Mother
The groom said to keep the wedding small, though the entire courtyard was filled, you'd felt like a sardine in a can. That's what you get for being a celebrity, though weddings were supposed to bring together family and friends on the most important day of your life, and Hercules was well known in Thebes.
The smile on Hera's face could not come off, happy tears rolling down her face when the couple took their vows. Her godly husband, Zeus, a proud man cried a stream of joyful tears when the couple was at the alter. Their son choosed well, picking Megara for a wife. After what happened with the Titans, she knew they both could take anything that came at them, their love could withstand anything. Aphrodite must have blessed their bond before they met.
It was a lovely wedding banquet, everyone laughing, telling jokes, enjoying the feast. Right beside her were Hercules' mortal parents, Amphitryon and Alcmene.
"It's a pleasure to meet you...!" she smiled, shaking the goddess's hand. "The ceremony was beautiful, was it?"
Hera smiled. "Yes... Yes, it was. I know they both will be very happy together for many years to come."
"Meg is such a wonderful girl..." said Alcmene, smile still on her face. "I know they'll have many wonderful years ahead of them."
"Hercules changed his mind about coming to Olympus to have a mortal life with her," began the goddess. "If he's willing to put away godhood for her, as a mother, I respect that."
They sacrificed so much for each other. If Hercules denied immortality for Megara, she really must be worth it. From what they both told her, it was more than qualified that their love will last until the end of their days. He was willing to sacrifice his life for her.
Hera then froze, her words echoing in her mind.
'As a mother...'
She glanced towards Alcmene, the look of dread in the mortal woman's eyes to the mild ignorance in her voice.
"I apologize," breathed Hera. "You're just as much as his mother, too, and if you haven't found him..."
"It's alright...!" said Alcmene. "You gave birth to him, and you have just as much right."
Hera's chest began to feel heavy. Twenty years without Hercules came and went. She was a goddess, and gods were immortal, but those twenty years were something she could never get back. She never saw Hercules first steps, heard his first word, taught him the ways of the gods...She never got to see her son grow up.
If Hades didn't took him from her and Zeus, Hercules would be a god.
If Amphitryon and Alcmene didn't find him... Hercules would have never survived and came back to her.
"Thank you..." began Hera. "For taking care of Hercules after all these years. If you didn't find him... we wouldn't be here today."
"And thank you, as well...!" nervously smiled Alcmene. "Me and Amphitryon had been praying for children for years, and when we found Hercules on the road... I thought our prayers were answered."
A tear rolled down her cheek.
"We finally had a baby of our own, and Hercules..." she began. "He was something special, alright. When he was a tiny thing, he'd lift up the entire house with just an arm...! He was different, though I knew he was going to be something special one day. I never knew I was raising the son of Zeus...!"
A smile came across Hera's face. Perhaps loosing Hercules wasn't so bad at all. Perhaps it gave someone some happiness.
"You raised him well, Alcmene... I'm glad it was you and your husband who found him. I couldn't have picked anyone better."
Alcmene smiled, drying off a tear. "Thank you... thank you for giving us a wonderful blessing."
Hercules was her son, as well as Alcmene's son. He was their son. Perhaps having two sets of parents wasn't so bad at all.
