How I Became Emperor Ch. 09: Election

Monday

On the morning of the election I woke up groggy. Cindy had slipped out of bed already and had vanished from the room without waking me up. I stretched and relaxed under the covers, refusing to be tantalized from bed. I reminisced over the past two weeks of chaos and tumult with a much fonder eye than when I'd actually been living them.

We had formed a bond within my little team, between my old friends whom I'd first engaged with two years earlier at the commencement of my university career, and the new ones I had only met two weeks ago. A closeness permeated us, a trust of each for the other that I had otherwise only known in familial circles. I was grateful for this - and continue to be so to this day.

Other people saw the closeness, and it both helped and hindered us in our further lives. People would join and leave the team, in most cases envious for that sense of security we had within the core group for each other. We may have also been cold - or at least clinical - towards these others that would try and join the group simply because the familiarity we had forged with each other was missing with the others. Only a few others would ever breach that circle.

But going forward I always had my core group with me, and still do now I am bedridden and likely will not rise again. Abby still totters to my bedchamber daily to give me the business of the day, and Matt has himself wheeled to a small desk I keep in the room to help me write this book. Erica still mourns Keisha, but through a video-link approves of my wrinkled visage, even while she refuses to leave Paris and Keisha's final resting place. Alex and Irina both rest side by side in a Mausoleum at a place I dare not reveal for fear of an eternal haunting in whatever afterlife I end up in.

And Cindy is still by my side. She doesn't recognize me most days, Alzheimers the only thing that could bring any serious distance between us. Despite her inability to remember our history or my name, we are still comfortable with each other at all times, and while she wanders around the room discovering it anew daily, she will still smile at me fondly while I conduct the business of state. We love each other as much now as we did in these first days I recount.

But I digress from the salient points. On the Monday morning of my very first election, I woke up groggy, and took stock of my team, and the events that had led me to that day. And I smiled more content that I would have thought possible to that point.

Eventually though, I did have to get out of bed - I had tasks to complete. I showered, dressed and did my makeup before I discovered that the house was empty of any other living being. That surprised me, given the activity that had been going on there the past weeks, the evidence of which (sleeping bags, re-arranged furniture and a couple of scattered loose posters) was still very present.

I called Abby, confused, but she didn't pick up. I called Cindy next, but she hung up on me. A moment later she sent me a text message. Sorry hun. In class.

I considered calling the rest of my team, but figured that they'd not really be able to give me any real pointers on what I was to do. So I figured I'd head up to the university, cast my own vote, and then see if I could grab a coffee before my own lecture.

It was a good plan. I turned up on the campus, and headed over to the polling station on one side of the main quadrangle. There wasn't a long line of people, but enough so that there was a good 5 minute wait. I joined the end of the queue, but quickly noticed that people were getting nervous and whispering around me. I guess they were expecting me to be shaking hands and cajoling votes - or perhaps they thought that I was there to coerce votes. I simply smiled at anyone I could catch looking at me, and shuffled forwards with the line.

I reached the front, where the outgoing president with his staff was overseeing the freedom of the electoral process. Given that his term was up, he was considered a neutral party. I knew little about him except that he'd been studying biology and I think had won his seat almost completely unopposed. Still, he'd kept himself out of the bitter rivalry between myself and Roger, and that was to his credit.

He did recognize me though, and gave me a surreptitious wink as I vanished behind a curtain with my voting ballot. Once there I actually hesitated. It's something I still haven't gotten over to this day - but something feels wrong about voting for myself in an election. It's too arrogant and too forward. No-one should be able to declare themselves the best person for an elected position. At the same time there is a sense of having a part of the power to enforce an outcome. Either one can vote for someone whom they believe to be the best candidate - or one should respect the opinion of the voters who have placed their trust in you. A vote for oneself and to lose is to declare oneself unfit for the position in the first instance, but even worse, to vote for myself and to win would be to declare myself (even if only in private) to have a hubris of the highest order equally as disqualifying for the position I'd be elected to.

