004.

Mount Olympus.

It had been about a whole day since the meeting that Hera and Zeus have had. One where the Queen of Olympus had made clear what she intended to do in relation to her new son.

It is due to this fact that outside her temple, an immense amount of beings were waiting to be able to observe with their own eyes the son of Queen Hera. The one who from now on would be known as a Prince of Olympus.

Due to the birth of Hephaestus, the inhabitants of Mount Olympus had caused an atmosphere of joy and rejoicing to spread over the entire surface of the vast mountain, an atmosphere that was no lower than that at the time of Athena's birth.

As for the main cause of such a mood of the inhabitants of Mount Olympus, he was lying on a large bed that belonged to his mother's chambers. The little god looked on without understanding the woman's actions.

Hera, for her part, was having a somewhat difficult time trying to find clothing that would make her ugly son look less ugly. Unfortunately, no matter how hard she tried she really couldn't find such clothing.

Despite that, the Queen of Olympus was not discouraged and continued to try different clothes on her son, she would not stop until she found the right one.

Hera knew that the other gods would have a very similar mindset to Zeus regarding Hephaestus.

Although she wished she was being paranoid with her thinking, the truth was that she knew perfectly well that most of the beings that inhabited Mount Olympus tended to be extremely superficial. Though she had no right to criticize such a trait, since she herself was like that.

In any case, she was not overly concerned about the reaction they might have upon seeing her son, after all no one would be stupid or brave enough to mock her son in front of her.

After a considerable time, Hera had decided to dress Hephaestus in a black toga that had fine gold colored embroidery in the form of lines running all over the surface of the garment.

The Queen of Olympus took a step back in order to appreciate the results of her work in a better way. For his part, Hephaestus still did not understand the woman's actions, but was happy to cooperate with her when she asked him to.

After a few seconds of contemplation, Hera nodded in satisfaction with the results obtained. She could even say that in some strange way her son looked somewhat adorable.

"You certainly look much better when you are properly dressed" commented the goddess with a smile as she took Hephaestus in her arms.

The little god's response was not long in coming, being a joyful giggle, one that the goddess had to admit was somewhat infectious. After having finished choosing Hephaestus' outfit, it was time for Hera to start thinking about what kind of dress she should wear.

After a short period of time, the Queen of Olympus decided to wear a dress that would match Hephaestus' toga. In that way she would be making it clear that she held her son in very high esteem.

…

It was a short time later that both Hera and Hephaestus were fully prepared to begin welcoming guests. At the moment, Hera was playing with her son's grayish hair.

Her playful and loving action was stopped when to her ears came the sound of light knocking coming from the door of her room. "Come in" she uttered quietly and with a slight indifference.

Soon, the figure of a beautiful young nymph keeping her head down appeared before the gaze of the mother and son pair. She was beautiful, but such beauty was not worthy of mention when compared to the beauty of Hera.

The young nymph only opened the door, not daring to enter the chambers of her queen, "Lady Hera" still keeping her head down she mentioned with total respect.

"Lord Hades and Lord Poseidon are requesting your permission to be able to see their nephew" once she finished her words, the nymph kept complete silence, waiting for her queen's answer.

For an instant the joyful smile on Hera's face disappeared completely as her movements came to a standstill, however, all she needed was to see Hephaestus for her determination to return to its highest point.

"Inform them that they can come in" such a phrase ended up being her response after a few seconds of silence.

The young nymph nodded immediately upon hearing Queen Hera's command. In a hesitant manner she raised her head to properly say goodbye, and the moment she did so her gaze was immediately drawn to the little one in the queen's arms.

A flash of disbelief and shock came over her gaze as her mind could not believe what her eyes were seeing, however, these feelings were soon replaced by an overwhelming fear as she heard the voice of her queen.

"Get out" the voice of the Queen of Olympus was plain. In her tone of voice could not be found any hint of anger and rage, the only thing that could be noticed in her speech was an extreme coldness.

The young nymph did not dare to mention a word, she simply bowed her head and tried to make herself as small as she could afterwards and in a quick manner she began to retreat by the same way she had come.

Hera's eyes were filled with coldness as she watched the pathetic retreat of the young nymph. The only reason she let her leave was because she didn't show any disgust at Hephaestus' appearance, otherwise the consequences would have been something the nymph would not have been able to bear.

After a few seconds the goddess brought her gaze to her son thinking that he might have noticed the nymph's gaze towards his person, however, such worries were unnecessary, as the little boy was falling asleep in her embrace oblivious to the world around him.

A soft smile formed on the magnificent face of the Queen of Olympus due to how carefree her son was, "You really are a bit silly, aren't you?" she asked with affection in her voice.

The question asked by Hera received no response at all, which caused the goddess to shake her head as she gently and lovingly deposited a kiss on Hephaestus' forehead.

The little god who had practically closed his eyes opened them in confusion, having felt a strange but comforting and warm sensation on his forehead. In spite of that, he found nothing unusual around him, so he didn't take much notice of it.

