The pain was disorienting. Everything was fuzzy...all she remembered was Dorian, Vivienne, and Sera being in the line of a draugr deathlord's Unrelenting Force. She panicked and used what magic she had to shove them out of the way, and was thrown like a ragdoll against the back wall of the dungeon. She felt several of her ribs crack against the stone wall; breathing was painful. She tasted blood in her mouth.

She was slipping in and out of consciousness as the party surrounded her. Their voices were distant, though she could see the ones she saved vaguely as blurry outlines, leaning next to her, fretting and shouting. Dawn Trevelyan couldn't be sure; it was too confusing in her state and she couldn't understand any of what they were saying. Serana made a verdict, and a suggestion that caused the party to reel in horror.

Tanya was saying something. It barely made them relax, but they seemed to look between their Inquisitor and the vampire uneasily. They stepped aside, though someone remained holding her hand, murmuring reassurances she couldn't hear. The next thing she knew, two knives dug into her neck, and everything went cold, ice cold. She looked up at them for help, but her vision was blackening quickly, and then she could remember no more.

She finally fainted, mercifully.

The sound of rattling wheels and horses trotting was what she heard first, so clearly. She felt herself being rocked by a moving carriage. Her nose twitched; it smelled like they were nearing Morthal. "That can't be," she argued to herself, "we were near Windhelm, and we're going the wrong way." The second thing that struck her odd was the fact she could smell at all; her sense of smell was poor, and she had to be in the middle of the swamp to even register it. The road was too solid; Maker only knew how far they were.

She heard hearts beating, breathing ragged and worried, near her. How could she hear their hearts? It was combined with the sweet smell of...something. She didn't know what it was, but she knew it was delicious. Dawn shook her head and didn't open her eyes, trying to make sense of the world again. Her skin was ice cold, but she wasn't shivering. In spite of lingering pain, she felt...stronger. Faster. More powerful than ever. Her throat burned something powerful, and her mouth was so dry...

She heard rustling, and the clinking of a bottle. Someone popped open the cork, and the smell reached her nose. It was tempting, but part of her worried what it was that could draw her so strongly. It was physically painful to resist; her mouth and throat ached for whatever was in the bottle. It was made worse when whoever held the bottle held it in front of her nose briefly before opening her mouth and popping it in. Whatever was inside was thick, and...too good.

The bottle emptied, and the pain began to subside. Serana pulled the bottle away and looked down at the Inquisitor, who began to blink her eyes open drowsily. It was dark out, but she could see so clearly. That was odd...

No one else was in the cart with them. Just Serana, sitting over her, pulling away the bottle. Dawn moaned. "Where are the others? Are they..."

"They're fine," Serana reassured, "they're up ahead, on horseback. You were...badly injured, Inquisitor. We thought it best if I was the one who stayed with you for now on the way to Morthal."

"Morthal...?" It clicked. Falion. The cure for... "No..."

"As I said," Serana muttered, "you were badly injured, and the Inquisitor cannot die, not yet; there was one way to save you. It was good you went unconscious, because the transformation would have been painful. We're taking you to Falion. You'll be cured by sunrise."

Dawn eyed the empty bottle, though a few red drops clung to the edges of the potion bottle; she smelled them. She knew what they were. "Blood...you fed me..." She would have blanched if her skin wasn't already white. "I think I'm going to be sick." It wasn't just that; everyone knew. She could only imagine Vivienne referring to her one-time friend as a leech, and Sera full of fear; Cassandra wouldn't trust her anymore. What if Cullen found out? Even Dorian had his misgivings about vampires. What if no one wanted her anymore? What if...

She began hyperventilating. Fear crushed her, and it felt as though she was really going to die as her gut wrenched in pain, feeling the world close in on her. Serana looked up to Vidar, who was driving the cart. "Stop the cart! She's awake, and she's not taking this well!" The man nodded and pulled to the side of the road. The others took notice and followed suit, slowing and dismounting. Serana reached for the Inquisitor, about to try to soothe her, but the herald did not wait for her. Dawn darted out of the cart with newfound supernatural speed, into the nearby woods, tears rolling down her face.

Her vision blackened again, and she woke up, flat on her back, with the entire party standing over her. If she wasn't so dazed and confused, she would have scrambled to her feet to bolt before their disgust was apparent. Serana gave her a stony look. "You need to calm down. Don't get up again."

Solas had a hand on her, performing a spell she couldn't comprehend at the moment. Her panic began to recede, and she laid on the ground, no longer opposing Serana's force. She was dead in the eyes, miserable, and the elf sighed. "You've experienced a very bad anxiety attack." he clarified, looking upon her sadly. "You got up too fast and fainted not far from where the cart stopped. It's lucky you didn't fall and hit your head on a rock."

Serana looked up to the others. "She found out about her...condition and panicked."

"She's scared," Cole murmured, "blood and body frozen, their eyes are full of fear and hate, I'm going to lose the ones who care, I'm a monster, a leech, Vivienne says, someone kill me." Cole took her hand. "We don't hate you. You're still my friend. You're not a monster."

