The three left the castle and made their way to the MK Airport. Groups of people from all around the world gathered around the check-in area. It was busy as always, so there was a bit of a wait in line before they got to the front.
"Three express tickets to Sarasaland, please." Daisy politely requests. The receptionist took a look at all three of them, but an unreasonably long look at Red's neck. Red shuffled uncomfortably and looked at the counter to avoid any awkward eye contact. Daisy and Reader looked at each other for a moment before Daisy tapped the counter to grab the receptionist's attention. "Is there a problem?"
"I'll need for you to hand over that necklace, kid," he demanded, pointing at the charm. "For security purposes."
Red's head dampened with sweat. "I-I'm sorry, but I can't do that, sir." he stammered.
"Why not? You hiding something?" The receptionist leaned in and glared into Red's eyes.
"N-No!" he shook his head. The receptionist growled and reached for the necklace, prompting Daisy and Reader to stand in front of him protectively.
"Leave him alone," Daisy commanded.
"Or what?" the receptionist asked. Before either of them could answer his question, he shoved both of them to the ground, jumped the counter, and tackled Red. He kicked, shoved, and hit the receptionist, but he wouldn't give in. He continued fighting for the necklace. Daisy and Reader jumped to their feet and worked together to pull him off but had little to no luck doing so. Red resorted to screaming for help, drawing the attention of nearby customers. Many of them stood their distance and watched the fight unfold while some of them went to go find help. A brief moment of fighting, scratching, punching, and shoving goes by before a customer returned to the scene with Toadsworth by their side. "Hey!"
His elderly British voice was loud enough to stop the fight in its tracks and the group drew their attention to him. When the receptionist's eyes fell on Toadsworth, he snarled and stood up. With a look of disgust on his face, Toadsworth rushed over. "What on dear earth do you think you're doing, young man?!"
"I was trying to enforce our security policy, sir," answered the receptionist, "That kid had a dangerous item on him."
"I've already informed you that these kind adventurers here will have weapons on them for obvious reasons, hence why they are taking a private flight," Toadsworth said. "Now, escort them to the plane immediately."
"But you don't understand, Mister Toadsworth sir! This ki-"
"Now."
The receptionist fixed his mouth to say something but decided against it. Silently, he led Daisy, Reader, and Red to their privately set up plane. He gave Red one final glare before shutting the doors behind him and disappearing back into the airport. Daisy and Reader took a seat next to each other and Red sat in an end seat in the next row over. They buckled their seatbelts and settled down into the plane's cushioned seats.
As the plane began lifting off the runway, Reader watched the scenery go by and Daisy sat back and took a deep breath. "Yeesh. What was that all about?" she wondered aloud. Red averted his attention from the window to her and shrugged.
"No clue," he answered. "But I'm glad it's over."
An awkward silence filled the plane. Reader was busy looking at the clouds rolling beneath them to pay the silence any mind, Daisy kept her gaze locked on her thighs, and Red fiddled with the charm on his necklace and occasionally looked out the window next to him. A few uneventful hours passed by. Red was leaning on the wall, observing the changing terrain below. "Hey, is that a pyramid?" he pointed out.
Daisy finally looked up from her thighs. "A pyramid, you say? We must be approaching my kingdom."
"Ohh! So you're a desert princess!" Red smiled.
Daisy shrugs and showed no strong emotions. "Yeah, I suppose you can say that. Umm..." Her voice trailed off for a moment as she tried to add something interesting to her statement. "Fun fact about my place: we have some of the best spring water here despite this area being... y'know. Ninety percent desert. It's rich with minerals and nutrients."
Red's eyebrows perked up in interest, and they continued discussing water until the plane landed gracefully at the Sarasaland Airport. The trio stepped off the plane and looked around the area. Cool, dry air filled their noses as they made their way to the front. Daisy notably kept her head low and walked quickly, even though it was late at night and close to nobody was around. She stopped Reader and Red outside of the airport after making sure that her surroundings were clear. "Okay, here's the deal. I don't know where exactly the next ship part will be, but I know someone who may. Mind tagging along with me to run an errand?"
"Sure, why not?" Red smiled.
"Sweet. Follow me around the outskirts of the Sand Town."
"Wait, the outskirts?"
"Yeah. Just... follow me."
Daisy leads Reader and Red around the outskirts of the kingdom. They could see a castle through the various town buildings and trees slowly coming into view. When it was closest to them, they snuck around the back and ended up in the back garden. Daisy paused to shuffle her hand through her pockets, looking for a particular tool. While she was at it, Red and Reader curiously looked around the beautiful garden in awe but remained focused on the task at hand.
"So... how do we get in?" Red finally asked, watching Daisy pull out a bundled up rope with a steel hook dangling from the end. Daisy unraveled the rope before answering his question.
"Like this." Daisy swung the rope around before launching it into the air towards the highest window above them. Below the window sill was a rolled up rope ladder, which the hook caught on to. Daisy pulled the ladder down with the hook and watched it fall to the ground. Daisy motioned them to follow her before swiftly climbing up the ladder. Reader and Red looked at each other in confusion but decided to roll with it. After a short climb, the three of them reached the window and slid themselves in. Reader and Red looked around the room, which seemed to be a closet that was filled with oversized beanbags, sports equipment, books, ropes, backpacks, travel guides, and clothes that were mostly jeans, t-shirts, and typical explorer outfits similar to the one Daisy was wearing. She motioned them to follow her again to the door at the end of the room and they swiftly followed her direction. She opened the door, let them exit the closet, then followed them close behind, only to be stopped right in her tracks.
"Daisy! Where on earth have you been?!" shrieked a female middle-aged Toad who was standing at the opposite side of the room. For her age, she was well kept and fairly good looking. She held a cane and her hair was tied into an elegant bun. Judging by the way she was dressed and the strict look painted on her face, it was obvious that she worked around the castle and took her job seriously.
Reader and Red stood frozen at the door and eyed Daisy, whose shoulders lowered in disappointment. She took a deep breath and fixed her mouth to talk, but the Toad rushed over with rage in her eyes. "We've been looking EVERYWHERE for you, young lady! You have no business slipping out of the castle without telling anyone where you're going! Why do you have to continue acting like a freaking barn-raised animal?!"
"Gee, good to see you, too." Daisy rolled her eyes.
From that moment alone, Reader and Red began to understand why Daisy snuck away from Sarasaland.