Violence Warning/ Disclaimer: This story depicts scenes of violence. Readers who are disturbed by or sensitive to this type of depiction may wish to read something other than this story.

Love Disclaimer: This story depicts a love relationship between two consenting adult women. If you are under 18 years of age or if this type of story is illegal in the state or country in which you live, please do not read it. If depictions of this nature disturb you, you may wish to read something other than this story. Please note no graphic sexual scenes are contained within the story.

Note: This story is the Seventh in my Sorrow series and begins a few moons after the sixth story ends. I strongly recommend reading the other stories to understand what is going on in this one. You might find yourself a bit confused if you don't. Unless of course the idea of Gabrielle having a winged demon daughter makes perfect sense to you too.

Tissue Alert: Just going to leave this in forever cause I am a bad judge of the soppy stuff. So you are all forewarned to keep some tissues handy just in case.

Feedback: Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

kathleen_wolf@yahoo.com Thanks: To Cheney and Puddle, without who this series would lack a lot of the positive loving emotions for which only they have given me insight and experience of. Also thank you to all those who are following the series and have been patiently waiting for this update, please don't hang a bard for being slow - BG

Part 6

Madalene snapped awake as she felt a hand poised over her face, she reached up grabbing the wrist above her ready to twist it when she realized it was small and whoever owned it was giggling.

"You sleep like a hibernating bear." Anastasia teased, strangely standing there fully dressed with winter leathers.

"Ana, why are you waking me up?" Madalene blinked at her in the dark.

"It's time for your secret spell." The young girl shrugged. "I didn't think you'd want to sleep through it." She pulled her hand away.

"Time for…" Madalene shivered. "Why is it so cold?"

"You're an Ice Shamaness silly." The younger sister went over and pulled back the curtain on the window, outside streams of heavy snow and ice swirled as the wind howled through the house. "The ice says it's time."

"Oh Goddess." Madalene moved over to the window. "It's a sign, we have to do it now." She turned pulling on clothes.

"Duh!" Anastasia rolled her eyes. "I'll go get Sorrow okay?" She looked at her sister for approval.

"Yes… wait." Madalene took the quilted blanket off her bed. "Stay warm." She wrapped it around her sister and kissed her on the forehead.

"Where do we meet you?" Ana asked from the doorway.

"At the ceremony hall." Madalene followed her out into the main room and moved over to a chest, pulling out one of Xena's heavier fur lined coats. "Wait." She stopped her sister again looking to her mothers' door. With the loud wind and driving snow she couldn't understand why the Warrior Princess wasn't already up and out of bed.

"They won't wake up till we're finished." Anastasia told her sister matter of factly.

"Why won't they?" Madalene spun around in horror.

"Your icicle friend came to me and told me." Ana shrugged. "She said the mountain power would help you do what must be done or something like that." She screwed up her nose.

"Ixter?" Madalene's eyes went wide.

"The girl in the crystal." Ana waved at Madalene looking directly into the shard around her neck.

"Go get Sorrow Ana, hurry." Madalene ran back to the door and outside.

***

Sorrow and Anastasia were already standing in the shell of the Ceremony hall by the time Madalene arrived with Thallia. Kisinda and Tawnie had arrived second, having been directed there by the Princess as she went to collect the healer's adopted daughter.

The ice Shamaness was busy with bowls and ingredients, her healer there to help her at every step. Unlike the previous spell, she had her axe strapped to her back proudly, the weapon framing a strange contrast behind her snow leopard headdress.

The ice amazons however seemed in their element, having donned the heavier skins they had carried down from the mountains they moved around almost oblivious to the frigid wind and torrents of snow that blew in through the broken walls and missing windows, their high fur boots protecting them from the icy floor and waves of snow that gathered to obstruct the wooden floor.

Sorrow had made a small fire for Anastasia in one corner, trying somewhat vainly to keep it lit in the hostile environment.

"I'm almost ready." Kisinda informed Madalene as she arrived and directed Thallia over with Anastasia.

"What is going on?" Sorrow asked her sister.

"I don't know, Ana said that Ixter came to see her and told her the mountain was going to help us. Apparently it has everyone else in a sleep spell." Madalene explained quickly trying to warm up her chilled hands near the small flames. On her way through the village she had confirmed that no one else other than the six of them was awake.

"Did you talk to Xena or Mother?" Sorrow asked pulling off her coat and wrapping it around her sister.

"You'll get cold." Madalene objected even though the warmed leather cut away another layer of frigid wind.

"I'm the Protector, humour me." Sorrow closed it in place. "I'm not having the two of you freezing." She brought out her wings and used them to shelter her sister's and Madalene a bit from the wind.

"I didn't get to talk to them, they were asleep too." Madalene finally answered the other question.

"I figured." Sorrow sighed.

