It was a very busy day for the Queen of the Heavens. Mostly because that was certainly not the only title in her list of responsibilities. She was also a goddess of the air, clear skies, rain, storms and constellations, though that was not usually at the top of her docket. It wasn't today either. Today, she was more concerned with things like maidens of marriageable age, betrothals, bride-prices, weddings, marriages, heirs, inheritance, royal dynasties, politics, empires, kings and kingdoms. Those were all her purview as well, and today... today the were all tied up in one neat little package for her to oversee. Arranged marriages between kingdoms did make things much simpler for her.
Though to listen to the mortals, it was all so much more complicated. But then they lived such stunted lives, short by the standards of a god. It gave them such little time to accomplish something great, and they all strove for that. Even the simplest amongst them wanted to be remembered, even if only by their own decedents. Royalty, rightfully, expected to be remembered for more, so they tried that much harder. At least, the best of them did. Hera had little patience for lazy kings.
However, today, she had two that were far from lazy. They were ambitious in the best sort of way. True, they were grasping for their own personal glory, but they both saw their path to that destination as doing something wonderful for their kingdoms. And by definition, then, for their people. War was sometimes necessary, Hera of all people understood that, but it could take a heavy toll on the lower classes. So giving them times of peace and prosperity were only the just rewards for their loyalty and hard work. And incentive to continue to be such in the future. A wedding and a truce did all of that and more. A good ruler knew that, and Hera had two very good kings to work with in this situation.
Their wives though...
Hera really did not like to speak ill of women. For the most part, she thought they were better than men. They were usually more clever and more patient, out of necessity because all the power resided with the males and thus females had to learn how to use them as tools, how to outsmart those in their lives that refused to recognize that they were not only equals but, many times, superior. The Queen usually preferred to work with women, because they would grasp the big picture but not lose sight of the details. With men, Hera often found, they would focus on one or the other, but rarely both at the same time. In this instance though, the upcoming wedding had brought out the worst in the queens. They were so busy trying to outdo one another in grandeur and display, to prove their country was better, if it were not for their prudent husbands they would have bankrupted their respective countries. They reinforced the worst stereotypes of women that Hera worked so hard to get rid of.
She would deal with them later.
There was too much for her to accomplish this day for her to hand out punishment just yet. There were the proud papas, the strutting and posturing mothers, the nervous bridegroom and... oh dear. A panicking bride. Concentrating on the dynastic repercussions that would come from the marriage, she had not heard the bride's prayer until just now. Of course, that could partially be because it was not at all directed at her. Hera frowned at that. Then frowned even more when she realized just who the girl was praying too. Really, it wasn't that bad. There was no need to be that melodramatic.