Changing of the Guards

Sixteen years

Sixteen banners united over the field

Where the good shepherd grieves

And desperate men, desperate women divided

Spreading their wings beneath the falling leaves

Fortune calls

I stepped forth from the shadows to the marketplace

Merchants and thieves, hungry for power, my last deal gone down

And she's smelling sweet like the meadow where she was born

On a midsummer's eve near the tower

And the cold-blooded moon

The captain waits above the celebration

Sending his thoughts to a beloved maid

Whose ebony face is beyond communication

The captain is down, still believing that his love will be repaid

And they shaved her head

She was torn between Jupiter and Apollo

A messenger arrived with a black nightingale

And I seen her on the stairs, oh and I couldn't help but follow

Follow her down past the fountain where they lifted her veil

I stumbled to my feet

I rode past destruction in the ditches

With the stitches still mending 'neath her heart-shaped tattoo

And renegade priests and treacherous young witches

Were handing out the flowers that I'd given to you

And the palace of mirrors

Where dog soldiers are reflected

The endless road and the wailing of chimes

The empty rooms where her memory is protected

Where the angels' voices whisper to the souls of previous times

And she wakes him up

Forty-eight hours later, the sun is breaking

Near broken chains, mountain laurel and rolling rocks

She's begging to know what measures he now will be taking

He's pulling her down and she's clutching on to his long golden locks

Gentlemen, he said

I don't need your organization, I've shined your shoes

I've moved your mountains and marked your cards

But Eden is burning, either get ready for elimination

Or else your hearts must have the courage for the changing of the guards