"The three of you need your headwear." Tawnie moved over handing them the small skin hats. "I cut them so that they should at least be able to be draped over your heads." She showed them as she put Ana's over her, the small area of rabbit skin barely covering the crown of her head.

"It's great." Madalene helped Thallia put hers on and then slipped into hers.

"Everyone needs to be in the same spot." Kisinda pointed to where the circular wind had gathered up a snow drift in the centre of the room.

Begrudgingly they all moved over to stand in the middle of the drift, Sorrow standing a few feet off to the left and Tawnie moved to the back of the hall.

Anastasia stamped in place a little, still being young enough to be in awe of the fluffy white stuff so that the cold hadn't dampened her spirit yet. Thallia on the other hand was fairing worse, her teeth were chattering and she had her arms curled into her body trying to get warmth into her numb fingers.

"Welcome to you who come to this sacred place." Kisinda threw a bowl of herbs into the wind and the coloured leaves scattered into the pure white snow. "Why is it that you come?"

"I come to have that which has been wrongfully stolen from us returned." Madalene stepped forward her head high in the wind, ice was beginning to cling to her eyelashes making her green eyes sparkle more and more.

"And why would you be worthy of that restoration?" Kisinda asked the scripted questions but unlike before she knew no one would come forward with reasons, this was Madalene's to prove.

"I come with the snow of the mountain, here in a place where it does not fall. I come with the blessing of Ixter, who has enchanted this village so that this wrong may be corrected. I come with the sacrifice of time from my sister, to replace that which has been taken by greed and selfishness." Madalene felt the world flowing out of her without her putting them together; it was if she was having the words whispered in her ear by some other source.

A louder whistle of wind filled the hall and a shimmering figure appeared.

"I give her the worth for restoration, to heal the faults of another, to heal the crystal." The same apparition that had appeared to Madalene during the first ceremony came to them again. "To heal the shard by placing it in the hands of a warrior, who will defend it as I once did." She looked at Kisinda who seemed to falter as the apparition addressed her.

"But great Ixter, a warrior is not worthy, a shamaness…" She objected.

"A shamaness charms the ice, a warrior defends and provides… both are needed to survive, to unite… the tribes have been divided too long Kisinda and through you they will be returned to their place of strength." Ixter silenced her. "Return this young one to her proper being, her time of training must not pass in memory but must be lived."

"As you wish." Kisinda dropped to one knee and mixed the final herbs together as the apparition disappeared. "Sorrow please stand between me and the children." She made the request and waited as the Protector moved into place.

"Bow to me snow and ice, come not to this sacred place, do the bidding of the shard and undo the faults of another. Restoration is granted by powers on high, granted to time, memory and the balance." Kisinda pulled off her mitts and dug her hands down into the snow. "Sacrifice is given freely by the Protector, my power to her life, her life to theirs, her immortality to their youth."

As she finished the words the wind grew suddenly still, the snow around her hands melting suddenly to form waves that ebbed closer and then flowed out to wash over Sorrow as the rest of the snow in the room was pulled into the wake. All of the snow from the outside in the village began to pull in through the open windows and wall, pouring over Sorrow before it swelled to a great wave that when it reached its water peak crashed into the three children.

Instead of passing over and through them, it formed a sphere of water around them, the liquid crashing and mixing against itself in place there.

Tawnie watched in horror as the power of the wave knocked Sorrow down onto her knees much like her love was, she could see the strain and pain that it caused her but she was inspired by the sheer determination that the Protector showed to stand against it. She could no longer see the children within the sphere of water, but she could tell that the snow being pushed into the room to join it was slowing and soon the spell would have to come to an end.

A moment of panic hit her as Kisinda slumped forward more her eyes closing.

***

The ice warrior didn't know what had happened as she blinked her eyes open to see the blinding midday sun being reflected off miles and miles of ice. She had been in the Queen's village she thought, not here, wherever here is.

"It's pretty isn't it?" A small voice asked as Kisinda felt a tiny hand slip into hers.

"Princess?" She looked down in shock to see that Madalene was now the same little girl of five again.

"The birth place of the shard." The child continued as she turned and reached up going on her tip toes to touch the two shards that hung around Kisinda's neck.

As she did the two pieces of crystal fused together into one, a sparkling light flashing out for a moment.

"You…" Kisinda looked down at the now single large shard.

"Not me, you." Madalene corrected her she pulled a little on the warrior's hand, and Kisinda dropped down on one knee to put them more at an even eye level. "This is your destiny, your courageous heart has healed the crystal and your heart will unite the tribes."

"But they need a Shamaness, not just a warrior." She objected.

"Yes and you are both, Ixter told you, you charm the ice and you protect and provide." Madalene reached up cupping the warrior's cheeks. "I also know another secret."

Kisinda looked into knowing green eyes feeling the shard above her heart start to hum with power.

