"Do you really think that low of me?" he had asked. "Yes" had been her answer. Why did she have to think that about him? He was not born to be a bad person. He was made a bad person.
We all want our kids to have a lovely childhood. To grow up and feel loved. Taken care of. But not all kids get that. Some have parents who don't take care of them the way they should. Some kids have to live through nightmares. Some of them gets beaten and hated. Klaus had been one of those kids.
When he was just a small child, his mother would teach him politeness by putting him up on her knees and spanking him. Hard. He soon found out how to hide from his mother for hours, so she would give up looking for him and instead go on with her busy day. But those days always ended with no food and a few slaps before he was sent to bed. Elijah would try to make him stop crying at night, so he wouldn't get in more trouble. Sometimes he even brought a piece of bread that Klaus would eat hungrily with tears still running down his face.
On his tenth birthday Mikael had told him to act like the man he was about to become. But he couldn't help the need to be curious and try to have fun with his brothers. It was around that time Mikael started beating him. Mikael had taken him on his first hunt. They had walked for hours through the woods without talking, Klaus trying to keep up with Mikael's long steps, when they finally saw a deer. Mikael had instructed him how to throw the spear and kill it, but now all he could think about was the little fawn lying next to the deer. He tried pointing at the small creature believing Mikael had not seen it, but he only got a hard look as an answer. Klaus turned towards the deer and decided to fail to save its life. That night Mikael had been furious. Klaus could barely crawl to bed, crying softly while his broken ribs didn't let him breathe properly. That night he learned to keep his tears at bay. Not because of the pain. He felt ashamed. Week. The following years Mikael would find the tiniest reasons to beat him every week. Klaus slowly learned to take the hits and kicks without much complaining since that only made Mikael seem to enjoy it more.
When Klaus held his sister for the first time he swore to protect her against everything bad, especially Mikael. Nothing ever happened to her until their mother turned them. And it had all been because of him.
It started when Henrik was born. Klaus would do everything in his power to make sure nothing happened to him. He now knew Mikael wouldn't hurt a girl, but his brothers all got beaten up a few times. Henrik should not have to grow up like that. Kol had had his share of his father's rage already, and Klaus decided to take whatever punishment Henrik would run into.
Ten years later, Klaus wanted to show Henrik the werewolves transform. It had all happened too fast. They were attacked and Henrik died in his arms. He couldn't forgive himself. Neither could Mikael. Hours after burying his brother Mikael beat him up so bad he thought he would die. He wanted to die. Mikael had then dragged him to Henrik's grave and yelled at him to apologize to his brother. That's where Klaus was left screaming and begging his brother for forgiveness while Mikael ordered Esther to do the spell that would forever keep Klaus in his misery. No matter how many years he had on this earth, he could never forgive himself. That's why he turned bad. He didn't mean to. Why couldn't Caroline see that? He had to live up to what he was. But that didn't mean he couldn't care. He cared too much. Especially about her.