General world building and character background creation

John was sitting in his living room, lounged over a 19-th century European sofa, with a book in his hand and his feet up on a just as old looking stool, upholstered with red silk. The room was big, with a high dome ceiling, covered in murals depicting events from history: Napoleon riding into Austerlitz, then marching into Waterloo, where the Duke of Wellington's troops were slowly fading towards the back, morphing into Polish Winged Hussars charging the Ottomans in a cloud of smoke outside Vienna, in between the walls of which was stretched Trafalgar, with the British navy destroying the spanish and french fleet.

The painted dome was harmoniously giving way to the arcade's beneath, which were then flowing and morphing into the walls and high wooden windows. Behind him, a big, elliptical arcade with 2 marble columns on either side of it, sculpted with intricate designs, opening into the corridor leading to the entrance hall, and in front of him, the only source of light for the entire room, a fireplace with a big, smoldering wood fire inside, framed between 2 bronze statues of lions.

"Sir, there's someone at the door, looking for you."

John let his eyes linger on the words for a few more seconds before pushing his glasses on his nose and looking up at his old butler.

"And who might that be?"

"A young lady. I thought she might have had an appointment but she refused to provide a name and insisted that she knew you and you know her too."

The butler stopped for a second, waiting for an answer, before he continued.

"I inquired in what quality but she refused to give me any details and assured me that it'd be a great delight for you to see her. Rather strange young lady. Shall I send her on her way, sir?"

John put the book on the sofa, with the open pages facing down and mindfully took his glasses off, his mind racing to figure out who this unexpected visitor might be.

"No, no, send her in" he said, intrigued.

"Very well, sir!"

The butler bowed slightly and turned on his heels then back up the corridor. John got up and walked to a drawer hidden into the wall. He pushed on it and it slowly opened, revealing a leather covered agenda. John carefully picked it up and shuffled through the pages a little, double checking dates and names, only to confirm what he already knew, there was no appointment today.

The sound of high heels hitting the polished marble floor ringed from the corridor and scattered throughout the room as he calmly put the notebook back in its place and carefully pushed the drawer closed.

*

"Yes, sir?" the butler asked, appearing from the hallway.

"Throw this scrap away, will you?" John didn't even look up from his book. "And while you're at it, make me a cup tea, preferably something harder, to help with sleeping."

"Have you had trouble sleeping, sir?"

"No, but tonight I might."

"Understood, sir!"

Perfection was the name of the game for Alfred, everything he did, he did with a neutral, almost bored expression and steady, white gloved hands. He worked here ever since John could afford a butler and quite literally imported him from England.

John had other plans back then, he imagined a big house run by a suit of servers all wearing classical black and white uniforms, paid handsomely to be the best of the best and make sure he would live the rest of his life in luxury. When Alfred arrived from over the seas though, there was no big house for him to take care of. At the time, John was perfectly aware of the fact that there was no need for a butler and Alfred's presence was a mere caprice, a tad born from his childhood passion and fascination, but as time passed, he proved more and more useful, always taking diligence in any action he performed, no matter how small or insignificant it may have been. When they moved in the mansion and John started seriously thinking about hiring more people, Alfred proved that he could still do everything alone, no matter if it was cleaning, cooking (although John suspected takeaway was involved) or doing laundry, and he would still be there every time he was needed. And so he remained the first and only, the brain, heart and soul of the house, the only trustworthy and indispensable person in John's life.