"Along time ago you and Tawnie went to the place in the ice where the dead are kept to see your mother who had passed, you didn't know what you could do, you were only little like me and you didn't know." Madalene whispered softly. "You didn't let her fall, you saved her from dying that day."

"But…" Kisinda felt the memory that she always pushed from her mind come forth without her bidding; the sight of Tawnie's small body slipping below her off the ice climb, the sound of her hitting the frozen river at the bottom of the drop and almost cracking through into the frigid water.

"Any other child would have ran home for help, and she would have never been found." Madalene shook her head. "You risked everything to save her, you proved your brave heart that day and for that I have a gift for you, the only gift I know your heart could ever ask for now that you have her love." She leaned forward and placed a light kiss on the warrior's forehead.

***

Shocked back from the glacier, Kisinda sat up just as the sphere around the children came to be a solid sphere of ice. Her focus was fixed on the sphere so much that she didn't notice Tawnie had slumped down into a sitting position against the wall of the hall.

"The restoration is complete, the faults of the past corrected and the tribes united." She reached pulling out her axe and with a sure hand threw it at the top of the sphere.

As the shining blade spun and contacted with the top edge of the ice, the covering shattered outwards in a million perfect snowflakes that melted away into the air before they hit the ground.

As the air cleared, Sorrow blinked her cloudy eyes to see a small dark haired child looking lost in the billowing material of her coat holding a small sleeping red haired infant to her chest. Beside her a frail looking girl snuggled close to her arm, her face obscured by her lopsided headdress.

"We did it Sorrow." Madalene said softly as she met her sister's eyes.

*Mother, Xena… come to the ceremony hall.* Sorrow sent out the thought somehow knowing they would hear her now that the snow was gone as she smiled at Madalene and fell sideways into a deep sleep.

***

Sorrow's message caused sheer chaos to erupt. In her drained state the message had not only reached Gabrielle and Xena, but Danu and most of the other Amazons. Within a few moments a near army of women had amassed and grouped outside the hall.

"Sorrow?" Danu pushed in at least having some clue what was going on and she stopped in the middle of a large puddle looking at the children who were sitting in the middle of the room.

"HI!" Madalene managed to untangle her hand and wave. "We're back!"

"Madalene?" Gabrielle pushed in next having heard the small voice. "Oh Goddess." She ran to them, dropping down to hug the two of them tightly.

"Mother, you're squishing me." Madalene tried to object, relieved when Gabrielle finally let go and she carefully handed the baby to her mother.

"How?" The Queen checked Anastasia over before she double checked Madalene and then Thallia. All of them looked exactly as they had the day of Gideon's spell, in fact even Anastasia's hands were healed now.

"Sorrow." Madalene turned to look at the Protector, Danu had reached her by now and with Xena's help managed to flip her over onto her back.

"Xena…" Gabrielle called to the Warrior Princess, who making sure that Sorrow was breathing and basically just asleep moved slowly over towards them.

"Are they okay?" She asked first, trying to hide the shake in her voice.

"We're fine Mommy." Madalene reached up her arms wanting a hug. "It was scary but we're all fine now."

"What happened?" She looked at the bard as she picked up Madalene feeling her snuggle in and realizing how much she had missed this.

"Kissy and Sorrow did a spell." Madalene explained but as always her little brain didn't seem to find a way to filter the other stuff being told to her. "The icicle goddess helped." She gave a long yawn. "I'm tired." She said grumpily.

For the first time Xena turned seeing that the ice warrior was over against one wall with Tawnie looking distressed.

"Madalene, stay with your mother." Xena put her down with Gabrielle who gathered her up as well, the bard lap filled with the three small bodies. "What's wrong?" She raced over to the other warrior.

"I don't know. She was just watching, when I came too she was unconscious." Kisinda's usual mask of seriousness was broke by panic and concern. "Please Tawnie wake up." She urged the healer again. "Please." She said almost panicked.

"Kissy?" Tawnie's eyes came open slowly, she looked daze, almost as if she'd drank a little too much wine. "That was a wild climb." She said with a lopsided smirk.

"Are you in pain?" Kisinda checked seeing no visible injuries.

"No, just… a little light headed." Tawnie closed her eyes.

"I'll carry her to the healer." She looked at Xena. "The children should be looked at too."

"You have a lot of explaining to do." Xena growled at her in a low tone.

"Don't growl at my warrior miss warrior." Tawnie's eyes popped back open. "She just did a huge spell, and the children are fine." She looked at Xena confusing the shocked look on her face with compliance.

"Tawnie?" Kisinda questioned realizing the same thing immediately.

"What?" Tawnie looked at her.

"How did you know what Xena said? You had your eyes closed." Kisinda asked her in a whisper purposely looking to the warrior at one point.

