Amanda was used to seeing her Little Mistress hard at work cultivating these days. She was worried about her though. Amanda had seen her Mistress go from a carefree little girl to one so serious. She couldn't recall seeing Moana smile since her family's tragic deaths.
Amanda resolved to continue caring for her Little Mistress with all her might. She wanted to see her be a little less serious, or at least to smile and laugh again. That horrible old man who was her Little Mistress's uncle and that detestable cousin might be high cultivators, but they were trash as people and family. Since she could remember, Amanda has only ever seen those two take and take from the Main family and give nothing in return but empty promises.
She would not see her Little Mistress used in such a manner by these two snakes any longer. So thinking, she set the breakfast tray down on the table and went to prepare her Little Mistress's clothing and accessories for the day. "Young Lady, you should eat to keep up your strength. I know you cultivation Masters need very little to keep you going, but you should still take in a little food until you reach the higher levels. Come, let's get you cleaned up and ready to make your mark on the day."
Moana rolled her eyes internally, while Mina was a little surprised at this servant's dedication to the Host Soul. Looking through the memories she shared with Moana, Mina could see that this servant had served her for all her life. Despite this, Amanda still looked barly past her twenties in age. Amanda had striking blue eyes, with black hair piled upon her head. In the midst of the black, Mina could see highlights of pale blue which almost matched her eyes in color. Amanda's face and skin were clear and soft in nature, except for her hands which showed a servant's wear.
Despite her clothing quality not being as good as Mina's was, Amanda was an altogether pretty woman. Mina was instantly charmed by Amanda's bearing and appearance. Moana was greatful for Amanda but found her 'mothering ways' a little too much for her as she was no longer an infant.
Amanda moved around the room to the tub on the far side of the room. Into this, she channeled her Water Mana energy and soon the tub was filled with crystal clear, frangrant water. Nodding in staisfaction, she then pulled a leather wrapped object out of her robe.
As the leather was pulled back, a deep red stone was revealed. This stone gave off a significant amount of heat. From the memories she had gained, Mina realized this was a Fire Mana stone. For those without an affinity for Fire, these Mana stones helped provide the heat that users of Fire already had ready access to.
Amanda tipped the leather cloth over the water in the bathtub. The moment the Fire Mana stone was placed in the tub the water began to steam. Mina thought about how much better life was here in this world. These stones and ones like it made life easier in many ways and all without needing to press any buttons or fiddle with any switches like in her old world.
After getting Amanda's help to stand up and get undressed, Mina moved their body into the tub and slowly sank down to relax their tired muscles. Mina and Moana sighed at the same time as the hot water relaxed all the aches and pains they had suffered through in the last 24 hours. Despite the wounds all having healed up and closed, their body still ached with the remembered pain of the beating that had occured.
They could hear Amanda moving around the room tidying things up. "Young Lady, it looks like a huge fight broke out in here.....what went on last night?"
"Uh-oh....Mina what should we tell her? Uncle and Cousin will only hurt her if she tries anything.....and she will try to defend me against them. She always does." Both thought through things and tried to work out what to tell Amanda.
"Amanda, I tried to work on one of my skills in my sleep last night. I tried to see if I could control my [Flaming Arrows] in my sleep. Sadly, I was unable to do anything until I was fully awake and then I was a little groggy so my arrows kind of went wild. I'm sorry for causing you so much work...."
Amanda looked over at Mina and Moana and just stared at them for a moment. After a stern look, she shook her head. "You must be more careful. I am not so close to your room any longer. You need to take better care so you are not hurt." So saying, she finished setting the room to rights.
After the room was done, she went into the clothes chest and pulled out a lovely green and bule gauzy dress will full sleeves. "This spring dress will look so lovely on you. You should wear this one to the meeting this afternoon." Amanda laid the dress down on the bed with some matching slippers. She pulled a towel out and walked over the Mina and Moana to get them ready for the day.
"Meeting?" Mina asked Amanda. "What meeting is happening today?"
"The family meeting with your Uncle and Cousin and the town Elders. They are trying to talk about the future of your family holdings and what is going to happen in the village. Without your continued support, the village wouldn't be able to maintain the city fortifications to keep the nasty beasts outside the walls. They just don't bring in enough resources these days. There are not enough hunters in this area to keep the Beast populations down and the resources from the Beasts coming in. Not to mention the plants needed for food and medicine those Beasts guard so furiously."
Mina and Moana looked through their memories and could see how Moana's parents usually hired hunters, Cultivators with at least one powerful skill, to travel outside the walled village. These hunters would work together to protect Healers that needed herbs or mana stones from the surrounding wilderness as they went out on gathering expeditions. Sometimes the hunters would just go out for meat, and furs that the villagers could use in trade or for crafting.
Since her parents' deaths, Moana cannot remember hiring any hunters in the last few months. She realized she had been lax in that respect. Something she fully intends to address during the meeting.
While lost in thought, Mina moved their body to stand in order to dry off and get dressed. Once done, Amanda moved them over to the low stool to brush out their hair and arrange it in neat coils and adding two white jade hairpins.
"Have some breakfast Miss. The meeting is not for several hours. You have some time." Amanda was a little worried as her Little Miss was a serious person, but more concerned with cultivation rather than worrying about the happenings going on around her. Moana's sneaky Uncle and Cousin would do their very best to wrest control of the family's holdings from her Little Miss. She didn't want to see her Mistress so mistreated by members of her own family.
As they started to eat, Mina had an idea of how to help get some justice for Moana. She turned and looked at Amanda only to find the servant woman staring at her in a sad and strange manner. "Um, Amanda, are you okay?"
Amanda mentally shook herself before she answered. "Yes, so sorry. I was lost in my own thoughts."
"Okay. Amanda, are there records of previous meetings between my family and the village elders?"
Amanda was pleasantly surprised hearing this come from her Little Mistress. She smiled and nodded.
Mina smiled back at Amanda, "Good. Please bring them here. I have an idea."