"You must be awake to welcome the guests" Hera commented to her son. The goddess could notice a slight nod from Hephaestus, it was as if he was replying that he understood her words.

A small laugh left the wonderful lips of the Queen of Olympus. She had to admit that her son was becoming somewhat adorable in her eyes as time went by.

Thus, as they awaited the arrival of Hades and Poseidon, the atmosphere surrounding the mother and son pair was an unusually warm and loving one.

…

The Queen of Olympus took a seat on the edge of her bed in an elegant and demure manner, at the same time she played affectionately with her son's hair.

All this while she awaited the arrival of her brothers. The wait was not long, since after a short time of waiting the door of her room was opened without warning and with this she could observe the figure of her two brothers.

The first of them had a tall and sturdy body that gave a sense of power. He had long dark blue hair, his clothing consisted of a blue skirt with small jewels of various colors while his torso was completely uncovered.

The second man, on the other hand, was a bit smaller and somewhat thinner; however, the aura of power that his body exuded was one that would not lose to that of the first man. He had long black hair that was complemented by his clothing, this being a black robe with small green embroidery.

The blue-haired man brought his gaze to the mother and son pair to subsequently look around the room only to notice Zeus' absence.

"Where is my brother?" he asked curiously as he saw no trace of the presence of the King of Olympus.

A flash of coldness crossed Hera's eyes as soon as she heard Poseidon's question. The truth was that her brother had always been someone who tended to say and do things without thinking first.

Hades shook his head as he saw Hera's expression at the question asked by his brother, it was easy to deduce what had happened.

"Zeus considered that his presence was not required" Hera replied after a few seconds in silence, "A thought I share after all Hephaestus is my son, only mine, so there is really no reason why he should be present" she continued.

Hera's words caused the two men to fall into total silence. This was because they really did not know what to say or how to react, although their sister said such words, they did not know if it was indeed what she believed about the current situation.

After a few moments of silence, Poseidon simply shrugged his shoulders anyway; the problems that Hera and Zeus had was something they should solve between them. Subsequently, he approached the spot where the mother and son pair were sitting.

"He is-" Poseidon was silent for a moment, he did not dare to finish his initial words as they refused to come out of his mouth, he could not say that Hephaestus was beautiful because the truth is that he was not.

Still, he couldn't give his honest opinion either because he was sure that it would only provoke his sister's anger and he was sure that he didn't want to deal with that side of his sister.

"No doubt he is a unique god" was the only comment Hades could give in an attempt to help his younger brother while trying not to anger his sister. Still he was being sincere with his words.

Poseidon nodded slightly at his older brother's words, "It's different, somewhat unusual" he commented carelessly, "But that fact is not a bad thing" he added quickly.

The Queen of Olympus was only silent at the words spoken by her two brothers. She was slightly relieved to see that their attitude was very different from the one Zeus had when he saw Hephaestus; however, she was not entirely happy with the indirectness of what they had said.

Such discontent did not go unnoticed in the eyes of Hades and Poseidon. Because of that they knew they had provoked their sister's anger or at least a small part of it, so they needed to do something before such anger grew any more.

Poseidon bowed a little so he was at his nephew's height, "Hello little Hephaestus" he greeted with genuine enthusiasm under his sister's watchful gaze.

"I am Uncle Poseidon and the grim man behind me is Uncle Hades" were his words as he introduced them both; however, these same words got a snort from his brother.

At such an introduction from the man, Hephaestus' only reaction was to extend his small hand towards Poseidon.

Poseidon saw such action as a greeting and quickly extended his own hand; however, due to the difference in size between the two, Hephaestus could only take one of his uncle's fingers.

"He likes me" commented the Lord of the Seas with joy and a bit of pride as he looked at his brother from the corner of his eye, almost as if he was bragging about such a fact.

Both Hera and Hades merely shook their heads at their brother's childish action.

"You can release him from your grip now brother" pronounced Hades as he saw that the greeting between Poseidon and Hephaestus was not over, in his reasoning he concluded that his brother was somewhat excited to have a new nephew.

"That's what I'm trying to do" was the reply Hades received, "The little one has a strength worthy of praise" he added with joy and pride; however, his brothers could also hear the seriousness in his voice.

Slowly but steadily, Poseidon began to increase the force he was using to free himself from the little god's grip, although this only brought Hephaestus to think it was a fun game and as a consequence he also increased his strength.

To say that Hera was surprised by this situation was an understatement, while she clearly remembered how Hephaestus managed to escape from her grip the night before, she really couldn't understand how he was holding her brother back in a matter of physical strength.

It must be said that Poseidon is one of the gods with the greatest physical capabilities in all Olympus. Hera was fully aware that Poseidon was in a completely different league to her, after all even Zeus would have a hard time against Poseidon if pure physical strength was involved.

So seeing that her brother could not free himself from Hephaestus' grip was something that shocked her to the core. Such a situation made her mind begin to think of the thousand and one implications of this revelation.

