2nd chapter

Minna was sitting in a tree on this cloudy day. She didn't want to stay in the house any longer, it was too crowded, but she still wanted to keep an eye on all those people. She swung her right leg while her back rested against the trunk. In silent fascination she observed how this newborn practiced with a few others her gift. A mental shield, as they called it. Minna wondered if Bella could deny her gift as well. She definitely needed to ask her. Minna always wanted to know if her powers were psychic or not.

Suddenly everyone tensed. Fast footsteps were nearing their location. The howling of the shapeshifters could be heard in the distance. Someone was coming, someone unexpected apparently. Minna was curious but she remained on the tree. A few days earlier she didn't know anyone here as well. She stood up, her right hand rested on the tree and with suspicion she watched the other vampires gather in front of the house. Carlisle was the first in line.

The sound of the wolves grew louder, their growls echoed through the forest. For a moment Minna thought she heard an amused laugh, but she quickly shut it off. It made no sense to laugh in such a situation. Her curiosity grew with every passing second, but the longer it took the more nervous she became as well.

A few more seconds passed and accidently she had the best place to look at the scene unfolding in front of her. Two men dressed in old but elegant black fabric jumped down from the trees and landed on a large rock. They shared an amused grin as they watched how the shapeshifters bumped into each other and struggled to get up. One of them was teasing the wolves with kissing noises as they sat down. The grin still plastered on their faces.

Minna gulped but couldn't take her eyes off of them. Something old and powerful was radiating off those men. She couldn't tell who they were, but something about them demanded respect. The woman took a small step closer to the tree trunk. Her eyes darted to Carlisle who stood a few metres away from the newly arrived vampires. His eyes showed concern, his posture was defensive and he tried his best to keep his voice steady.

„Vladimir. Stefan. You're a long way from home." Carlisle greeted the men as formal as he could. Though Minna could perfectly hear the muttering of one of the Denali women. Apparently, most of the vampires knew them, which made Minna feel a bit left out.

„We heard that the Volturi were moving against you. But that you would not stand alone." A thick accent could be heard as the blond man spoke. His voice was powerful, almost joyful as if their reason to be here would be the time of their life. „We didn't do what we're accused of." Carlisle stated calmly but he was interrupted in an instant. „We do not care what you did, Carlisle." Amusement filled his voice, which made Minna raise her eyebrows. Each and every vampire gathered here to witness the innocence of the half-mortal to the Volturi. But their coming didn't seem to have anything to do with that. „We have been waiting a millenium, before the Italian scum to be challenged." The brunette vampire continued in the same thick accent; venom laced in the words as he described the Volturi. And suddenly Minna started to feel uneasy. Could it be that those two vampires are the remaining survivors of the former Dacian coven?

She had heard of them, rumors. But no one ever mentioned names, whereabouts or intentions. The woman knew that she technically was never far away from them considering the countries to be so close to each other.

„We didn't plan to fight the Volturi," Carlisle intervened. Their faces hardened slightly. „Shame. Aro's witnesses will be so disappointed." The blond vampire answered but then turned his head slightly to his companion with a grin. He returned it, but his eyes reflected a deep sadness. „They enjoy a good fight!"

Minna wasn't paying attention for a moment but she heard the amused voice of the blonde Romanian. „Aww, still hoping they'll listen?" They couldn't deny their amusement. Everyone around stared at Carlisle who sighed soundlessly. „We should discuss this inside. Come on in."

All vampires gathered in the living room. Minna was the last one and quickly made her way to her friends at the corner in front of a book shelf. Her questioning look met the concerned eyes of Siobhan. There was an unpleasant silence in the room until Eleazar from the Denali coven finally spoke up.

„When Aro wants someone from a coven, it's never long before evidence turns up proving that coven committed some crime."

„So he's done this before?", Bella asked carefully.

„It happens so rarely; I never realized it was a pattern. Apparently, he always pardons one person whose thoughts he claims are repentant. This person always has an ability. And they're always given a place with the guard." Eleazar calmly explained.

„This is all about Alice. He has no one like her", Edward muttered in realization.

„Which is why she left", Bella intervened.

At this point Minna let her mind wander off again. She didn't know that Alice and what kind of an amazing ability she might had. The chatter didn't stop, Amun seemed as he wanted to leave but was talked out of it. As soon as the word ‚fight' hit her ears she turned her head to Edward. Her right hand laid on the shelf behind Maggie.

„For the sake of my family. But also for yours. And for the way you want to live."

Fighting, a strong word especially when it's not for you or your family. Minna wasn't sure if she really wanted to fight for strangers. The kid seemed nice and all, but she wouldn't give her life for her. She wasn't strong, her gift made her dangerous but as long as she didn't get any physical contact it was useless. If it came to Minna, she was a pity excuse of a vampire. She had no one, not since the incident with her creators. She might have her Irish friends but they were just friends, people she saw once in a while, nothing like family. In all honesty she was jealous of the Cullens and their family bond, but it was her fault. No one else's. Minna gulped when she thought about the time back then, the fight they had who ended in her best friends' final deaths. She was never meant to be a vampire, she should have gotten married, raised kids and finally died. Her friend always said 'The first 100 years are the worst', and he was partly right. But it didn't get any better for her.

