Who is my Antagonist?

The next set of challenge questions from #findingthegraypreptober are about the antagonist.

October 8: Describe the antagonist. What do they care most about?

It's a fairly straightforward question... except I haven't identified my antagonist yet. So, I ask, "Who is my antagonist?" First, a quick overview of my protagonist.

Alina Lehrer

• psychic fairy
• cares about her family
• pressured to restore her family's heritage
• certified life coach
• business owner
• INFJ
• recently rejected by a love interest
• recently found proof of her family's claims to the crown
• recently suffered a trauma that resulted in PTSD
• wants to take action to restore her family's heritage

Who would oppose this character? Regaining the crown would certainly be a sensitive topic for those currently in power. Namely, the other sect of fairies. In A Wizard's Choice, the book preceding this one, I eliminated one major threat from that group of fairies and imprisoned another. Antagonist Option 1: threat from Book 2. Antagonist Option 2: introduce another fairy from the other sect. In Alina's story, I reveal the existence of a secret fairy court. Antagonist Option 3: someone from the fairy court. I also plan to have her meet someone on a plane trip who will be connected to her mystery. I haven't decided if this person will be friend or foe... or perhaps a friend but seen as a foe or vice versa. I like a multi-dimensional character. Antagonist Option 4: plane passenger. And, perhaps, the antagonist is someone she already knows. Antagonist Option 5: betrayed by a friend or family member.

After all that internal discussion transferred to blog post, I'm still uncertain about my antagonist. I like the idea of making them seem like a friend, but I'm not sure if Alina has already met this person or not.

For the purposes of this exercise, I'll start with Option 4. A handsome male passenger—tall, dark, and mysterious—is seated next to her on the plane to France. This is not a coincidence. He has been tailing her in Chicago for some time which will come out later in the story. He is perhaps connected to the fairy court (Option 3) and will seem like a friend at first. This character will be outgoing and engaging toward Alina. But he has the aptitude for deep duplicity and military-like strategy. He is extremely intelligent and cunning. His actions are taken to protect a family member, perhaps his sister, and conceal a wrongdoing that will be revealed if Alina's family is in power.