On the other hand I couldn't bring myself to vote for Roger. He was a quasi-fascist nut-job, and would have made a complete hash of it. The ballot paper didn't have any other options, however, not even a blank line for a write-in candidate - and so I took the last option available to me. I folded the paper untouched by my pen, and returned outside to drop it in the collection box. As I left I saw Roger and his posse approach the line, loudly discussing their 'obvious and only choice'.

When they saw me, a couple of them sneered at me. I had to walk past them at the end of the line to head towards a coffee. I had almost passed them, when on impulse I turned to face Roger, and stretched out my hand. He looked at me confused, not sure what to do.

"Good luck, Roger." I said, not overly loud, but then again I didn't have to be loud since everyone in the nearby vicinity was watching us, and the nearest people would further report my words when asked.

Recognizing himself painted into a corner, Roger put on a tooth-grinding smile and accepted my hand. "You too." He grunted.

I smiled at Roger while he gripped my extended hand, and we parted ways - my hand smarting a little bit from the handshake.

I headed to get a coffee, but changed my mind along the way when Jenny noticed me and roped me into a discussion she and Helen were having. Both girls were from my class with Professor Lex, some of the more vocal students (if still silent in comparison to me). Helen even joined in our irregular Halo parties from time to time.

They were sat on a bench in an adjunct to the quad, more quiet and overshadowed by buildings on all sides. More private, but still heavily traversed, and on the route I was taking in search of the coffee.

Jenny grabbed my wrist as I was walking past. "Back me up on this, Helen is being stubborn."

"Am not," Helen retorted. "You're refusing to acknowledge the influence of feudal court society on the modern desire for limited government!"

"Puh-lease!," Jenny retorted. "feudal courts were grandiose and expansive by definition! Have you never been to Versailles?"

"Ladies," I tried to interject. "surely it depends on the time and the country you're speaking of?"

They ignored the comment for the moment. "Versailles, yes. Exactly my point." Helen continued, "The French sun-king and his descendents get increasingly lavish and expansive and away from the original centralized control of the Carolingian and Dauphine kings. The people revolt and replace them with a system that is - quintessentially - a return to centralized cohesive government under Robespierre and then Napoleon."

"Who then gets finally defeated by na expansive bureaucracy of which Wellington was only part."

"Aided by a consolidated Russian and Austria-Hungarian front of centralized government!"

The girls continued their argument, and as intrigued as I was by the outcome, I was obviously superfluous. I tried to sneak away, but this time Helen stopped me.

"Tell us, who will you model your administration after?"

"I... I haven't even been elected yet!" I stammered.

"We all know it's going to be you, so who will it be? Napoleon or Wellington?" Jenny demanded.

"Uh... neither?" I offered. "I'd rather not be a military leader. And I think both of you are barking up the wrong tree. All nations go through cycles of consolidation and expansion, from ancient imperial China to modern day. The reason why is that a government too small cannot fulfil all its purposes, and a government too large cannot get past it's own bureaucracy. The logical conclusion is to aim for a sweet-spot, but I think that's wrong too. What is needed is a combination of both an expansive government and a consolidated one."

I was beginning to get a rant going, I could feel it, but it didn't seem to bother either of my two-woman audience, both of whom leaned forwards attentively, allowing me surreptitious views of their cleavage.

"Many modern governments try to do this through a limited elected legislative and executive body, while supporting it with a massive bureaucracy in the back. The Civil Service vs the Parliament in the UK is one such example, or the Federal institutions vs the Congress and Presidency in the US. The problem with these systems is that the two sides don't necessarily listen to each other, in part because they don't understand one another. The elected body is concerned with achieving re-election and the politics of appearance, while the bureaucracy is concerned with statistics and the greater good without paying attention to the will of the people. It often brings the two sides to loggerheads.

"But a system does need to be put in place where a limited effective government can run a massive bureaucracy. Technology is our biggest friend here. The ability to perform so many functions that used to require manual labor with an automated process can do wonders for the advancement of our political institutions. The system will still need a large staff to maintain, but if built correctly, the system would no longer end up in gridlock simply because of its size.

