The Goat Plan
You all wanted to know about Lovino's plan that involved a goat, so here it is to tide you over until I can get the last chapter written. This can be read without reading The Cross Dressing Plan.
The woods where full of the shouts of children. All the boys and girls from the small town of Cerveteri had come out to participate in the biggest game of hide and seek ever played.
Lovino, eleven years old, with ragged dirty blond hair was "it". She chased Luca around trees, sprinting around tree trunks and avoiding low bushes, trying to tag him so he would join her as "it". The stable boy was too quick and dodged her by running around a tree. When the small girl raced after him another person popped up in front of her. She let out a squeak as she ran into the person causing them both to land on the hard ground. Blearily she shook her head. The person she had run into was Ludwig he lay laughing on the ground.
"Hey I touched you that means you are with me now!" She stood up and leaned over the laughing boy.
"Ja, ja," Still laughing Ludwig stood up and brushed the dirt off of himself.
Lovino let out a huff. "The point of the game is to hide not smack into the person who is it,"
"I know,"
The little girl just let out another huff and began walking again keeping an eye out for Luca's bright red hair. Smiling Ludwig fallowed after her, looking in the trees for any children hiding in their leaves.
Soon the duo caught Luca, shortly followed by the baker's twins, then Rosetta and Valentino, then the brother and sister who lived in the gipsy camp just outside the village, then everyone else.
Lovino stood grinning, her hands on her hips, and feet planted on top of the highest stump she could find. "We found everyone! Ha!"
Next to her Rosetta frowned. "I think someone is missing." Her blue eyes roved over the crowd of children. "Where is Marco?"
Lovino's grin fell as her own eyes swept across the other kids. "Merda," She cursed and jumped off the stump. "Did anyone see where he was hiding?"
For a moment the kids were silent then one of the gipsy children spoke up. "He's the one with the red coat right? And he's really small and skinny?"
Lovino nodded in conformation.
"I saw him go toward the edge of the forest," the dark haired gipsy stated.
"Maybe he went back home?" Rosetta stepped next to Lovino and glanced at her friend.
The blonde nodded. "Valentino you are the fastest runner, go to his house and ask if he is there,"
The lanky boy did as he was told and rushed off into the trees.
Marco lived in a little cottage near the edge of the forest with his elderly grandmother. It would not take long for Valentino to return. In the eight minutes it took for Valentino to get to Marco's house, question his grandmother all the children had gathered around the gypsy kids as they told the others a story about a witch that lives in the woods and steals little boys and girls who wander off too far.
The oldest boy was half way through explaining the gruesome ways in which the witch would eat the children when Valentino burst through the trees.
"She skins them but they are still alive and-" "He is not there!"
The children all turned their eyes to the panting boy. "Marco's grandmother says he is not there, she has not seen him sense he went off this morning."
"Merda!" Lovino stood and brushed the dirt off of her backside. "Looks like we will have to find him. He probably just fell asleep in a bush or something." She put her hands on her hips and looked as stern as an eleven year old could. "Everyone spilt up and look for him!"
The children of the village began to disperse from the clearing in groups of three or four, they walked through the trees kicking up loose leaves and calling for Marco. Lovino, Rosetta, Valentino and Ludwig all went as a group all of them shouting at the top of their lungs for their lost friend.
Hours passed and not a trace of the boy in the red coat could be found. The sun was setting and many of the other kids had returned to their homes.
"Of course he just had to go and get lost the idiot!" Lovino paced in circles kicking a rock as she went.
"Maybe… he was taken by the witch those gypsies talked about…" Luca nervously spoke up.
"Witches do not exist," Ludwig shook his head at Luca.
Luca pouted. "You do not know that for sure."
Rosetta decided to chime in. "Luca could be right, we do not know that for sure,"
"Ug!" They all turned and looked at Lovino. "God you two are dumb, of course witches do not exist they were made up to scare little kids and make them behave. But that is not what is important! What is important is the fact that Marco has been missing for five hours. We cannot let the adults know!"
"You have some sport of plan?" Rosetta raised a dark eye brow at her friend, wondering if she would come up with some hair brained scheme to keep them out of trouble.
Lovino stayed silent for a moment, her eyes looking through the darkening woods without really seeing them. "Maybe… Luca you know the goat my father just bought?"
The sun had set. The little village of Cerveteri was lit only from the windows of homes and the few shops that remained open. The night time shadows were perfect for the four children as they snuck through the quiet.
"This is not going to work," Rosetta hissed as they drew closer to the home of Marco and his grandmother.
"Everyone knows Marco's grandmother is blind as a bat, she will not have any idea," Lovino smirked and pulled on the rope in her hand. The rope was connected to the hauler of a very annoyed goat that had been dressed in a little red jacket and pants just like the ones Marco had been wearing.
"But this is a goat not a kid!" Rosetta protested.
"I am well aware of that," Lovino walked closer to the house, Rosetta, Luca and Ludwig all trailing behind her and the animal. When Lovino reached the door she lifted her hand up and knocked. It took a long time but eventually the door opened and Marco's wrinkled relative peered out the door at the children.
"Oh! Hello Lovino," She smiled at the girl. "Have you seen my grandson at all? It is getting rather late."
"Yes, sorry he was having dinner with us and we decided to walk him home," Lovino nudged the goat toward the open door and the animal moved past the skirts of the old woman and inside.
"Thank you children and good night!" Marco's grandmother closed the door.
Lovino turned around and grinned at her friends. "See, no proble-"
A loud shriek erupted from the house behind Lovino.
"What in the world were you thinking?!" Signore Incendio paced back and forth across his office. He was a tall, thin man, with dark hair kept unfashionably short and stormy eyes just like his daughter's. Often people compared him to a raven, both for his looks and slightly unnerving seriousness.
In of him stood his own child with her head down, her best friend, looking at him with wide pleading eyes and his foreign friend's child looking slightly ashamed.
"We, er, I thought no one would notice," Lovino lifted her head just enough to look at her father.
"You thought no one would notice that you tried to replace a boy with a goat," Signore Incendio looked at his child with exasperation.
"I miss calculated other people's stupidity," Lovino lowered her head again.
"Indeed you did, by quite a bit." The middle aged man sighed and leaned against his mahogany desk, his eyes sweeping over the three in front of him. "You are very lucky that Marco was found in the old well and that his grandmother forgave you."
All three children nodded.
"I do not want to ever hear about you three trying something so ludicrous ever again," The three looked up at Signore Incendio hoping that they might get out of this without punishment. "As punishment for this transgression you are to muck the horse stalls, feed the dogs, polish the silverware, and do three times your normal training exercises."
The children all looked at the floor with disappointment but only said "Yes sir," then left to get started.