To Love and Die

Epilogue

When I opened my eyes I saw the cemetery and the bench where Uncle Stefan and I had met and chatted at different periods. I sat down on the bench and looked around. Was I alive? If I was, how was that possible? "Back again too soon," a voice said. I smiled as I looked up to the face of my Uncle. "Why am I here?" I asked. He sat down beside me. "Am I alive?" I asked. He just stared ahead. "Uncle Stefan?" I asked. He turned to look at me and he gave me a small smile. "I might have made a deal with a friend. Thantos owed me one," he said. I looked across the cemetery to see a hooded figure. "Don't hate on him. He is a pretty good guy, one I have known for years," he said. "What favor? And how do you know Death?" I asked. "I have killed and I have sent many Thantos' way. I was even met with Thantos when I died," he said. "What favor does he owe you?" I asked. He inhaled. "When Damon and I made sure our mother died, Thantos said he owed me a favor because he could never kill her," Stefan explained. "Grandmother Lily Salvatore," I said. He nodded. "My family is just filled with great women," I said. He laughed. "Yeah, both grandmothers were crazy," he said. "Tell me about it," I said laughing. Isobel, Elena's mother, was a psychopath who was Alaric's ex-wife and then Lily, who was Damon's mother, was pretty high up on the psycho crazy scale as well. Way higher than Isobel though. "So, I get to hang around with you after death," I said smiling. "You aren't dead. You are in an in-between," he explained. I frowned. "What do you mean?" I asked. Stefan sighed. "The favor that Thantos owed me was that when if something happened to you, you would be given the gift. All the monsters you have encountered were once true beings. As for you, you will never fully die," he said. I still didn't understand. "Stefan, I was a Goddess. I lost that, it was left to my daughter," I said. "I know you aren't a Goddess anymore. You are a supernatural though," he said. I frowned. "Then what am I?" I asked. He smiled. "You'll see," he said. Thantos had made his way to us and when he reached out and touched my arm I passed out.

Rafael's P.O.V.

It had been a week since Artemis died. Her stone statue couldn't be moved, destroyed, or even siphoned away. It was like it was meant to be stuck there forever. I had went everyday to look at it. It looked the same as always. I was making my way to the statue now, when I heard a scream from the front door. It was Elena. I hurried to see what was going on and when I reached the front door I almost fell to my knees. There was no way this was happening. "What is..." Hades stopped. The rest of the student body and those that were family were left watching as a figure made her way up the paved driveway. 

Artemis' P.O.V.

I saw all of them come to watch. It was like they were seeing a ghost. As I neared the front door, my mother hung back. "How are you here?" she asked. I smiled. "Stefan said Thantos owed him one. It turns out, I'm a supernatural again, just not a Goddess," I explained. "What are you then? A vampire? A werewolf? A witch? All three?" my father asked. I smiled. Rafael was staring at me and I knew this would blow the socks off of them. "Like the phoenix I shall rise again," I said. Lizzy's eyes widened. "You're a freaking phoenix," Hades muttered. I smiled. And then from the back of the family, Caroline came and placed a soft bundle in my arms. My daughter was healthy and alive. Rafael moved to embrace me and his daughter. I smiled at my family. We would rebuild what had been destroyed and never forget those that we had lost. "I vote that Artemis is now the new headmaster," MG said from the back of the crowd. Kaleb nodded and Lizzy nodded as well. "I'll still help," Caroline said. Damon and Elena nodded as well. I had found my place in life once again. This time I was home.