"Is that what this is about?" Dorian breathed, looking guilty. "Maker have mercy, no, Dawn, I'd never abandon you over this. I could have been in the predicament you're in now." He sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're not a monster. You're still my best friend, perhaps my only one. I...I'll make sure you get out of this." he reassured, squeezing her hand. He winced slightly at the cold but did not stop. "We're going to work through this together."

Dawn blinked. "You...you don't hate..."

"Don't be stupid," Sera scolded, though she looked just as guilty as Dorian, frowning, voice wavering, "you took the fall for us...you didn't have to do that. I...shite, this is bad." She huffed. "If anyone tries to...to hurt you, there's an arrow with their name on it." Her voice trembled, but not with fear, as her friend looked miserably up at her. "Please, stop hurting. You're going to be made all living again soon."

Dawn couldn't make eye contact with anyone; shame practically exuded from her. Vivienne's hand forced the Inquisitor's head towards her, and the eyes of the enchantress met hers. The enchantress's stoic demeanor was barely being held. "Dawn, look at me. I need you to breathe with me, darling."

Vivienne frowned as Dawn gave her a terrified look. "You could have hurt yourself, running off like a chicken with its head cut off, especially with your temporary abilities. It's going to be alright, Darling." she murmured. "We're going to get you the cure, and we'll never have to discuss the matter with anyone. You took quite the fall for us, and I will do everything in my power to right this." she reassured quietly. "I look out for my friends."

Friends.

They didn't hate her. Those looks weren't fear of her at all. It was for her.

The Inquisitor remembered what she had just consumed, and she groaned, nauseated. She wanted to vomit. Cole frowned. "Don't throw up. If you do, you'll have to feed again."

"Ah, yes," Serana said, "when she was beginning to wake, I fed her. I think that may have been part of what set her off."

"I'm going to be sick..." Dawn moaned. She gagged, disgusted. "I can't...I..."

"You were thirsty. She helped. Throat burning, mouth dry, sweet liquid in my mouth, it's too good, this is wrong, help." Cole murmured. "It's okay. Falion won't want to help you if you're thirsty. If you throw up, you'll have to kill a woodland animal, and feed all over again, but it will be worse."

Cassandra sighed. "Steel yourself, Inquisitor. With luck, you will never have to do that ever again." Her eyes softened. "I know this must be difficult, but we had no choice. We don't have time for you to..." She cut herself off. "We need to get moving if we're to reach Morthal before dawn."

Bull held a hand out to her. Dawn hesitated and then took it, allowing him to pull her up. She steadied herself against a tree, dazed, murmuring thanks to him. The mage stumbled, her head feeling light. After a moment's pause, she looked to the others, her gut wrenching as she thought of Cullen.

"Please, don't tell Cullen."

Eyes shifted away awkwardly, and a few cleared their throats, trying to think of what to say. Cassandra wrung her fingers and looked back up to the Inquisitor with a frown. Dawn looked amongst them and realized that Tanya was absent; their silence told her everything she needed to know.

Again, the feeling of absolute dread and mortification hit her. She gasped and felt the world close in again on her, beginning to tremble. Cole moved in quickly and made her sit down against the tree trunk as she began to hyperventilate again. Serana crossed her arms.

"You must truly be terrified," she guessed, "if you're hyperventilating. Vampires don't have to breathe. Usually fledglings still try it because they're not used to going without it, but..." She sighed. "That scared?"

"What...what if...what if Cullen doesn't like this? What if he hates me?" Dawn sputtered. "What if he doesn't..."

"His arse becomes my new quiver, that's what he gets." Sera snapped. Cassandra put a hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to give her a reassuring smile.

"Cullen won't hate you. He will understand, Inquisitor."

Dawn sighed. "I hope you're right."

By the time they reached Morthal, it was well past six, but it was cloudy out as the sun began its journey across the sky. Dawn pulled her mage hood over her head, but it only did so much; it was relatively thin cloth, and she could still feel its effects. The clouds were beginning to move, however, threatening clear skies sooner than they had hoped.

Morthal was still the same quiet little town, but they knew they were getting odd looks as they passed through from the villagers. The incident with the vampires months prior had made them paranoid of visitors. Dawn shuddered to think of what they would do if they found out what she was, and evidently, so did the others. They surrounded her, shielding her from view as best they could.

Normally, Vivienne would have had a snide remark or two regarding the little capital, but she was silent as they went through, their boots creaking along wooden platforms over the water, as they reached Falion's home. Cassandra approached the door and knocked hurriedly, and the exasperated Redguard heard.

"Come in, come in, the door's open, just stop hitting the door so hard! Divines, these people..."

Most stayed on the porch, but a few followed as Cassandra opened the door, with the Inquisitor in tow. Serana, Dorian, Vivienne, and Sera joined them, ready to explain the situation.

They found they didn't need to. Falion was waiting, arms crossed, tapping his foot. Beside him was the Dragonborn looking bewildered, and the one person the Inquisitor prayed would never find out about her condition.

"Cullen!"