She secluded herself more and more from the world, hid in the shadows, watched horrible things happen in her country in those years but never made the attempt to get a new family. She simply wasn't worth it; she was just a bother.

Slowly she realized that the people around her started to stand up to show their alliance, even Siobhan, Liam and Maggie joined them. Without thinking any further Minna stood up as well, looking at Maggie who pressed her hand slightly in comfort.

"That didn't take much." Minna's head turned to the Romanians; she didn't know who said it but they both shared a grin. "Let's hope it doesn't come to that", Edward said and some vampires left the room. Siobhan looked at her coven and with a nod they left the house as well. Minna followed them to the forest.

"What do you think, dear?", Liam asked and his mate sighed deeply. "I don't know. It's the right thing to do and I believe that everything will be alright. But, honestly, I'm worried."

"Carlisle believes in your gift, Siobhan. So do I. We will get through this together", Maggie said with a smile. Liam looked over at the German and grinned. "What do you think, Wilhelmina?" He stretched out her full name with a playful smirk. Her face went blank, it was definitely a mistake to tell them her full name. "You know how much I hate that name", she stated coldly but Liam kept the smirk on his face. "Don't be like that, grumpy." Minna laid her hand on his bare arm. "What did you call me again?" She grinned at him and he chuckled nervously.

"Sorry Minna", he said and the small smile appeared on his face again. The German took her hand off his arm and returned the smile. He would definitely do it again, both knew and she loved him for that. Minna looked back at the house and saw Carlisle with the Romanians on the porch who nodded at him. Carlisle smiled and made his way over to Siobhan and the rest. Apparently, he had to inform the newer covens about something. He walked slowly over and Siobhan went to meet him halfway. Liam and Maggie followed her, for a moment Minna looked behind Carlisle. Her eyes met those of the ancient European vampires who looked at her through calculating eyes, why, she didn't know. Quickly she turned her attention to Carlisle.

"Siobhan, Liam, Maggie. I'm so glad to see you here, I'm sorry I didn't have the time to welcome you properly. Do you have a new member?" His calm and friendly eyes laid on Minna, who took a small step back. She hated to be the center of attention. Siobhan looked at her and smiled softly to calm her. "That's Minna. She is a friend from Germany", the leader of the Irish coven introduced her.

Minna was thankful for Siobhan, but hated herself at that moment as well. She was old enough to introduce herself, why would she be so useless. She pushed her thoughts away and hold her hand out to Carlise. "Hi", she said lowly. Carlisle shook her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Minna. We are very thankful for your help." Carlisle talked in such a calm and kind voice, that Minna instantly relaxed a little and a smile appeared on her face.

"Regarding your diet", Carlisle spoke again. "We have an agreement with the local shapeshifters that you're allowed to stay here. But you must not hunt here! East, behind the national park, you find bigger cities like Seattle or Tacoma. You're allowed to hunt there, but please hunt with caution. We don't want to draw anyone's attention."

"Of course, Carlisle. We don't want to bring your family in any danger", Siobhan reassured him. Once Carlisle left Minna looked back at the house. Some nomads stood there, talking quietly but no sign of the Romanians. The woman sighed relieved and looked at the forest. "I'll explore the national park for a while. I need some time in nature", Minna said. "Be careful", Maggie said and winked at her. With these words, Minna sprinted off into the forest, she sighed in relief when she could only hear the local animals and water in the distance. She smiled and took a deep breath, inhaling all the scents of this forest and then she realized that she desperately needed some time away from that crowded place.

Her feet led her deeper into the park, through forests and fields and she felt at peace. A cold wind blew through the grass she was standing on, while her eyes watched the clouds in the sky. She knew she had to hunt soon, the itching in her throat got worse every passing hour. But for now, she enjoyed the moment.

It was already dark when Minna got back at the Cullen's residence. Familiar and unfamiliar faces met her. For once there were no shapeshifters around except for the one that always stayed at the Cullen's. It was the first time that she met shapeshifters, she didn't know they exist, she was honestly curious about them. She wondered what they would look like and how big their wolves were. She was not afraid of them, at least not for now.

Minna couldn't find her friends at first so she mindlessly walked into the living room. She saw Kate and Garret sitting on the couch, lost in a deep conversation, Carlisle was talking to some nomads as someone laid a hand on her shoulders. She winced slightly at the touch and looked with wide eyes at the woman next to her. Esme smiled warmly. "I'm sorry, dear. I didn't want to scare you", she said calmly and Minna relaxed a bit. "You seem lost. Can I help you with something?" Esme sounded concerned and somehow Minna really believed that she didn't do it just to sound nice. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to bother you. It's nothing." Minna smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. She was just polite.

"These are troubling times for all of us. If you need anything, just ask. If you need to talk, come to me", Esme offered and left Minna with a small smile on her lips. The German was thankful that Esme gave her space. She hated being forced into conversations, as most of them were just not worth the time.

Minna has always been an excellent listener, everyone trusted her with their biggest and darkest secrets in an instant, but it never happened that Minna told someone about her secrets or fears. No one ever asked.

She sat down on a chair at the large table, her eyes observing the others, her mind wandered speculating on what would happen in the weeks to come.