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Epilogue
Part 2

Stefan's POV.

Dear Diary,

This century has officially been the strangest of my existence. I started it as a vampire, who had a evil vampire brother. Both brothers eventually met a human and fell for her. Then werewolves, originals, and a curse got involved. That wasn't the highlight of my life. It took awhile, but as always we came out victorious. Partly thanks to Damon, but I'd never admit that to him.

We'd made many great friends, allies, and even enemies in the small little town of Mystic Falls. Never a dull moment, that's for sure. After the sacrifice, I left town to locate an old friend of mine that owed me a favor. It took a couple weeks but I finally found him in a small village in Japan. He reluctantly agreed and created me something called a black rose. Very rare, and extremely powerful.

After returning to Mystic Falls I spent days waiting for the package to arrive. When it finally did, I hurriedly informed Elena and wanted to test the rose. Well, let's just say it worked. I was turned human. My heart was pumping and my lungs were working for the first time in over a hundred years. Not long after I found out I was going to be a father. I think that was the happiest I've ever felt.

That happiness was short lived when I went out for a run one morning. It was a cool, cloudy day out by Wickery bridge. The vampire came out of nowhere. One second I was running, and the next I was on the ground, losing blood rapidly. As he knelt beside me I recognized him immediately. Elijah. He bit his wrist, held it to my mouth, and disappeared. I was awake a few more second before everything went black.

I awoke in a cellar. My senses were heightened beyond anything I've ever experienced. Elijah appeared and informed me on what had happened. He had turned me, but original blood takes longer to kick in and start the transition so I was out for many days. I cursed him for taking my humanity away when I had just got it back. He compelled me. Erased everything and made me believe I was one of his friends that obeyed his every command. I had no choice but to listen to him.

We traveled the world for years, going places I'd never even heard of. After about five years we met up with his brothers, Baltazar and Dante. Elijah commanded me to stay with Baltazar while he and Dante completed plans elsewhere. Baltazar was a quiet man, he rarely talked unless I asked him a question. He was reserved like Elijah and stayed calm in the most perilous situations. I learned to enjoy his company, looked forward to it, even.

When we returned to the United States, many years later, we met back up with Elijah but Dante had apparently chosen to go his own way. The three of us traveled to a small town in Virginia, Mystic Falls. I enjoyed the small town and felt an odd connection to it. It felt like there was this invisible cable, pulling me towards the graveyard. I eventually gave in and ran through the graves, stopping at one that caught my attention. Stefan Salvatore's. I found it odd there was no birth date, only a date of death. He must have been a vampire as well.

My visits to the grave became frequent. I was sitting in front of the headstone one day when two men approached. The older man seemed to think he knew me from somewhere, the younger one just seemed to think the older one was crazy. I left that situation as quickly as possible. When I told Elijah about my visits to the graveyard, and my run-in with the two men, he was furious. I'd never seen Elijah lose control like that and it was not something I'd like to experience again.

Elijah and Dante had this grudge against the Salvatore family apparently. We planned to slaughter them as mercilessly as possible. But when the time came I soon realized it was not just any family, it was the family of the two men I had met briefly in the graveyard. I also realized that one of those men wasn't a man at all, but a mere child. I was expected to murder a child, and his mother and father. To me it was insanity. I let Elijah destroy his other siblings while I waited for the opportunity to kill him. It was almost too late by the time that opportunity came, but I took the chance and ripped his heart from chest, ending his games once and for all.

As soon as he was dead, my memory returned. It was like a slap in the face. I was standing in front of my fifteen year old son. My dying son. Luckily there was still enough time to pull the stakes out and save him from the true death. I couldn't believe I was meeting him, touching him, talking to him. It was one of the best moments of my existence. And then I had the pleasure of turning around and seeing the two things I've always lived for. Elena and Damon.

There was no pain or jealousy when I learned the news of their marriage. Only great happiness that didn't seem to have an end. My son, Alexander, also has been given the gift of love. He took the news surprisingly easy when I told him of Dante's plan to kill his family. He even forgave him.

I understand now that Elena's wasn't my soul mate, but my brothers. They both deserve happiness in any form they can find it. If it's with each other than so be it.

It was hard for Elena to watch her family die, one at a time, but she's always been a strong person. Her and Damon both turned at thirty-five. I wasn't happy about it but I didn't press the argument. I was too selfish to tell them they couldn't turn. I want my brother around for an eternity, same with Elena and Alex.

I think I'll always keep a journal. Maybe one day before I die I'll donate them all to a history museum. I think everyone has the right to know what really happened in Mystic Falls, Virginia.

Stefan Salvatore.