6th chapter

Fortunately, the rain didn't come back and Minna could go back to her morning routine. She still wore her new clothes, they were fancy and all but nothing she could wear back home, where she had no possibilities to wash them regularly. After all, she lived in nature. She needed practical not fancy clothes.

Without the burning thirst in her throat, the woman enjoyed her early morning walk through the forest. She watched some deer looking for food and she even heard the roar of a mountain lion not too far off.

It was barely a cloud in the sky when she reached her favorite spot. The wind was softly blowing through her hair and she inhaled deeply. Her eyes closed; she enjoyed that very moment. Minna remained for a while before she sat down on the edge of the cliff. She led her feet swung into the void beneath her. She put her hands on the ground behind her and leaned back, watching the red sky. Minna closed her eyes for some time, letting her mind wander until a soft breeze to her right got her attention.

She opened her eyes and was met with the intense gaze of Vladimir, who sat down on a large boulder not too far away from her. It was silent for a moment; she couldn't quite read his expression so she concentrated back on the rising sun. For a few minutes it was silent between both vampires until Minna looked back at the Romanian. "Where's Stefan?"

"Off to somewhere else, we all need time for ourselves once in a while." His voice was low, almost monotone.

The silence that fell once again over them was far from awkward. It was a pleasant silence, no words needed. More clouds gathered again and the newly risen sun was hidden behind them.

"What would happen, if you kill the Volturi? Would you take over again?" The question caught him by surprise, but her open-minded way of asking was refreshing to him. Most people would avoid that question like a plague, fearing what the answer could be. But Minna was curious by nature, she knew close to nothing about the vampiric history before the Volturi had the power.

Memories flashed before his eyes, giving them a new expression to every imaginatively passing scenario. Anger, sadness, despair, hate and so many more. As soon as Minna noticed his inner conflict she wanted to apologize, but was immediately interrupted by his answer.

"Yes", the power in his voice was prominent, "but I think we should keep our kind a secret to the rest of the world." His eyes wandered off the cliff. "The mankind created some powerful weapons that could pose a threat to us. They're not as vulnerable as they used to be when we ruled." His eyes trailed back to hers but she couldn't really tell what was going on in his mind.

'Same rules but different management', she thought but didn't dare to speak it out loud. "I guess you would establish a guard as well? So that everyone would still obey the rules?" Her eyes were full of curiosity, which confused him. Most people were afraid of Stefan and him, yet this young vampire was just inquisitive and not judging at all.

"We would, like we had back then. Before they took the power and slaughtered our coven." His voice was dark, the venom poured in his mouth and the rage in his eyes couldn't be overseen. Minna looked down for a moment, she wasn't afraid. Her eyes wandered back to the horizon, she inhaled deeply and closed her lids, listening to the sound of the waves. Another breeze swirled around her hair and she could feel his calculating gaze on her. His eyes lingered on her for a few more seconds before he turned his head to the ocean.

"You must have been thinking about that quite a lot, I assume." She didn't look at him, her voice was low, almost as if she spoke to herself. He remained silent, dreams of finally overthrowing the Volturi were clear in his mind. Minna sat back up, rubbing her hands to clear off the dirt in her palms. "Forgive me the question, I was just wondering if there's more than just revenge." She met his puzzled gaze and immediately she got unsure about that asked question. She pulled one leg up and started to draw lines almost nervously with her hand on her knee. "I'm sorry, I was just curious. You are living in this world for so long that I thought there might be something else but revenge in your lives."

His cold red eyes fixated her and she regretted her words instantly. Suddenly she felt like prey under his predatorial gaze. She didn't mean any harm; she was used to people telling her everything without any effort from her. But the Romanians were different, it was almost like a mirror on this behalf. She respected that but it was still something new for her.