"What I heard…" Tawie's eyes flew open, the light headedness leaving her immediately as she sat up. "I heard her… Oh Goddess Kissy I heard her." She put her hands up to her ears. "How can I hear her?"

Kisinda didn't answer, she just hugged her lover feeling rare tears flood her eyes as Madalene's message on the glacier made sense.

"Everyone gets moved to the healers." Xena moved back to the door directing in members of the royal guard. "Danu do you want Sorrow at your house?" She looked at the archer.

"She can sleep it off there as good as anywhere." Danu ran her hand through Sorrow's hair to brush it off her face with a loving frown.

***

Gabrielle sat in her rocking chair with Madalene curled up in her lap as the little girl finished her long story about what had happened. Of course it was a little light on the explanation and the bard was sure that some parts of it might not be totally factual, but she didn't really care when she thought about it.

All she knew was that her daughters had been given back to her. A glance down in the cradle beside her to where Anastasia was asleep confirmed this.

"I did it for you." Madalene snuggled into her as she whispered.

"Did you?" Gabrielle asked softly rocking them back and forth in a slow motion.

"You were so sad, so was Momma." The little girl nodded. "I don't like it when you're sad."

"I love you Madalene." Gabrielle kissed her on top of the head.

"I love you too." The echo came back sleepily. "Where is Mom?" She struggled to stay awake, her energetic story having taken what little energy her nap had restored away.

"She's just checking on Thallia for you and Sorrow. She'll be home soon." Gabrielle assured her.

In fact it had taken over a candle mark for Xena to actually get out the door after she had initially mentioned that she should be going to check on everyone.

Tawnie had already been confirmed to be in better shape then she had been in years, her hearing completely restored. It was the ice warrior that everyone had to pity as despite being exhausted she was following the healer around as she 'heard' all the things in the village she had been missing.

As she had explained to everyone the partial hearing she had didn't compare to what she had now, everything was just so amazingly melodic. Xena wouldn't have been surprised if Tawnie had all the musicians' in the village up playing for her before the nightfall.

***

When Xena finally came into the house two candlemarks later she went first to Madalene's room. She stood in the doorway for along time, just watching her daughter sleep.

She still wasn't exactly sure what had gone on. Kisinda had given her the most information, filling in how Madalene had come to her with a plan to reverse the spell and then how Ixter had cast a snowstorm on the village that let them complete it.

She'd even gotten a slightly disjointed version from Sorrow who had another slight hole in her memory about the actual spell, but that account confirmed that it had been Madalene's idea and her execution that made things possible.

"My daughter." Xena though bitter sweetly about the headstrong young woman who had come after her only two nights ago demanding she accept things, only for that same girl to go out and move heaven and earth to change them back. She moved in closer to tuck the blankets back up where Madalene had kicked them off a bit.

"I love you." Madalene mumbled in her sleep.

"Love who?" Xena smiled as one green eye popped open a little to look at her.

"Love you, I smelled your leather." She gave another yawn.

"Sleep time Madalene." The warrior tucked her in totally and kissed her on the head. "And I love you too, my precious girl." She kissed her again and crouched there watching as her daughter fell asleep.

Silently she moved back out towards her room, fully expecting by now that Gabrielle would be asleep.

"Did you check on Madalene? She was trying to stay up till you got back." The bard's voice was soft in the darkness.

"I said goodnight, she's exhausted." Xena got undressed and slid into bed.

"How was Sorrow?" Gabrielle did a checklist of everyone.

"Groggy but fine, a little hole in her memory like before but Danu is keeping her in bed and treating her like a princess." Xena spooned her body behind Gabrielle's. "And Thallia is exhausted, Oxin was a little worried she was dehydrated but I mixed up some things to help her so with a few days rest she'll be fine."

"I can't believe all this has happened and then un-happened." Gabrielle turned in her lover's arm so she could see the warrior's face.

"Neither can I." Xena shook her head. "We should get some sleep Gabrielle." She urged the bard to settle and rest. Her mind was just too tormented and relieved at the same time to be talking about things right now.

"I won't make you talk about." Gabrielle seemed to read her mind. "But I want you to know one thing… your daughter was just as brave as you today, she acted just as her mother would have to make things right and help everyone and for that I am so proud of the both of you." She kissed her lover gently.

"She could have gotten everyone killed." Xena objected in a whisper.

"There was a chance, there is always a chance Xena, we both know that. But she made it as safe as she could, she took every step possible." Gabrielle reached up rubbing her cheek. "Just like you would have."

"I should have been there to help." The warrior added another point of her failure.

"It is so hard to accept my love but this wasn't about you or me, this is about Madalene and her future." The bard tried to explain what she had come to understand. "Our role here was to love them no matter what and care for them, which we will do forever."

"We will." Xena closed her eyes relaxing in the close embrace.

The End for Now…