Serf’s fate attending governor (5)
I believe the answer is:
helot
'serf's' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'fate attending governor' is the wordplay.
'fate' becomes 'lot' (synonyms).
'attending' says to put letters next to each other (to attend can mean to follow).
'governor' becomes 'HE' (His or Her Excellency, address for a governor).
'lot' after 'he' is 'HELOT'.
(Other definitions for helot that I've seen before include "He's bound to land" , "One made to work" , "downtrodden?" , "Hotel (anag) - serf" , "Spartan serf" .)