3rd chapter

Minna has been at the Cullen's for almost a week and she already made it a morning ritual to watch the sunrise from a certain cliff in the park. This morning wasn't any different. She left when it was still dark, she took her time and the last part she even wandered in human pace to her favorite spot.

She sat down on the edge and looked across the water to the horizon. A thick fog was laying over the ocean and the forest around her, but in her opinion, it was beautiful.

The sun slowly rose and a cold breeze let her hair dance playfully around her face. She felt at peace, for once she didn't have a depressing thought going through her head. She breathed calmly and enjoyed the warm rays of sun on her skin, she even played with the reflections her skin made.

Suddenly she heard footsteps nearing her location and before she could even stand up, she saw them standing a few metres away from her. She gulped and stood up nervously, her eyes switched from one to another.

"Who do we have here?", Stefan said with a smirk on his face as he watched the reaction of the woman. Vladimir watched the rising sun before he looked at Minna. The Romanians stood in the shadow of the nearby forest, their posture was calm and confident as if they would own this place.

"I … I'm sorry, I didn't want to bother you, I'll leave right away", she stuttered which resulted in an amused chuckle of the Romanians.

"We want to talk to you", the accent was prominent in his speaking. By the sound of those words a cold shiver ran down Minna's spine. "We want to know about that vampire, that roams freely in our territory without us noticing", Stefan continued and suddenly the woman felt she was about to be judged. She didn't know that they had a territory and that it would include her home country. And how would they even know where she is from? Maybe they overheard the conversation with Carlisle.

The Romanians sat down on a fallen tree and gestured Minna to join them. Carefully she made her way over to them. She was beyond afraid; she knew she couldn't outrun them even if she wanted to and her gift could only help her with one of them. With slow and insecure steps, she made it over to the trunk opposite of the men.

"So, who are you?" Their red eyes pierced in to her shy ones and she started to sort her thoughts. "My name is Wilhelmina and I live in Germany. I was reborn in 1894." For Minna it felt so formal, she didn't think twice and told her full first name, which she regretted in an instant. She hated her name, she always did, that's why everyone even most members of her family back then used the short form.

"Who changed you?"

Her body tensed, she blinked uncontrollably and opened her mouth, but not a word came out of it. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to calm herself. "It was André, a French vampire that lived in Germany with his wife Olga. It was an accident. They are dead." Minna's voice was low and trembling but she tried to fight it.

The Romanians watched her carefully, they knew those vampires by name. No one they cared about though. "I didn't know André created a vampire", Vladimir mused. They didn't ask her more about that topic, which she was very grateful for. "No one told me that it was your territory. I'm sorry, I'll make sure to stay away when I go back", Minna quickly added. "No need to", Stefan said with a grin on his lips. "We just like to know who our neighbors are."

Silence fell over the three vampires and for a moment the soft blowing of the wind was the only thing that could be heard. After a short while Minna cleared her throat. "Maybe I should go back. My friends probably already wonder where I am", she said quickly. It was an obvious lie, everyone knew. The Romanians just nodded and she left as fast as her feet could carry her. She could swear she heard a dark chuckle as she left but she forced herself to not look back and join Siobhan, Liam and Maggie back at the house.

As the building came into view Minna slowed down. She saw Siobhan through one of the huge windows and made her way inside. She joined her friends at the table and listened to their conversation with Eleazar and Carmen.

In the afternoon, Bella was practicing her powers with Edward, Emmett and Kate when Minna watched from the forest. She cursed herself for her shyness. As it seemed they were done with the training, Minna finally found the courage to walk over to them.

"Excuse me Bella, would you mind doing me a favor?" Her voice was low and unsure. Bella seemed

surprised at first but smiled quickly. "Of course, how can I help you?" Minna rubbed her hands on her cardigan in a nervous manner, Edward joined his wife's side and even Emmett stayed. "I know that you can block psychic powers and I always wanted to know if my gift is psychic or not. Could you try to block it please?" The German woman wasn't sure if her question was rude or anything but by the reaction of the newborn, she relaxed a little.

"Sure, I can try. What is your gift?"

"Well, people describe it as second change. A burning sensation from the inside, that spreads through the body like veins." Edward looked at her concerned but he already read the mind of the woman and knew that she had no bad intentions. She was just curious. He nodded slightly to his wife, who looked back at Minna.

"Ok, let's give it a try." She held out her hand and even braced herself in case her shield wouldn't work. Minna laid her hand in Bella's and used her gift in soft waves, but Bella didn't even flinch. She looked in Minna's red eyes. "There's nothing. It seems to be a psychic talent." Minna took her hand back and smiled slightly. Just as she wanted to thank her, Emmett intervened.

"Bella, you are no fun. I want to try it." He stepped next to Bella with a cocky grin and held out his hand to the woman. Minna looked confused from one to another and Edward couldn't hold back an amused chuckle. "If you insist", Minna stated carefully and waited in case he would change his mind. When nothing happened, she touched his hand and let her gift flow. Emmett immediately sank to the ground; a loud hiss could be heard and his eyes were widened in pain. His other hand slammed into the muddy earth to keep himself together. As the pain got too much to handle, Minna stopped her gift and released his hand.

Edward chuckled in amusement and even Rosalie had a big grin on her face. "Holy", Emmett exclaimed out of breath. "That was intense, that gift is amazing." Minna smiled shyly; she wasn't used to get compliments. She hated it, even though she should be thankful.

She didn't notice the bulk of vampire that gathered around them to watch her powers. As she did, she quietly murmured "thanks" and was off into the house, where she was greeted by Maggie. "Psychic, huh?" Minna nodded. "Yes, it seems so." – "Care to play a game?", Maggie looked at her questioningly. "Sure", Minna answered and both sat down on the couch. Maggie already had a few board games on the table. They decided to play a round of Scrabble.

Over an hour had passed as Maggie put her last pieces onto the board. She grinned at her opponent, who sighed smiling. "Congrats, I couldn't think of more words with 'X' and 'Y'", Minna said. "Yeah, I got lucky with my letters", Maggie responded. Siobhan sat next to Maggie and Liam took a seat next to Minna. "Who won?", he asked. Maggie raised her hand and giggled.

Suddenly Siobhan sat straight and looked over at Minna. "Oh, by the way, you've earned yourself a new nickname among the others", she said with a grin. Liam did as well and leaned over to the German. "They call you 'Jane 2' now." Minna looked at him confused, but then she remembered that Jane's gift was inflicting pain on others, but from a distance. She didn't like it, but it was fitting.

"Very creative", she said with a raised eyebrow and looked out of the window. Two shapeshifters arrived at the house and talked to some of the Cullen's. As her eyes wandered, she saw the Romanians standing in the distance and she stiffened immediately. It's not that she didn't like them but they made her feel uneasy and watched and that, she didn't like.

She quickly brushed it off and the four vampires started a new game.