"That is the kind of government I want to run." I sighed heavily here. "But, the system of government in our university is already put in place, and student government forms only one unit in it. We might like to think of ourselves as grand, but effectively the title 'president' is a misnomer. The people still running this institution are the Dean and Chancellor."

Both ladies pondered my rant a while, and we did discuss some finer points. Abby wandered past as we did. I think she had wanted me to do something, but thought better of it seeing how engaged in the discussion I was - as well as the small crowd that was gathering, most of whom were themselves on their way to the polling station.

Eventually we headed off to our lecture. To my surprise Helen and Jenny sat flanking me on either side. Usually I would sit at the outskirts of the gaggle of women, but as I headed for my usual seat, the girls just followed me and sat without comment.

It was a good lecture. Lots of discussion, and in particular additional challenges to Professor Lex from Helen and Jenny. The Professor seemed appreciative of the additional commentary as well.

When the lecture was done we all filed out of the hall. The Professor looked me sternly in the eye and said "First Saturday after finals."

"What was that about?" Helen asked outside. I gave a brief explanation, carefully omitting that the deal had garnered me faculty support, instead making it look like the Professor had simply accepted my proposal since I didn't want to miss out.

We parted ways upon exiting the building, and I was gratified to receive a warm hug from each of the ladies, before they headed off to vote, for me they promised.

I was free for the rest of the day, but got snapped up by Matt who located me as I was once again hoping to head for coffee. He had me drill the two speeches (the acceptance one more than the losing one) in a rarely used and very small meeting room.

And then came the decision moment. The polls closed at 7 in the evening, and the student pub became a crowded place where the results would be announced by the outgoing president. The results were expected at around 10 pm, after having been counted thrice by different members of his staff.

Me and Roger had staked out prime positions on either side of the small rise in the floor where the results would be announced. My team had arrived earlier - and for a moment Abby had wanted to spread out as much as possible in order to deny Roger any kind of prime position - but I held her back. There was no need to be ungracious in our victory, I told her. Let us show ourselves magnanimous.

Nervousness was still pervasive amongst my staff. Matt was pacing rather than sitting. Erica and Keisha were talking animatedly about fashion - outwardly very calm, but those of us who knew them could see the signs of nervousness. Alex and Irina sat side-by-side but hardly talking, just watching the rest of us. Abby was on the phone with Rose - who had dutifully voted for me under Abby's watchful eye - but had little interest in politics and was having a quieter evening with some other friends. It had taken some convincing on Abby's part to assure her it was ok that Rose wasn't here for this big moment in Abby's life - and in some ways her absence was a source of nervousness for Abby. On the other hand it would have been an unnecessary distraction, forcing Abby to split her focus between me, and her girlfriend.

I held court, Cindy by my side. Well-wishers, friends and various strangers - even the bar-staff - would occasionally come by to intimate that they had voted for me, and hoped that I would win.

Helen and Jenny both turned up and took seats nearby with what I presumed to be their boyfriends, then proceeded to completely ignore the men and continue their argument from earlier in the day. I also espied Prof. Lex who disguised her presence by having some of her colleagues join her.

The torture went on for hours, and even 10pm came and went. Abby began checking her phone for the time with annoying regularity. Across the dais Roger sat with his posse, looking slightly glum, and trying to disguise it with fake boisterous conversation.

Finally at around 10:30, the old President came out of a side-entry, a small slip of paper in his hand. He jumped up on the platform, and beckoned both me and Roger to step up beside him. Again, trying to show grace, I leaned across with an extended hand and a smile to Roger. He shook it briefly, and smiled for the school paper photographers.

"We've had an election like none this campus has seen, with two great candidates!" The outgoing President declared exuberantly. "I'm sorry for the delay, but due to the high interest in this election we've also had the largest turnout in our University's recorded history for such an election. I want to thank my staff for working so hard today."

