You sit in your chambers, ridding General Ryhrtwold of his concerns. You thought you had already won him over, but this afternoon proves otherwise. You are hesitant to allow him on the field, especially with the occasion looming so near. Had he been anyone else, anyone who didn't have command of a sizable portion of the army, you would have never considered letting him in on your plot with such questionable loyalties.
"What about when King Osberht finds out about our betrayal and sends his men to stop us? His force is twenty times larger than ours. You may have loyalty and conviction on your side, but those alone will not win the fight."
You shift in your leather seat, impatient. "We have already gone over this, General. I'll keep him distracted while you get your soldiers from their barracks into the castle and outside the room. Kill the guards quietly, and no one will be alerted. Osberht does not ever keep more than four guards with him, so I'll kill them, then offer him an ultimatum: either surrender and go into exile in a remote corner of the kingdom under armed guard, or face death by my hand. He is an old, weak man, his reign long past ended. Without his guards, he is helpless against attack."
"But there are regular passerby in the hallways..."
"Are you suggesting to me that your famed elite force cannot defend against a few nobles?" Your voice is skeptical, but it is only a cover for your probing.
Ryhrtwold looks offended. "Of course we can, but they... they are innocent of the king's crimes. They had no choice in the matter of defense against the Vikings. It is treason to go against the monarch's wishes, and punishable by death."
"So you are saying that what we are about to do is wrong? The action we have been planning for days? How come you have never raised a word in protest?" Your tone grows sharp. If he does not truly believe in our cause...
His face pales slightly. "No, of course not, my king-to-be. I support you fully." He's no more than a craven hiding under all those layers of mail and boiled leather, you think with disgust.