[Main Princess solo. No spoken dialogue. No other characters singing. The guards and procession are represented through the orchestra, not a choir. Grand, imposing royal funeral procession from a lavish theatrical fairytale. Slow authoritarian ceremonial march, disciplined military percussion, deep bass drums, timpani, funeral bells, pounding low strings, ominous cellos, monumental French horns, trombones, solemn trumpets, and sweeping orchestral counterpoint. One soulful female lead, a rich dramatic mezzo-soprano with controlled theatrical phrasing, singing throughout as the Main Princess walks behind her mother's casket. Gradually escalating movements, precise rhythmic accents resembling marching footsteps and horse hooves, immense palace-scale grandeur, dark gold and black atmosphere, formal and emotionally restrained before a majestic orchestral crescendo. No male vocals, no choir, no spoken dialogue, no pop beat, no triumphant coronation, no finale. End with a stark orchestral chord and a final funeral drum.]
[INTRO — LOW DRUMS, FUNERAL BELLS, SLOW STRINGS]
*The gates are opening. The horses begin to move.*
[MAIN PRINCESS-Mezz Soprano]
Let the bells announce the morning,
Let the banners touch the sky.
Let the streets receive their Queen now,
Let the Kingdom pass her by.
Lay the gold along the carriage,
Dress the iron, shine the stone.
There are footsteps in the courtyard
Where her footsteps once were known.
[MOVEMENT II — FRENCH HORNS, CELLOS, MEASURED PERCUSSION]
Let the Kingdom walk in order,
Let the horses hold their pace.
Let the guards preserve the silence,
Let the people know her grace.
Every window, every doorway,
Every child who stands and stares—
There is someone who remembers
How she built the world they share.
Oh, my mother, see them coming,
See the streets beneath your name.
All the lives that moved around you,
All the hearts you never claimed.
I had thought the palace endless,
Thought the gold would always shine.
Now the road goes on before me,
And your footsteps follow mine.
[MOVEMENT III — FULL BRASS, HEAVY TIMPANI, SWEEPING STRINGS]
Let the Kingdom walk!
Let the trumpets sound!
Let the wheels roll slowly
Over hallowed ground!
Let the black cloth cover
Every door and hall!
Let them see the woman
Who stood above it all!
Not for gold alone,
Not for jewels or a throne—
But for all the years she carried
What she never called her own.
Let the Kingdom walk!
Let the bells ring on!
A mother leaves the garden,
But the garden carries on.
[CODA — DRUMS FALL AWAY, BRASS HOLDS A DARK, MAJESTIC CHORD]
Mother, I am walking.
I am walking where you led.
All the gold is still around me,
But the world has changed instead.
Let the Kingdom walk...
Let the Kingdom walk...
[The final drum sounds. The carriage passes through the palace gates.]