures for Nathan to sit across from him.

Once he’s seated, Thaddeus asks him to reveal everything that’s on his mind. He quickly tells him about his dream and how he felt about ‘Crystal’ even before he knew the truth. “The thing is,” he finishes, “I have no idea how I felt not to go home. I mean, I’m not a descendent of the Dragons- am I? Do I have a few dragon powers as well?”

“Perhaps,” he muses, his hands folded in front of him. “I do not know, but there is a chance you two are very distantly related. One of Alex’s children left Zilferia and went to one of the other universes. You are probably not closely related- if you are at all. But that isn’t important right now. Rescuing Crystal is, and our most pressing matter is disposing of her impostor.”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t know what to do with her. Gale suggested killing her outright, but… well, I thought I should ask you first.” He says, not liking the idea of killing anyone. He was lucky to not have to in the Games- he doesn’t want to now unless he absolutely had to.

Thaddeus looks thoughtful. “I don’t know. I see a few options, but I know there must be a better option that I do not yet see. …I shall think about it. For now, don’t let the impostor know anything. Pretend that you are still ignorant. Make sure you continue to address her as Crystal. Try to act normal. …I will take care of the rest.”

‡‡‡

When Patrick comes the next day, I ask him if I can see Vlad- the real one. I tell him I won’t believe anything he says until I have proof of Vlad being here. He smirks and seems to replace this as a great opportunity to brainwash me- just as I was hoping would happen. He grabs my arm again and leads me out the door. Chet and George follow behind us, just like before. We follow the hallway, and then head down some stairs.

It becomes dark and damp the further down we go. I shiver, glad Patrick didn’t decide to keep me down here. It’s super creepy and the walls seem to radiate an even stronger feeling of hopelessness than those of my room. I feel worse and worse for Vlad as we go deeper. After a while, there are no more torches on the walls, so Patrick lets go of my arm and grabs the last torch. I wonder for a moment why when they have such sophisticated things on Zilferia they still have torches, but I shake it off. Who cares? I have more important things to worry about. Like how I’m going to get Patrick to leave me alone with Vlad for a while and see if he can help with the escape. I’m sure he’s going to want to leave this place as well.

Patrick stops in front of one of the cells and unlocks the door. He turns to me, sneering. “Here you go. This is the real Vlad. You two will have plenty of time to talk, since I’m not coming back until tomorrow. Have fun!” he says, pushing me into the cell. I stumble and fall onto my knees as he locks the door behind me and walks away, laughing, leaving us in the near darkness.

There is only one torch inside the small room, so the lighting is horrible. I cautiously call out, “…Vlad?”

A hoarse voice toward the back of the cell replies. “What? Who’s there? …I recognize that voice…”

“This is Crystal,” I reply, relieved.

“What? Patrick got you, too? I’m so sorry, poor girl!” he says. I’m startled at the difference between this Vlad and the other one. I mean, I knew there was a difference, but not this severe!

“Yeah, but it’s okay.”

“Wha… no, that’s not okay! You need to finish the Games so you can go home! But before that, you need to meet your parents so they will begin to heal from the terrible wounds Patrick dealt them. They need you. …Are they out of their coma yet? Do they realize that you are here?”

I smile to myself in the darkness. I hadn’t realized how little Vlad knows. I forgot that he had been taken the night I arrived and has no idea of what happened since then. So I tell him everything that happened. I spare him most of the details so the telling would go faster. I finish a few hours later. My eyes have adjusted somewhat, so I can see how big his eyes are.

“…Wow. That’s… that’s amazing! You are the most extraordinary person I have ever met. I’m sorry how much my impostor hurt you.” Again, I’m surprised. He’s apologizing for something that’s not even his fault!

“It’s alright. I’m sorry you’ve been in here so long, and none of us had any idea. But don’t worry, I have a plan to get us out of here. Of course, it all depends on Nathan and Gale, but still…” I tell him my plan. He’s impressed.

“Well then. You are quite full of surprises! Well, let’s just hope this works. But for now, you need to sleep, Princess. You won’t be able to help with your own rescue if you are too tired to move.” I nod. Vlad offers me his bed, claiming that he won’t be able to sleep tonight anyway. I’m surprised at how tired I am after doing nothing but talk all day. I fall asleep quickly.