The young Ksa dutifully opened the door and let Kayelar through. Elkay’s office was remarkably small, despite the importance of the position he was running for. In fact, Kayelar’s own office was larger, and he was aiming for Elkay’s old job.
“Good evening, Kayelar. How are you? Would you like anything to drink or eat?” As always, Elkay was waiting with open arms. How anyone could dislike him, Kayelar couldn’t understand.
“No thanks, General, I don’t really have much time. I am extremely stressed out, actually.”
Elkay got up from his seat and pulled a chair out for Kayelar. He waited for Kayelar to sit down before doing so himself.
“I can only imagine how hectic it must be for you.”
“It’s all a shambles!” Kayelar exclaimed. “All falling apart! You have no idea how much I want to just dump all this and go back to my old job. You have no idea…”
Elkay smiled slightly, a fang sticking out from his top lip. “So representing the entirety of the Rethan race on the interspecial stage is less stressful?”
“Amazingly, yes. How have you not killed that fucker yet?” Kayelar’s stress levels were dangerously high. His words were unintentionally coming out as hisses and growls. But the former Vice General remained calm, gently rocking his chair backwards and forwards. Behind him, the skyline of Thre-Vretania was fading into darkness, the sun having recently set.
“Why are you here, Kayelar?”
“Oh, I am so fucking glad you asked… I’m sorry, that came out a lot harsher than I intended.”
“It is fine,” Elkay continued to smile. “Take your time. I will listen.”
Kayelar paused. There was something about the tone of Elkay’s voice that bothered him. It was so… soothing. Relaxed. Or maybe Kayelar was just so worried that everyone else seemed ultra calm.
“Uh… Um… I wanted to discuss… Post-election jobs…”
Elkay’s smile turned into a toothy grin. “I’ve already decided. If I win, I want you either going back to your old job, or staying here as an advisor to Rethais and myself.”
Kayelar’s jaw fell open.
“What?”
“You will most likely keep your job.”
“Really?”
“Yes.”
Kayelar blinked in disbelief. “Really?”
“Yes!” Elkay chuckled. “You have always done a good job and are dedicated to their work. I like people who do good jobs and are dedicated. Means you will do what is needed without me pestering you.”
“I guess… What do you mean by advisor?”
“Oh that?” Elkay was still smiling. “After our debates, I realised that perhaps the High General, the Vice General and the Circle of Generals don’t know everything. We have the General of Medicinal Affairs, but perhaps we could have generals for other positions as well. So, we will start off with advisors, then depending on their potential, we will move on to full-blown Circle positions. Assuming we win, of course…”
“You really think you could lose?” Kayelar was shocked. After the last few days, bets were saying that Elkay and Rethais were almost guaranteed to win the election.
“You never know…” Elkay sighed. “Us Rethavok are intelligent, but we are also capable of vast amounts of stupidity as well.”
“Huh…” Kayelar tutted. “You are not as full of optimism as you seem.”
“I am just cautious.”
Kayelar smiled, then stood up. “Well, that makes me feel a lot better. Thank you, General Elkay.”
“Thank you too. Good luck out there!”
Kayelar sighed under his breath as he left. “Yeah, thanks…”