However, before she could deepen her thinking, a resounding crack echoed throughout the room. A flash of panic flashed through the blue eyes of the goddess as she quickly glanced at Hephaestus.

It was impossible for her to stop a sigh of relief from leaving her lips when she noticed that Hephaestus was unharmed, yet her embrace became even more protective than it already was before.

It took her a few seconds to calm down and as she didn't need to do the same with Hephaestus she brought her gaze towards her brother ready to teach him a lesson verbally, but what she saw made the words not come out of her mouth.

At the same time, Poseidon also watched in disbelief and amazement at the results of the little game of strength he had had moments before with his new nephew.

Poseidon had always been proud of his strength and it was because of that, that he never believed such a situation could happen. A newborn could match his strength and not only that, but he also managed to break his finger. Even if he wasn't using his full strength, it was an impressive feat.

"He's certainly an unusual god" Hades commented as calmly as he could, but still his voice held small traces of disbelief as he spoke.

…

Once Hades and Poseidon left to do..... Frankly speaking, Hera didn't know what her brothers did on a regular basis, but she hoped they were busy ruling their respective kingdoms.

Anyway the truth was that her meeting with her siblings had been somewhat exhausting, unfortunately Hera knew she couldn't take a break, at least not yet.

Because Hephaestus' presentation to the inhabitants of Olympus could not be delayed. Even so, when it began, Hera realized that it would be a long and tiring day.

The truth is that most of the inhabitants of Olympus were surprised due to the appearance of her son, which caused an atmosphere of awkwardness during the first seconds.

Later when they regained their composure the praises did not cease to come out of their mouths. Such praise was genuine enough for the goddess to be satisfied.

Of course there were also a couple of stupid beings who could not hide their displeasure at her son's appearance. The Queen of Olympus would not allow anyone to see her son in such a manner so they were all expelled from her temple immediately.

Insulting her son was the same as insulting her, looking down on him was the same as looking down on her. Hera would make sure to punish each and every one of the beings who disrespected her son, it is just that this day was one of rejoicing, so she would let them live a little longer.

It was in this way that the mother and son couple spent their entire day surrounded by praise and blessings, though of course some words were more sincere than others.

By now the night had completely fallen and with it Selene's chariot had started to illuminate the world with its beautiful light. Hera for her part, found herself humming a soft melody as she gazed at the little one she held in her arms.

She had been trying to put Hephaestus to sleep for a long time, but the little one stubbornly refused to close his eyes. Despite this, Hera was not impatient and continued with her task.

The Queen of Olympus knew that she needed to be highly patient when Hephaestus was involved. In that way and after a considerable period of time Hera achieved her goal and carefully placed her little son on the bed.

While she was performing such an action a sound similar to the one heard when burning wood reached her ears, "For a second I came to think that you would not show up" she mentioned in a low voice looking out of the corner of her eye at the person who had just appeared in the room.

This being a beautiful woman, while she didn't have the stunning beauty of Hera she wasn't much worse, the woman had a homely beauty, one that only grew the longer you saw her.

Her dress consisted of a long black dress that left very little skin exposed, besides having a veil of the same color that covered her hair, but in spite of that, small strands of red could be seen.

"While I am somewhat upset, since you didn't allow me to be with you during the birth there was no way I wasn't coming to meet the new addition to the family" the woman replied softly.

The woman approached the bed where Hephaestus was lying with slow and silent steps, in an attempt not to disturb his rest. When her eyes saw him they showed no surprise, much less displeasure instead they sparkled with affection and warmth.

"He's a beautiful boy" her tone of voice was replete with sincerity.

Hera could only think that this was the first time anyone had ever referred to Hephaestus in such a way. Those who had looked at Hephaestus before only kept quiet about his appearance, not mentioning any comments either positive or negative.

Hera was glad of that fact, because if anyone else had mentioned it she would have undoubtedly believed that the other party was only saying it in a mocking way, but she knew that her sister would not do something like that, if she mentioned that he was beautiful, then it was because for her he truly was.

"Do you know that you are the first person to call him like that?" Hera asked as she looked at her sister's peaceful figure.

"Unfortunately, whether a god, mortal or other type of being it is difficult for them to see beyond vanity, ego and superficial beauty" the woman's response was immediate.

"Hestia" Hera called out to her sister as she looked into her eyes, "Thank you for coming" she added sincerely. Hestia only showed a slight smile and moved a little closer to her sister, immediately hugging her warmly.

"Congratulations on becoming a mother again" Hestia's words were full of joy. Hera for her part enjoyed the warmth that her sister's embrace provided.

At this moment Hera was not the fearsome and respectable Queen of Olympus, no, at this moment she was just a little sister looking for encouragement from her older sister after a tiring day.

So after a long day of having to deal with the stares of the inhabitants of Olympus, both Hera and Hephaestus were finally able to rest comfortably.