Transformations and Reflections
AN: Hey potential readers! So watching that finale a while ago with Klaus and Hope in the final scene inspired this new piece. Aside from a ton of feels at the daddy-daughter bonding scene, I also wondered what was going through Klaus's head at the time. It seemed like the perfect time for him to reflect-because i think his life has changed unimaginably within the last few years (or since the show started). Anyways my interpretation of it-hope you guys enjoy it!
As he held Hope in his arms, he couldn't help but reflect. How his life had changed drastically in the span of a few short years. He was lost, back when it all began. Back before Mystic Falls, back before New Orleans, this struggle for power, this unforeseen pregnancy, this unexpected home. He redefined the meaning of loneliness and the feeling of loathing oneself in those decades. He was a vampire, had lived longer than almost anyone, and yet he had never felt truly alone until those decades before Mystic Falls. Rebekah, as petty and whimsical as she was had been his constant unfailing companion. After that late Chicago night, when all he could think of was to flee, yet again like a dog with its tail between its legs, her choice of Stefan and subsequent daggering had truly left him alone. Although in hindsight her betrayal went a lot deeper and farther back, didn`t it? Marcel, her betrayal with his father, the list went on. Always in love with the idea of love, she would never truly put him first. And Mystic falls, that accursed place. He had plans when he first arrived. To finally succeed in becoming a hybrid, to ensure the loyalty of his sired hybrids, to reunite his family, finally together after endless centuries. He had failed and spectacularly. So many horrid memories of his youth, everywhere he went, modern buildings be damned. Mystic Falls, that place of the bloody cure and Silas, the source of his failure of hybrids and the ending of the doppelganger`s blood source. So many disappointments. And yet, he owed Mystic Falls a great debt. From his successful transition into a hybrid to the ending of his thousand year old role of prey to his father to the reawakening of the ability of love and forgiveness due to Caroline, Mystic Falls had irrevocably changed him and dare say he, for the better. His father`s shadow had hung over his head for a thousand years. He was forever the bastard son of Mikael, weak and impulsive. His murder had not brought happiness. The taint of his father`s cruelty remained most prominently within Klaus`s own character. He had inherited his father's penance for cruelty and anger regardless of the lack of blood shared. But his death did bring relief. An ending to the endless game of cat and mouse they had played. His father no longer inflicted the same terror even with his subsequent resurrection. The doppelganger cursed to forever come between brothers, to forever destroy everything she touched. Her transition into a vampire had crushed his hopes of sired hybrids, of protection, of unwavering loyalty. He despised her selfless nature, her manipulative yet innocent nature. Mostly, he despised her involvement in the murder of two of his brothers, however temporary. Although he now loathed Finn, at the time, he had felt great sadness at his demise. He had been a bore but he had been his brother. And his memories of childhood long ago, however brief, looked upon Finn in a positive light. Kol had been worse yet. Although Kol was a chaotic annoyance, he was forever his little brother. The one who admired him most, who aspired to be like him. His most recent demise left him devastated. The doppelganger truly owed her life to Caroline. Ahh, Caroline. He remembered her fondly. She had confused him, angered him, devastated him and betrayed him numerous times. And yet, each time, he found himself forgiving her. Their characters were so very different. Her humanity, unswerving loyalty, and will to live had captivated him. She had reawakened his capacity to love, an emotion he had long disregarded as weakness. Although their differences were too large to overcome, he would forever be grateful to her. Perhaps in another world where he was not a hybrid and she was not a vampire, they could have had a chance. Yes, Mystic Falls had been the catalyst for enormous changes in his life. After the disappointment of the cure he had gone to New Orleans. He had originally intended to eliminate the perceived threat and quickly leave but numerous factors had changed the course of his life permanently. Marcel, his son in all but blood, had betrayed him, overtaken his city, fancying himself as king. He felt the need to rectify such an offence immediately. He had built this city, had changed it from its former swamp land. This glorious mysterious city, teeming with the supernatural, its entire aura one of mystic. And it was him and his family who had made it, and he who would rule over it. But, more importantly, he had learned of his role in the creation of a baby, due to a loophole in nature and manipulative witches. He had never wanted children, fearing his inevitable metamorphosis into Mikael, regardless of the lack of blood relation. It was Elijah truly, that had convinced him to not simply tear out Hayley`s heart in the early days. No matter his current strained relations with his brother, he was forever grateful for his brothers efforts as it had given him Hope. As he watched his brother's infatuation grow into love, he distracted himself from his fears with his attempts to take over the city, with varying degrees of success. His sister`s betrayal had deeply wounded. He had faced countless foes throughout his existence but her betrayal had resonated most. He had daggered her numerous times throughout the centuries, but he had never wished for her death. Much like Elijah betrayal, it was an old scar but one that would never truly heal or been forgotten. As the due date of his child drew nearer he began to feel a sense of responsibility and vague emotion for the child. It was the only one of its kind, much like him and did not deserve the circumstances it was to be born into. It was a true innocent, something he had not experienced for a very long time. He did not want his child to grow up hating their father much as he had done, which secretly craving his approval. He vowed, mere days before the child's arrival, to never become Mikael. The child`s birth was horrific. Hayley was killed within moments of the birth and the child was taken away while he hung from the church`s wall, helpless, unable to do anything but observe. He vowed revenge and horrific deaths on those who dared to take his child from him. The night passed in a blur, with Hayley`s resurrection, and Marcel`s last minute rescue. He finally got to hold his child, his baby wolf. Klaus had never understood a parent`s undying devotion to an infant, incapable of speech, intelligent thought, or affection. As he held Hope, a tiny fragile being, his tiny fragile being, he finally understood. He believed his affection for his siblings, even for Caroline, was the closest he would get to love, but Hope had enabled him to surpass this. It seemed mere seconds later that he was forced to give up his baby girl for her protection. Devastation was too kind a term to describe his emotion at this realization. He had already failed at protecting her, the greatest duty of a father. It was Rebekah who had the ability to protect her. It was indescribable having to give away his daughter. Although he had barely met her, his love for the little being overwhelmed him. He desired to protect her above all. Elijah had been right all that time ago. She was his Hope, his chance at redemption, their families' chance at redemption.