Thankfully the audience was not held in suspense too long. Abby would have fainted had it taken much longer for the result to be announced. My name was announced, to cheers and applause. Even Roger put his hands together - if only grudgingly.

The feeling of released tension I got at that moment was euphoric. As a sense of accomplishment. There are few things to rival it. I believe that this first taste was a big factor in allowing myself to be persuaded again in the future, but in that particular moment I could do little more than wallow in the pleasure. The president allowed me to take the microphone, and I recited the two heartfelt paragraphs of thanks Matt had drilled into me. Roger hopped off the stage with myself and the president, but retreated quickly along with his posse, leaving the bar to myself and the crowd.

I must have shaken as many hands in that one night as I had done in my whole life until that point. I also had many a free beer, and hearty claps on the back. It was a grand evening.

Cindy managed to extract me with a 'come hither' look as the night neared midnight. She and Abby each grabbed an arm, and marched me out of the bar to raucous cheers, and into a taxi.

The ride was... interesting. Both women were sharing my head, pushing it back and forth between them to kiss. Cindy got first go, of course, while Abby directed the driver, but she wasn't selfish and shared happily. The driver was lucky (or unlucky depending on your perspective) that the journey was so short, but he certainly was aware that I was about to get laid by both of the foxy ladies. By the time we arrived, my shirt had been untucked from my pants, opened halfway down, my fly was open, and my belt undone. My penis had not yet felt fresh air, but was close to it, and I believe there was lipstick and hickeys on my neck and breast.

I had fought back in kind of course, and both women had to fidget a bit to rearrange various items of clothing.

The cabbie was duly paid, after a lingering look at the three of us, and we retired to my room. I didn't reach it clothed, and Cindy had her panties in hand to fling at my head. Abby, who had raced ahead of us already lay sprawled on the bed in naked glory, her pubis and breasts displayed with abandon.

Cindy pressed herself to my side as I admired the view, and whispered in my ear: "Now. You will fuck those tits."

She didn't wait for my response, but instead skipped over to Abby and lay beside her. Cindy's hands went straight for Abby's breasts, getting, squeezing and teasing them. "What are you waiting for?" Abby asked, lasciviously. "Fuck my tits Mr president, cum all over them. Show me." What was I to do? To obey was my only option.

I straddled Abby's chest, and Cindy licked my shaft a couple of times for lubrication. She also massaged some of her spittle into Abby's breasts. And then I was wrapped in Abby's flesh, the breasts held together by Cindy such that my whole shaft was enfolded and hidden from sight.

I began to pump slowly, leaning forwards to kiss Cindy deeply. As we broke the kiss she looked me deep in the eye and whispered: "Is it like we imagined?"

"Better. Softer. Warmer." I whispered back.

Abby giggled underneath us. We both looked down curiously. "It feels.... Weird. Good weird." Abby corrected herself.

Cindy scooched forwards until her labia hovered just above Abby's lips, her chest pressed against mine, and her arms wrapping around me. "I love-ah!" Cindy began to whisper before Abby raised her head just enough to lick at Cindy's pussy. Sheepishly Cindy bit her lip and grinned. "I love you." She whispered to me.

I kissed her passionately, my hips still rocking and making the kiss more exciting, before I answered in kind. "You are my love, Cindy."

Abby grunted up from below, but Cindy ground her hips down stopping any comment from her.

The alcohol I'd had earlier, normally an inhibitor to my sexual release, in this case must have hastened it because in short order I was spraying between Abby's magnificent tits. As we all three separated to admire the damage, we could see that the force of the bursts had nearly covered the top of Abby's cleavage.

'Twas a wonderful sight, and one Cindy decided to take advantage of in short order. She leaned in to pick up a dollop of the semi-see-through cream and taste it, then with the second helping fed it to Abby.

I, still flush with both of my conquests of the day, decided that I now wanted to ravage the lady to whom I owed both the night's and the day's entertainment. Cindy shrieked prettily as I grabbed her, and proceeded to place as many wet kisses on her various erogenous zones as I could reach.