Stirred on by a new confidence, and a secret passion for Aphrodite, Hephaestus decided the time had finally come when he should make his move. He gathered the best of his weapons to showcase, as well as another necklace he made for Aphrodite, and returned to Olympus for what was to be his glorious triumph.

In actuality, the meeting was more of a disaster. Hephaestus entered the palace confident enough, ignoring the stares and whispers that followed him as he approached Zeus at his throne. At the time Zeus was flirting with some young nymph, who seemed rather uncomfortable with the attention, and didn't even seem to notice that he had a guest. Finally Hephaestus cleared his throat awkwardly and proceeded to state the speech he had prepared during the journey.

"Zeus," he said a little too loudly, "I have returned."

Zeus finally directed his attention at Hephaestus. "Ah, He—Har--"

"Hephaestus."

"Ah, yes!" he exclaimed. "Hepatetus!" Hephaestus winced. "So glad you could join us. Where have you been all this time?"

Hephaestus was slightly taken aback. "I…but… you threw me out!"

Zeus shook his head sadly. "No, that was your mother. But I see you brought something! What have you there?"

"Oh, well…" Hephaestus showed the weapons he had made awkwardly. His planned speech lay in tatters.

Zeus inspected the weapons carefully, feeling for balance and testing the blades, all the while making small thoughtful noises. Hephaestus waited anxiously.

"Well," Zeus boomed, "I must say, these are fabulous! I've never seen anything like this! How did you make them?"

"Well, I discovered this new technique in my forge…" Hephaestus began, ready to go into a full and detailed explanation of how his weaponry was created. Zeus, however, clearly wasn't listening.

"A forge? I don't recall having a forge anywhere on Olympus!"

"It's one of my own making," Hephaestus tried in vain to return to his planned speech.

"Well, we shall simply have to build you a better one, won't we? A bit closer, I should think."

"You mean on Olympus?" Hephaestus couldn't believe how easy it was to return to Olympus. If only he had tried this years ago!

"Hmm, I see your point," Zeus said thoughtfully. "Alright, the forge will be built adjacent to the palace. No more arguments now! I expect you to be there, working, in no less than two weeks time. You are dismissed."

Hephaestus stood awkwardly for a moment, not sure what he should do. He bowed slightly to the King of the Gods, who had already redevoted his attention to the young nymph, and turned to walk away. Then Hephaestus stopped himself. He did not come all this way to be dismissed. And since it seemed that getting what he wanted was not nearly as difficult as he anticipated, he decided to push his luck.

"Zeus." He refused to call him "Your Majesty," or worse, "Father." "Zeus, there is something else I –er—desire."

Zeus glanced up at him, clearly annoyed to be disturbed again.

"Well, I was wondering, if, perhaps, I could--" Hephaestus shuffled his feet nervously. "You see, I desire Aphrodite as…my wife," he said finally.

Zeus continued to stare at him blankly. The other gods and goddesses stopped all conversation, no longer pretending that they weren't listening to the newcomer's demands. Then, the worst thing possible happened. Zeus began to laugh.

It started with a slight chuckle, and then grew, until he was practically bent over, afflicted with guffaws. It spread to the rest of the court, until the entire palace was flooded with laughter. Hephaestus, his face burning with shame, turned sharply and walked away. Just as he reached the main door, Zeus managed to catch his breath.

"Wait, wait, Hephatus," he choked, wiping a tear from his eye.

Hephaestus turned to the king expectantly.

"You wanted to marry – Aphrodite?" Zeus squealed, sending new waves of laughter throughout the court. Hephaestus turned away rigidly. The gods and goddesses, his future peers, were all rolling with laughter in a most unroyal fashion at him. As he left stormily, his eyes caught a young goddess staring at him from behind a pillar, a pair of eyes in the shadows. She was not laughing, and her blue eyes, never leaving his face, pooled with tears of sympathy. Hephaestus growled, and left even faster. If there was one thing he did not want, it was pity.