I decided to do a piece dedicated to some of the servants at Villa DeRatry. The five listed here are all characters I have long-term plans for. There are other servant characters I intend to introduce, but so far they're all short-term. Anyway, back to the "important" servants from left to right:

Paul Ratmore

I can't go into him too much, because he's actually not supposed to appear until season/book 2, when he's hired as one of the new landscapers for Villa DeRatry. Although he certainly is quite capable at his job, he was mostly hired because his good looks won him the favor of many of the females residing at the mansion. XD

Opal Ratmore

The mother of Paul, she is the Head Chef at Villa DeRatry. Design-wise, she is based off of the original card version of Mrs. White from "Clue/Cluedo", with a touch of Mrs. Patmore from "Downton Abbey." Character-wise, again she is based off Mrs. Patmore (I think you can see where I got Opal's last name from ;)), but she is also based a little bit off of Mrs. Weasley from the Harry Potter series, as well as Minnie from "The Help".

Opal is the proud mother of nine children (Paul is the youngest), having married at 18 and started having children at 19. Cooking has always been a passion for her, and it made her one of the best cooks Ratropolis has ever seen. I still haven't decided just how Clint discovered her, but suffice it to say, somehow her food ended up on his plate and into his mouth, and from that moment on, Clint wanted Opal to come and work in his kitchen full-time. He even offered to have her entire family moved to the village within walking distance of the mansion to make it more convenient for Opal to get to and from work and have more time to be with her family; he would even pay for the new house, no charge to them.

Naturally, Opal couldn't refuse such an offer. Unfortunately, Opal's husband, who had been working in a job he hated and struggling to support an ever-growing family, was resentful, humiliated and somewhat jealous of the arrangements. This added to the already tense marriage. Things came to a head years later when two very significant things happened at the same time: Opal's husband finally found himself a job he liked that paid very well, and he wanted her to quite her job at the mansion; and Clint, after Opal had served a particularly delicious feast that impressed an important client of his, offered to pay for all of her children's college tuitions.

Torn between loyalty towards her husband and wanting all of her children to end up with a good education, Opal decided to continue working for Clint. This decision led to her husband walking out on her. However, its still possible that the Ratmores had themselves a reconciliation. I just haven't decided yet.

Steffan Torkel

As majordomo, Steffan holds the highest rank of all the servants at Villa DeRatry. He oversees everything that goes on in the household, keeps everything in order, and its up to him who gets hired, who stays on and who gets the boot.

While Steffan's efforts do present the Villa as a perfect fairy tale jewel, those efforts include ruling his subordinates with a firm paw and a critical eye. He has high demands that the family he works for live in the utmost comfort and luxury, that none of the servants slack off while they're on duty, and that they all conduct themselves in the most professional manner. Steffan has a low tolerance for rule-breakers, and will not hesitate to fire anybody who doesn't do their job well.

Fortunately, the majordomo is not without empathy. He will accomodate any needs or disfunctions his subordinates have - provided that they've proven themselves worthy of any favors. And what's more, once you're off duty, he could care less what you do with your time, provided it doesn't interfer with coming in to work the next day.

I still haven't quite worked out Steffan's backstory. All I have so far is that he met Clint while they were both in their 20s, and that Clint saved Steffan's life, which earned him the latter's endless loyalty. Over the years, Steffan has become one of Clint's closest confidants, especially given how they've both been unlucky-in-love: they each have had a wife who's gone. Unlike Clint, who searched for another, Steffan refused to allow himself to fall in love ever again, throwing himself entirely into overseeing the mansion. That, and looking after his only child, who we will get to in a bit.

Patrica

The only character in my story so far whose surname I haven't figured out yet. I was thinking about "Pross" as a reference to Miss Pross from "A Tale of Two Cities", but decided that was too obvious. I also considered "Wack" as a stealthy pun (meaning her name would be "Patty Wack", a reference to the nursery rhyme "This Old Man"), but thought that'd be too comical. So at the moment, she is simply "Patrica."

Unlike Opal and Steffan, Patrica doesn't have a complicated background. She grew up in a kind, loving family with few hangs ups or issues, and has led a fairly quiet life. Patrica has had a few romances, but never married and has no children. As such, she has come to view the DeRatrys as a surrogate family of sorts, as she is the housekeeper and holds a mother-like position in the household.

Her character, like Opal, is based off a number of other characters: Mrs. Hughs from "Downton Abbey", Mrs. Wealey from Harry Potter, Mrs. White from the TV game show version of Cluedo, and of course, Miss Pross from "A Tale of Two Cities."

As for her design... originally, Patrica was going to be a mouse, but as I drew her, she ended coming out a bit too tall and a bit too beefy for the species, so I may just make her a rat. Also, as you can see, Patrica doesn't wear the typical maid's uniform, but that's so that viewers can immediately tell she's not just another maid. I found this particular uniform while googling maid uniforms for inspiration, and liked the color scheme.

Elga Torkel

The daughter and only child of Steffan, Elga has grown up on the premises of Villa DeRatry for almost her entire life. During her childhood, she was playmates with Ferin and Robert, had her meals with them, and got to attend their birthday parties, and they hers'. Except while Ferin and Robert's birthdays were usually grand affairs, Elga's was always a lot more humble, something she couldn't help but notice over the years.

There were other little things, such as Elga not being invited over to the parties of other children, whereas Ferin and Robert would. At first, she worried it was because nobody liked her... until it was explained that wasn't the case. It was simply because she was a "servant's child."

This was a bit of a shock for Elga, for all along, she had taken for granted that she was equal to Ferin and Robert, that she had just as many opportunities in life as they did. Only to be told no, that she was "below" them, and would likely remain that way for the rest of her days. Which felt very unfair to the young rat, which spawned a very bad case of jealousy and resentment. Why should her whole life be determined by her father's line of work? Why should the spoilt wild-child Ferin and the gloomy introverted Robert get everything life had to offer?

Of course, Elga couldn't ask these questions, given the tight leash her father kept her on. Steffan demanded that his daughter sit still and behave, speak only when she is spoken to, and be grateful for all that she had. Especially since Clint was going to pay for Elga's education, something that she couldn't sniff at.

But the young rat remained determined to ascend the social ladder in one way another, whether by using her smarts, talent, or even her looks.

Note: Elga's dress, while its supposed to fool the eye into believing its black, is actually a very dark shade of purple, is which meant to symbolize her aspirations.



Paul/Opal/Steffa/Patrica/Elga © me