His Lioness (Alan Rickman FF) ENGLISH VERSION

Chapter 5

Only when all the employees had disappeared from his field of vision did Lionel bend down and give his impatiently waiting fur noses the desired strokes. Countless hunting dogs romped around his feet and wagged their tails excitedly. Each one wanted his master's undivided attention.

"Be patient, the same thing every night, but you are unteachable," Lionel spoke to his dogs in an unusually gentle tone. He didn't really care that his expensive suit was full of hair every day. After all, he didn't have to worry about it. In the end, he was going to put on something fresh tomorrow anyway.

Lionel went from the entrance hall further into his small hall, there also his animals were allowed. He sat down on the comfortable sofa. As soon as he sat down, Gem jumped onto his lap out of nowhere. Gem was a red long haired cat, but she had a shave, so she looked like a mini version of a lion.

"What's up Gem, do you want to be petted or are you just hungry again and can't wait until you get it?" Lionel asked his cat with a slightly reprimanded undertone and stroked her, which at the same time elicited a small smile. The cat, however, only nudged his hand with its head and awaited further caresses. Around his feet still romped his dogs. Partly they had calmed down and were sitting lazily in their dog beds, looking at their master waiting.

When he was surrounded by his gaggle of animals, he could completely switch off and forget everything around him, no matter how bad the day had been. If the days were particularly bad, he usually went to the stables to his horses or to Leonardo his lion, which he would visit later after dinner anyway.

Then the butler came and asked him to the table. Lionel had everything one could dream of and yet every evening he sat completely alone in his dining room and dined only for himself. Usually this did not bother him, he was not exactly an affable person. Most of the time he was rather even unenjoyable, only people who possessed a brain and did not bore him unnecessarily with their presence could entertain him.

He could well do without all others, he also showed it directly if he did not like someone. Although he actually had a Lord title, he didn't really act like it. But Lionel could also be different, when he wanted to he could be a real gentleman, but that happened rather rarely.

When Lionel had finished eating, he immediately made his way to Leonardo. He went up the stairs. Probably he ran back and forth between the paintings and held the position. He also had his use and additionally served as an alarm system.

"Leo!" shouted Lionel loudly, after all, he did not want to scare the lion.

Even if he had Leonardo already, since he had been a baby and had been brought up by him with the feeding bottle, it was nevertheless still an animal from the wilderness. Maybe Leo was unpredictable for once, even if Lionel was not afraid of him. But healthy respect was nevertheless appropriate.

There came already Leo slowly around the corner, almost silently approached him and looked with watchful eyes to Lionel.

"Leonardo, how are you? Have you found any unwanted intruders yet?" he spoke calmly to his lion.

Slowly Lionel approached him and took out from his cupboard the hairbrush.

"Come here, how do you look again! I need to comb your mane first!" he determined and already began to gently untangle Leo's fur.

Leonardo looked at him attentively with his yellow eyes, but then pressed towards him with relish, expecting his usual brush strokes. For a long time Lionel stood by his lion, tending to it. He was the only one who could get this close to him without him starting to roar.

For the rest of the evening, he would rather go to his room, maybe drink a whiskey and end his long day that way. Yes, that was how he would do it. He stroked Leo's fur a few more times, said goodbye to his pet and went to his room.

Lionel went into his huge dressing room and got rid of all his clothes. Naked as God made him, he went on to his bedroom and stood at his little bar. He poured himself a fifty-year-old whiskey and added two ice cubes. He slowly swirled his crystal glass back and forth, smelling it with his imposing nose. Deeply he inhaled the exquisite and expensive aroma. He drank a few small sips with pleasure and put the glass down.

Gem was already lying inertly on the bottom of his huge bed, watching every step Lionel took. She was just waiting for him to finally go to sleep. He would take a shower and call it a day for good, it was already 1am.

At 5am Saskia's cell phone alarm clock rang, since she was already so looking forward to her vacation, she almost jumped out of bed and turned the alarm off. Quickly she ran quietly to the small bathroom at the end of the hall, so as not to wake her roommate. A quick wash and brush of her teeth would have to do. Back in the room, she quickly combed her hair and tied it up.

When Saskia was completely dressed, she briefly checked again whether she had all the charging cables and her electronic devices in her hand luggage, without them she could not live. She took her luggage and quietly slipped into the entrance hall and put on her shoes and jacket. Finally she arrived in front of the apartment door and locked it from the outside.

Joyfully she descended the stairs and went out into the street. The air was still very cold at this hour and small clouds were forming as Saskia let out her breath. Hopefully the bus was on time, but to be on the safe side she had planned more time. One never knew exactly what was going on in London, even at this inhuman time.

No sooner had Saskia arrived at the bus stop than the bus pulled in. Well, that was a precision landing, it was right on time today. Saskia took another deep breath and got on the empty bus. She sat down, it was already a few stops to the station. Lost in thought, she looked out of the slightly fogged window. As much as she liked the bustling city of London, she was glad to be going to the countryside again.

After 20 minutes the bus stopped in front of the station and Saskia got off with a few other early risers. King's Cross station was already busier! Some were already rushing to their trains or various other connections. Yes, London slept just as little as other big cities. She strolled leisurely to the designated platform, but not without checking the display boards once again.

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Note:

Did you know that there are two versions of Lionel's last name? In English they write Shabandar and in German it is even written on the DVD with Shahbandar. Also in the Wikipedia article about Gambit it is written that way, in case anyone was wondering. I have the "German version" now, because I already wrote it that way and continue to do so. Also, Lionel has the honor of having his last name added to my Microsoft Word dictionary...so it doesn't keep showing up as an error. Lionel is many things, but certainly NOT a mistake!!!🥰