2. Tired and Bruised

[Erica]

She blinked several times to convince herself that these were indeed people and not just her hallucination. However, she felt extremely awkward with them kneeling like that.

"Uh...can you not kneel like that? I mean, I am not a queen as you all are saying," she mumbled, shifting her weight from one foot to another.

"You are a queen whether or not you have been officially crowned", Elias said cryptically, then he turned to the group and said authoritatively, "Rise". All of them rose at once. Erica swept a glance over them. There were people of her age as well as her grandfather's age, probably. Maybe older, who knows. One face, in particular, stood out. There was something familiar in his features or his eyes, but she couldn't recall why it felt so familiar. He appeared to be in his late 60s or early 70s. The man, too, was staring at her, but not curiously. His gaze contained surprise and maybe pride? However, Elias' voice distracted her from interpreting further.

"I have arr