A chilling wind blew through the caverns of the surrounding mountains and around a young girl busy hauling rock to the cavern’s opening. So busy, in fact, that she was oblivious to the falling rock around her. As her exhaustion set in, the quaking became extremely fierce. She tried to get to the opening of the cavern, forgetting about her previous occupation, but it was too late. The cavern was sealed, as she thought her fate was. As the fear of suffocating set in, she shut her eyes and cried in absolute misery, “Please! If there is any way out, please show me the way!”

She cried and cried thinking all hope was lost, but an eerie blue light suddenly surrounded the young girl, “I can help, put your body in a dream-like state, and help you find someone to help you. Only one person will be able to see and help you.” The girl, already on the brink of death nodded. She wanted nothing more than to live. “I see,” said the mystical blue light, “but I will need a name, dear. What are you called?”

“Leanna.”

Although it had been months since the incident, no one was able to find Leanna. She sat quietly in her new, if you count three months as new, form. She was alive in a sense, but it seemed she was more in a limbo state. Leanna was what the locals called a spirit, no one could see her, and no one could help her. It did help, being invisible. She was able to gather information about the events that happened, like how the citizens of the small town were blaming the collapse of the mine she worked in on some young man who studied magic. It was pretty suspicious, but what could she do? Leanna knew that the young man probably didn’t commit the crime, but if he could not prove his innocence, he would soon be gone from the material world. The young man’s trial was today, and she was definitely attending.

“Today we are gathered to decide on whether or not Elliott Masters is guilty of collapsing the mine!” A chorus of ‘boo’s went through the audience as Leanna sat on the edge of the stage. This Elliott Masters was a young man around Leanna's age with shaggy brown hair and deep blue eyes that contrasted with the young spirit's light blonde hair and green eyes. Leanna had hair styled similar to Elliott’s, chopped short but still wild, “Elliott Masters is an apprentice of Maugus Cher, and a problem student at that.” The announcer was ruthless and no one stood up for Masters.

It was obvious how this would have ended if Leanna had not decided to walk in front of the young accused man. She didn’t know, how could she? Leanna had been so hopeless over the course of the last three months, it seemed impossible, but Elliott surprised her, “Why can’t anyone see you?”

Her eyes met his, he was confused and she was afraid of him not talking to her, “M-me?”

“Who else?” He asked.

A hand hit Elliott causing him to meet the floor, “Quiet!” Leanna moved without thinking and ripped the ropes around Elliott’s hands, “What?!” The announcer was beyond mad and confused, but Elliott wasted no time and quickly ran off the stage and out towards the west gate of town.

“Can you help me?” Leanna asked. She floated behind Elliott and had no trouble keeping up.

Said young man glanced over to her and nodded before turning back towards the road, “It would only be right, since you just helped me escape death. Although, I’m not too sure I deserved it. . .”

“Why not?” It definitely confused Leanna. Why would he not deserve to be saved?

He sighed, “It was an accident. I didn’t mean for it to be a full scale spell,” Leanna bit her lip but otherwise stayed silent. “I was studying, and the spell was intriguing, but it was also way out of my league.”

She flew beside him, giving off a sympathetic look, “So you made a mistake? I can feel your powers, but they alone wouldn’t have collapsed the mine.”

Elliott looked up in surprise, he knew deep in his mind that Leanna was right, but he was not going to accept it, “There’s got to be some way for me to fix what I’ve done. I heard there was only one casualty, but there’s no way to know who he was.”

“She. Who she was,” Leanna said softly.

Elliott’s confusion was apparent, “Only men are allowed to work in the mines.”

A soft chuckle left her lips as they approached the now collapsed mines, “When your family’s poor enough, sometimes the eldest takes desperate measures to make sure his or her family eats, regardless of gender roles.”

“You seem less transparent here, Miss . . . Wait! I’ve traveled with you for miles and I didn’t even get a name!” As the realization struck Elliott, he glanced at her suspiciously.

