So in one scene of a story I'm plotting, I have a less-than-noble king who suspects one of his provincial governors is scheming against him, so he sends a woman to spy on the governor. The spy sneaks into the governor's estate one night and overhears him plot to assassinate the king. What should she do then? My first impulse was to have her attack the governor immediately, but the problem with that approach is that such a move would draw attention to herself.
NoNoNo! If she kills him, then the king would and should have her head lopped off due stupidity and incompetence. Further, killing her would appease somewhat the angry family & allies of the governor. Killing her would also remove some of his culpability - maybe no one would know the king was involved and if they did, he can say "terribly sorry, but SHE screwed up." If she killed the gov and the king let her live, it's only good if everyone knew the gov was plotting and the gov also had few allies. Instead, she should tell the king. I mentioned incompetence. That's because, unless the plot is unfolding immediately, that gives the king options. He could: A) Send the spy (or another) back to secretly kill him, but the king has a little time to prep for the political fallout. B) Formally accuse him of treason and arrest/execute him. C) Make a deal with the gov. D) Have the plot foiled, but let the gov think it was an accident. Therefore the king can still keep an eye on him and find other plotters. But if the gov is dead, the king can't make that choice. And if a noble is killed, no one knows why, and the killer gets away - well, then the king seems ineffectual. -Frank
There's many ways to kill people. She could have a blowgun that shoots poison. She could crush his jugular vein, cutting the blood to his brain, which would result in death. He could be strangled with a scarf, which wouldn't leave marks. What I'm suggesting are ways to kill that don't leave marks and in a primitive society it would be presumed a natural death.
I agree with Frank~ But, I had a question. If the king is less than noble...why would the spy want to kill the Governor to save the less than noble King? If the Governor has good reason to want to kill the king...seems like the spy would probably have the same dislikes of the king. If anything, it would make more sense for the spy to remain quiet and/or lure the king to his death at the hands of the Governor.
I would think the spy is a bit of a sociopath to be involved in spying, thus there is no limit to her behavior. She cold have a change of heart later or just be a viper.
I have a few thoughts on this. If she does kill him right then and the king decides to have her executed you then open a new branch of your story with a new conflict to resolve by either having her escape, having her pardoned, having her released under some sort of new identity, or having her die. If she does not kill him she has a few motives and a few options. She can report back to the king and he can send an assassin, but that takes that character out of the story at that point unless you find another reason for her to stay involved. She can decide not to kill him right then and plan it or hire someone local to do it. The most intriguing option would be to have her overhear the plot but also overhear the reasoning and be swayed to the governor's side of the coup.
