The cheers faded into nothing as Photeianos slammed the doors shut behind him. While the many Rethans out there were sated, worry was gnawing at his heals.
“That went well!” Kayel-En smiled as he rushed to Photeianos’s side, a large glass of mead and a stick of grilled meat at hand.
“It always goes well in these areas… Thank you…” Photeianos took the food and drink, had a small sip of mead, then sat down on the first chair he could find. He had been standing for several hours, making those crowds all excited. While they all supported him, Photeianos doubted that they would all vote for him.
Kayel-En shrugged, then disappeared off somewhere. He was currently being punished for several… mistakes, and was busy making sure everyone was fed. The Ksa hated cooking, so it was a fitting punishment. In his place, Ayvee-En now stood, holding several sheets of paper.
“The results, ser.”
“The results from what?” Photeianos placed his glass of mead on the nearest table and snatched the sheets of paper. They were the results from the latest opinion polls. Published only a few hours ago. His eyes scanned the topper most sheet, looking for the information he wanted. As he did so, Ayvee-En slowly backed away.
“KAYELAR!”
A head peered around a corner. Kayelar’s assistant, a blue and black Ksa called Elzit-en, held in a sigh of discontent. “Ser, he is in a call.”
Photeianos tutted and pushed past the Ksa, heading up a staircase and down a corridor to where Kayelar’s temporary office was. But rather than burst in, he knocked politely and waited for Kayelar to answer.
“Ser, I said he is in a call!” Elzit-En hissed behind the High General. “Should I let you know when he’s…”
“No need. I shall wait. This is important.”
Elzit-En tutted and walked away, dragging Ayvee-En with him. Photeianos ignored them both and politely knocked on the door again. This time, it opened.
“Photeianos, how did it go?” Kayelar seemed relieved.
“It went well, as always. My Ksa brought me the latest polling numbers. We need to talk.”
Kayelar glanced at the sheets of paper. “I assume they’re bad.”
“They are pulling ahead!” Photeianos growled. “It is only by a tiny amount but…”
Kayelar grabbed the paper and turned around, walking back to his desk as he read them. Photeianos followed, closing the door behind him.
“Hm… This isn’t as bad as it looks…” Kayelar finally muttered. “The results are well within the margin of error. Yes, Elkay and Rethais have managed to close the gap, and even if this shows that they are ahead, the margin of error is 5%. With only a 1% lead, this really just goes to show that we’re neck and neck.”
“The longer this race goes on though, the more likely they will pull ahead…” Photeianos worried. “We are steady. They are slowly getting better. None of our tactics have worked thus far.”
Kayelar shrugged. “I don’t know what else we can do. We can’t spend any more on advertising or we will go over budget. We are running out of options… Unless that election happens as soon as possible, I… I don’t know…”
Photeianos’s eyes lit up. “I could do that.”
“Do what?”
“Move the election date forward.”
“You can?” Kayelar blinked. “You have the power to do that?”
“Yes. I can’t move the election back, even if you, I, Elkay and Rethais were all murdered today, an election would not be pushed back or cancelled, but I have the power to push elections forward.”
Kayelar still looked confused. “Wouldn’t that look bad?”
“Not if I discuss it with Elkay first. The only caveat is that both I, Elkay and Emthion all agree to the change. There does not need to be a legitimate reason, just a desire to move the date forward.”
“Emthion has to agree as well?”
“He is the Vice General, he has to agree with these things as he will essentially be organizing the elections. But he should not have an issue with this. Our only roadblock is convincing Elkay.”
Kayelar shrugged. “I guess, if you can convince him, then maybe we can turn this all around. He may be small, but he certainly has enough ego to think he could beat you in a smaller time frame.”
Photeianos smiled. “Very well. You call General Rethais, suggest that he make the suggestion to the little guy. I will call Elkay myself and see if I can get him to agree to an early election…”