Robin stood at the palace gates, clutching the saddle straps, and tried to breathe evenly. Today she had to take Princess Nefer on a horse ride, and the thought of it made her heart beat faster than it should. She knew that the closer she got to the princess, the stronger her forbidden affection would become.

She had already tried to find a way out several times. Yesterday, when I heard about the plans for the walk, Robin asked the other knights to replace her, came up with reasons: checking the guards, an important assignment, even a slight fever. But each time, her superiors rejected her request. "You're the best at it," they said, and those words made Robin feel both proud and afraid.

"I can't," she whispered to herself, "I can't be around her. I'll just fall in love even more."

And yet now, standing next to the stable, Robin realized that plans would not save her from fate. She tried to back away, mentally repeating to herself: keep your distance, don't look, don't smile, don't breathe too close.

But then a quiet but confident voice rang out:

"Robin!"

She turned around. Princess Nefer stood at the fence, her green eyes looking directly at Robin, and her black hair was slightly fluttering in the wind. The princess called out to her, and at that moment all her careful plans collapsed like a house of cards.

Robin felt her heart leap out of her chest and her breathing faltered. She wanted to turn away, take a step back, but her legs wouldn't obey her. All her attempts to keep her distance proved futile: Nefer came up on her own, smiled and stretched out her hand to the saddle.