"Start with Isobel." Katherine had told them...

Stefan and Elena had been sitting for hours in the boarding house sorting though Isobel's old research papers, which Alaric had been more than willing to let them read. The floor was barely visible from all of the papers, notebooks, and journals spread out across it. After a nearly a whole day of finding nothing even remotely relevant, Elena was about ready to give up. Her face was buried in yet another stack of seemingly meaningless papers.

"Stefan, why are we even listening to Katherine's advice anyway? It wouldn't be too out of character for her to throw us a red herring. She loves to screw with people."

There was no response.

"Stefan?" Elena looked behind her to find Stefan motionless in front of a box of old journals. He was holding one in front of him, the one that appeared the oldest, and staring at it with disbelief. "Are you alright, Stefan?" She rushed to his side.

He did not reply. Instead he handed her the journal. Elena searched for a name and found one on the left corner of inside cover of the book: Alexis Gray, 1670

"Stefan, what is this?"

He wouldn't reply.

Elena saw a tear run down his cheek.

"Stefan!" she cried. She gently put an arm around him. "You can tell me." She paused. "Please, trust me."

His voice was almost silent and eerily devoid of feeling. "It's Lexi's." he whispered. "Lexi's journal."

Elena was speechless. What was there to say? She knew too well that there was nothing in the world that she could say to him to comfort him. Lexi was his best friend for over a century; she was practically his sister. It had only been a few months since Damon had staked her. Even after almost two years, Elena was broken by the death of her parents. She couldn't imagine life if Stefan, or Bonnie, or Caroline, or even, though she refused to admit it, Damon, were gone. She wanted to make everything alright for him, to tell him that he would be fine, but she knew that if she did, she would be lying. She felt helpless, The best she could do was to hold him close, to let him know that she was there with him, that he wouldn't have to face the pain alone.

"Elena," he whispered. He wanted to say something, but all he could manage was a weak cry. "Elena," he whispered, "Elena."

Then Elena saw Stefan do something that she had never seen him do before. He cried without restraint. In between unintelligible sobs he would repeat her name, Elena, Elena, Elena, like a chant, to keep the shred of humanity in him alive.

She embraced him and comforted him. "Stefan," she whispered. She knew this was not the right time to ask, but she had to. Quietly, timidly, she asked "How do you know it's hers."

He stared at her, as if in disbelief that she was actually asking that question. "It's her handwriting." he finally said.

Elena needed to see for herself. It wasn't that she didn't trust Stefan. She knew what grief was like. When her parents died, she saw them everywhere, everything reminded her of them. She knew where Stefan kept Lexi's birthday cards. If it was the same writing, Stefan was right. She pulled out a card and saw a note in Lexi's cursive:

Dear Stefan,

Oh, look, yet another year of seeing you on your birthday. Told you I would keep my promise! And you didn't believe me! Well, I was going to get you a cake, but it's nearly impossible to find one with 139 candles! Who would have guessed? But, I did happen to score...wait for it... 2 tickets to Bon Jovi! Happy birthday, Stefan!

Your crazy wonderful best friend,

Lexi

Flipping though the journal, Elena saw pages filled with the same neat cursive, with all the same loops and flourishes.

She stopped at a page that caught her eye. While that lighthearted element of Lexi's writing was present in all the pages up to that point, this one was different. There was no doubt that the same person had written both the card and the journal entry, but the one sentence on the page seemed to be written in a hurry, as if the writer was afraid of something.

"Stefan!" Elena called. "Stefan, come quick!"

Stefan, who had composed himself, rushed into the room. "What is it, Elena? Are you hurt?"

"I think you need to see this." She showed Stefan the page.

He was shocked. "No, it can't be...it's not possible... she would have told me..."

17 April, 1670, it read, I know Lady Katherine is a vampire.

**A/N** I can't wait to post the next chapter! It's a flashback to 1670, where we learn a little bit more about Lexi (a.k.a. Alexis) and meet two OC's. Like the story so far? Have any suggestions? Please, comment *puppy dog eyes*! Thanks! 3 Shinebrighter!**