Page 32 of Hephaestus
Zeus then turned his head to arch his brow at his wife. “And how do you propose we end this strife, my dear?”
Hera pondered for a moment, before her gaze precipitously shifted to lock on me. A shrewd smirk appeared on her face. It was as unnerving as the Underworld. I did not like the look of it one bit.
“Well, if we eliminate Aphrodite’s availability, all should be resolved, should it not?” Hera asked her husband.
Zeus shook his head in bewilderment. “I’m not sure I follow you.”
“If Aphrodite were to be married, then we would no longer have any issues. She will then have no suitors to compete over her,” Hera further elaborated.
“And who do you suppose she should be wed to?” Zeus questioned. “If she were to marry any one of these gods, whether it’s Ares, Poseidon, or Hermes, the others will surely be bitter and resentful that they were not the chosen one.”
“Then, we should have Aphrodite marry someone else besides them.”
Aphrodite then stood up, seemingly disturbed by the idea altogether. “I object! I refuse to marry anyone that is not an Olympian God. I will never stoop to so low of a level as to wed anyone else of less caliber.”
Hera still maintained that wily grin on her face as she addressed Aphrodite’s concern. “Well, why don’t you marry Hephaestus, then?”
“Hephaestus!?” Aphrodite stated with disbelief, appearing horrified by the very idea. “But he’s so…”
“Ugly? Boring? Deformed?” Ares said aloud, roaring with laughter.
All of the other gods and goddesses then joined in mocking me as well, with the exception of Hestio, that is. As I glanced across the room at him, he seemed bothered and saddened at this undeserved humiliation being thrown my way.
“It would solve all of our problems,” Hera further commented. “What do you think, my King?”
Everyone’s laughter then fell silent. All eyes were then focused on Zeus, curious as to his input on the matter.
“I do see the benefits of such an arrangement. If it will allow us to maintain peace, here, on Mount Olympus, then it must be done,” Zeus said, revealing his opinion on the situation.
“This cannot be!” Aphrodite yelled.
I too rose out of my chair to express my denunciation of being married to Aphrodite. However, I could not get a word in, for the King of the Gods drowned me out before I could get the chance to speak.
“It must be done,” Zeus countered. “The decision is final. Aphrodite, you will be married to Hephaestus. The wedding will be held tomorrow. If anyone has anything to say against this, I will not hear of it, for any further berating on the subject will only end poorly for those who criticize my judgment.”
From that point on, no one rebuked Zeus or his verdict. I had to hold my head low, not wanting to stare anyone in the eyes and allow them to see how distraught I was over the entire situation. I would be married Aphrodite after tomorrow. Most other gods and male mortals only dreamed of being able to have her as a wife, but not me. I was not attracted to her in the slightest. I only had eyes and a heart for Hestio.
That’s what hurt the most about this. I could only imagine how afflicted Hestio was about this arrangement. That was why, among everyone present in the room, he is the last god I wanted to look at right now. I could not bring myself to see how hurt he likely was over this decision.
And I knew how agonizing this must be for him because I shared the same exact sentiments.
Chapter 15
Soonaftertheannouncementof Hephaestus and Aphrodite being betrothed had been made, we all were dismissed from Hera and Zeus’s palace. The moment Zeus made the decision to have the two married, it felt as if my heart was ripped from my chest. My entire body suddenly felt hollow as if I had nothing on the inside. I now felt empty and practically withered away.
Once everyone departed from the palace, I heard Hephaestus call out to me, to get my attention. I knew he wanted to talk this through, but what was the point? It would only be painful for the both of us. I decided to take matters in my own hands in order to avoid such emotional turmoil. Instead of turning around to speak with him, I just ran off, sprinting back to my home, not once looking back.
However, as cruel as the thought was, I knew Hephaestus was not trailing behind me, because of his inability to move fast due to the deformity in his weak leg. Still, I could not help but continue to keep a quick pace just in case he would somehow miraculously find a way to arrive at my home before me. Once I returned to my palace, I had the entrance doors quickly slammed shut behind me, ordering my servants to keep them locked and to not let anyone in or out for the near future, including Hephaestus.
I already knew he would try to barge in, demanding to speak with me, to attempt to resolve the new looming issue over our heads. But I could not allow such a conversation to take place. There was no way for us to work around this. He would marry Aphrodite. The two would be wed and live together. My relationship with Hephaestus would never be the same. We could no longer make love to one another, nor make unplanned visits to be around each other. He would be prohibited from sleeping in my bedchamber, and I his.
It felt as if I couldn’t breathe right now. My mind was racing but going in so many different directions with no set location to arrive at. I needed to calm my nerves and think things through. The only place within these palace walls that would allow me to do that was by a warmly lit fire with a hearth. Being near it was what gave me a clear mind and greater power.
I found myself making haste to the closest one in my palace. Once I arrived at it, I dramatically fell to my knees and closed my eyes. I could feel slight trickles of tears form in their corners, slowly beginning to trace down my heated cheeks.
It was foolish of me to possibly think that Hephaestus and I could love one another for an eternity, without someone or something getting in the way. After all, we were two male gods. Mount Olympus was not meant for that sort of relationship. Only a god and goddess could be wed together.
I should have known that Hephaestus would have to be married off to another goddess. It was bound to happen. I only wished I realized all of this sooner before we proceeded to fall in love with each other. Maybe then, I would have never gone against my better judgment to seek him out and tell him how much I loved him and wanted to be with him. Now it was an impossibility, an excruciatingly painful impossibility.