“Eh?” Leanna didn’t notice, mainly because she knew his name from the trial. “My name is Leanna. And I’m less transparent because I’m more whole here. I was hoping you could help me, since you’re the only one who can see or hear me.” Elliot stood there mouthing the words ‘more whole here’ in confusion, but soon nodded, accepting his unanswered question.

After a few minutes of silence, he looked back towards the mine, “What can I do?”

“If you can almost collapse a mine on your own, you can open one up. Can’t you?” although Elliott was annoyed with the word ‘almost’, he simply nodded. “Great! Then all we need to do is travel through the mines until we get to the right spot.”

“How will we know if it’s the right spot?” Elliott wasn’t stupid, he knew he could only hold the mine for so long.

“The spot will be radiating blue light. There you can rest and recuperate until you have enough energy to get us out,” a small smile appeared on Leanna’s face, she could finally live again! It wouldn’t be long now.

“Alright, alright. Let’s go to this, ‘right spot’,” Elliott took a deep breath and lifted his arms in an upward motion, causing the rocks covering the entrance of the mine to lift up. Leanna was very knowledgeable about the mine, so she would naturally not need a light. Elliott on the other hand, was blind as a bat in the ever growing darkness of the mine, “Is there a light somewhere?”

Sighing, Leanna spoke softly, “I can generate light in the fallen lamps, but I cannot pick them up.”

“That’ll do,” Leanna nodded to her companion and began to spend what energy she had on lighting the broken lamps that littered the ground of the mine.

After about a mile of walking, Leanna noticed the little shimmer of the azure light both longed so deeply for, “Just a little farther, Elliott! I can see the light!” There was a grunt in response, but nothing more as both pushed themselves to the bright light.

“Leanna and Savior,” the voice that gave Leanna the chance to live once again echoed throughout the space that was held up by the blue light, “You’ve both done well, forcing your way through the many challenges of life that have been thrown your way,” the azure light surrounded Leanna. “As promised, you are now whole with your body again.” Leanna smiled as she felt the sensation of the rocks around her. Her hair had grown, and her body seemed to have gotten a bit weaker from not doing anything for months. “And for you,” the light now addressed Elliott, “the truth.” Light surrounded the two and showed images that were too fast for Leanna. She could tell that the images had something to do with Elliott, and whatever he saw caused his face to light up with delight, something she had yet to see around the young man she knew for only hours.

Finally, after the light became dimmer, Elliott spoke up, “I didn’t do it.”

“I know,” Leanna smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.

Elliott turned to her and put his arms around her, “I didn’t do it!” He began to laugh with Leanna still in his arms. After a few moments of Elliott’s awkward laughing filling the cavern, Leanna soon joined in.

As time passed, both were able to leave the cavern. That trip was longer due to the lack of use of Leanna’s muscles caused her to fall multiple times. Both stood at the entrance of the collapsed mine looking off into the distance, “What are you going to do now, Leanna?”

“Maybe I’ll go home?” her uncertainty was clearly shown in her voice. “I don’t know how my family will take it, since I didn’t go to see them in spirit form.”

“I think they’ll take it well,” Leanna turned toward her companion with shock written clearly across her face. “Really? You don’t believe me? They’re going to get their eldest daughter back!”

“I guess,” she looked up towards the stars, “and what are you going to do? I may have freed you that time, but how will you escape it again?”

Elliott messed with his leather cloak while smiling, “Who knows? Maybe I’ll travel. Learn the art of disguise? I don’t know.”

“Won’t that be lonely?”

“Yes, but I wouldn’t want to endanger anyone.”

“Endanger anyone?” Leanna poked Elliott’s shoulder. “Well, whatever. If you decide you’ve gotten too lonely, come find me, okay? I’ll have the house anyway, just come over.” Both were ready to depart, backs facing each other.

As Leanna took her first step, teary eyed, Elliott spoke up, “Is it too early to be lonely? Leanna, can I take you up on that offer already?”

Smiling, Leanna giggled a little bit while offering her hand to the young man who unknowingly turned towards her when he spoke, “Well, come on! It’ll be easier to explain with you there. And I’ll worry less about your well being. Let’s go home.”

“Yeah, home,” Elliott spoke softly as his excited companion dragged him in the general direction of her home.