Her father was having guests over for dinner. Some noble friends, Mai figured. Either way, her mother told her that she was expected to eat with them, so go and make yourself presentable, dear.
Mai, only a child at this time, obeyed without a word.
Now here she was, sitting at the dinner table, looking pretty as her father and his friends discussed something she wasn't all that interested in. Her mother laughed when expected, made encouraging noises, and said whatever was appropriate, but never went as far to offer her own opinion. After all, she wouldn't want to offend them, Mai figured. As for her, she stayed silent, going over in her head the following:
Stay still.
Don't fidget.
(Ugh, she was bored to death)
Mind your table manners.
Look respectable.
(By this, she assumed she was to keep a straight face, no matter what)
Sit up straight.
Don't speak unless spoken to.
(Not that anyone spoke to her anyway, unless it was to compliment her appearance, in which case she was supposed to nod politely and thank the man even if she wanted to roll her eyes)
Those were the rules her mother had laid out for her, and Mai didn't dare to break them. And so she sat there--
Staystilldon'tfidgetmindyourtablemanners
--as still as a doll--
Lookrespectablesitupstraightdon'tspeakunlesspokento
--almost afraid to even breathe.
---