9" x 13" color pencil with a very small amount of micron pen and gel pen.

This was a private commission so PLEASE, no critique. General comments OK.
I will be making a couple more adjustments and get a rescan and repost.

The following narrative does not represent the true meaning of this piece to the commissioner but was my own interpretation of the scene and written one evening on the fly.

A full moon brightened the night sky and the cool Fall breeze that blew in through the un-shuttered window behind her, whipped her long auburn mane about playfully. But the mood within the room was far from cheerful.
She gazed down upon his still form for but a moment, then turned her head. She bore an expression, not of satisfaction as one might expect after serving retribution to the one responsible for the murder of close kin, but with regret tinged with perhaps a bit of sorrow. She should not have felt that way, for he deserved to die ten times over for the fell deeds he had committed. But in the short time she was part of his “pride”, she came to see in him, at least a few redeeming qualities. Most often, he was soft spoken and kind, generous, jovial, and when in his presence at those times, his mood seemed to be imparted to those about him, willing or not. And he was handsome...for a lion, and when sharing his bed, as was one of the purposes of his captive harem, he was gentile and thoughtful, caring. If only.....
But none of that mattered now, the deed was done and it was time to return home. But not until the other members of the pride had been released from their gilded cages and clothed, properly, not in a bed linen like the one she now wore. For attire of any kind besides jewelry, was, for the pride members, strictly forbidden within the estate. But she had resolved not to face him this one last time on his terms and donned the only thing available.
And she would also make sure the others would be compensated for their forced time here, handsomely, with the wealth that abounded within.
But she, she would take little more than the two things which she now held, the pendant which bore her family crest and was to be worn by the heir to the family holdings, her late sister’s. Now her’s.
The other thing was the black bladed sword which she now held, her former Masters and that through which he had gained his wealth and power. It was known by the name “Soul Bane”, as it was said, in hushed whispers, to imprison the souls of those slain by it. And the one that brandished it was able to command or sway the actions of those he wished.
She had doubted that rumor, believing little in the old tails of magic and sorcery, things that had been fading from the world for centuries. But that doubt was squelched the moment she laid hand upon the hilt of the dark blade..... and felt her sisters presence, and heard in her mind above the myriad of others, her desperate plea for release.
Yes, the sword must go with her. The first reason so was with it, she would be able to command the guards that were present within and without and facilitate their departure without challenge. Second and foremost though, she needed to find a way to release the souls held captive by the fell weapon. And she felt certain that it would take more than just the breaking of the blade to do so.
She had spent many months tracking the route her kidnapped sister had been taken. And a few more weeks to devise a way to get inside and make her way out with her sister. But little had she know, that she was already too late, as her sister had been slain while trying to escape but a week before her arrival to the city in which they now resided. And she did not learn of it till after she had arranged to be “sold” to the Master and had been taken into the Den. There she met the rest of the pride and quickly learned of her sisters fate.
Yes, it was now time to go home.....for the others, but not her. Not yet. For she now had the task ahead of finding someone versed enough in the mystic arts to unravel the powerful and complex threads of magic that would be required to create such a cursed weapon.
She knew it would be an arduous task and may lead her to lands far more remote and dangerous than those she was in now. But she knew she would prevail, she had to, for only then could she return home...