The passing seconds were filled with an unwelcoming silence, she couldn't tell what would happen next or if she offended him. She felt cold and her instinct told her to run, which she slowly started to obey. Carefully she stood up, her eyes never leaving the Romanian in front of her. In a nervous manner, she rearranged her jacket and put a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Minna cleared her throat and looked bashfully at the ground. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I had no right to say something like that." She didn't dare to look up again. She didn't want to insult anyone, but being social was something she really needed to learn. She turned around quietly, ready to leave but as soon as she heard his voice, she stopped in her tracks.

"They burned our castles, took our power and killed our entire coven. So yes, revenge was our motivator for a very long time." He paused and closed his eyes for a moment. "We tried to overthrow them quite a few times, without prevail." A humorless chuckle left his throat, his eyes scanned her, taking in her appearance, while she grew more and more uncomfortable. "But seeing you, a newborn in comparison, basically learning to walk in our world, eager to explore new ways and trying to find her place in this world, was really refreshing to witness, I admit."

Minna finally looked back up at Vladimir. His voice was low, but the sincerity in it was clear. "We might have missed some opportunities to live again", Vladimir continued. "Maybe we should let our revenge rise with every opportunity we get and live in-between." His expression was blank when his gaze met hers, she returned with a warm smile. She felt almost powerful, that she just shared such a special moment with him, an old and feared vampire.

Truth be told, she was certain that he and probably even Stefan had those thoughts beforehand. She wasn't so illusionary to think, that she caused them to change. She didn't have such powers; she was just one of the few individuals that would still listen to others. Something that seemed to be pretty rare those days.

Minna was cut out of her thoughts when she realized his movements. He stood up from the rock and took one last glance at the water, before turning to the German. "Care to go back?" His question caught her off-guard, it took a moment until she finally nodded. Vladimir walked over to the woman and as soon as he was next to her, she walked by his side.

To say she felt awkward was an understatement. Somehow it felt wrong to walk next him, someone she barely knew. On the other hand, it was as if she was finally seen in a different kind of way as her friends saw her. She couldn't really describe it, but maybe she was actually about to make new powerful friends.

They walked in human pace, they had time. They just knew that Carlisle wanted all of them to be there tomorrow evening. Apparently, he had something planned for Christmas, though Minna doubted that most of the other vampires would still celebrate that holiday.

"I wonder what Carlisle planned for tomorrow", Minna said and deeply inhaled the cold and fresh air. "I still hate surprises", she added lowly which resulted in an amused chuckle from the Romanian. They walked a few more minutes without saying a word, taking in everything around them. "It's so peaceful", Minna started. "I can't believe a potential fight is just around the corner." A shaky sigh left her lips, his eyes wandered through the forest. "It's always like that before a fight", he said reminiscing about his wars in the past. They continued their walk, nearing their destination. When she could already hear the distant chatter, as well as catching the distinctive smell of the shapeshifters, she noticed an almost playful smirk on his features. When she was about to ask him about that, he spoke up.

"You still don't like to be surprised, do you?" She raised an eyebrow, but before she could do anything, Stefan jumped down from the trees right next to hear, an amused grin on his lips and his hand firmly on her shoulder.

"Was zur Hölle", she almost screamed in her mother tongue and jumped under his touch. She breathed heavily while the Romanians watched her with a shared grin. Stefan let go of her shoulder and while the woman tried to calm herself, the men proceeded to go back to the Cullen's. "So jumpy", Stefan remarked with a smirk and Minna quickly followed the men. She couldn't possibly explain her actions, but somehow, she believed that she gained their trust, at least partly, which in return helped her to open up to them more than to most people. She arrived back at the house while being flanked by the Romanians.

Minna made her way into the house and the Romanians continued their stroll outside. As soon as she entered the living room, she was met by her Irish friends. Siobhan had a worrying look on her face and the four vampires gathered in front of one of the huge windows. Their eyes focused on the movements outside, until Siobhan looked at the German, full of concern of what her friend might have gotten herself into.

"You seem to get along with the Romanians", Siobhan stated. "Well yes, we talked a few times", Minna answered. "Please just be careful. They're dangerous. Their reputations precede them." The German just nodded at her friend's remark, wondering if everyone thought about them like that and how much of it would possibly be true.