In the cold of winter of 2132, December 3rd, 2132, snowfalls in a fury. The creaks of a cabin of 18th-century origin laid unknown to most deep in the woods stands, dark and as cold as the wind and snow surrounding it on in the second floor, a bedroom locked from the outside, keeping a child by the name of Cabot Avery, lay in a cot of metal, on a mattress as old as him, and under a quilt with many holes ripped into it. Cabot, lay shivering but does not make a single sound as fear breathes in his core of the punishment that would come with making a single noise. Cabot is young, only 10 years old, and the unwanted nephew of the house owner, who spoils his children and treats Cabot as a stain. Cabot has long yellow blonde hair from not being allowed to hairdresser his whole life. It reached his middle back and from behind, because of his figure, he looked like a little girl. Cabot also has the most beautiful light purple, almost silver eyes. He stands to be about 3'5" or 104 cm.

Downstairs in the living room is the Man of the house, Dublin Avery, the Uncle of Cabot. He is kind and gentle to all who know him. All but Cabot. Dublin despises him for the fact Cabot is his late sister's child. A sister, he holds great disdain for. There are two other people in the house. Dublin's twin sons, Ivan and Ritimer Avery. Ritty and Van for short.

They are kind to Cabot, as they know it is not Cabot's fault for the anger their father holds for their unlawful brother, but the traitor mother of Cabot, Anaheim. No one speaks of her, so no information is known about her except she betrayed her family by running away with 12,200 pounds. As you can expect, this left the family almost bankrupt for several years, thus it being reasonable for Cabot's uncle to be furious.

"CABOT!" Dublin shouted as he heard one of the children's whimpering, and thought it was his nephew.

Cabot yelped and scurried to his closet, locking it from within to protect himself, if only for a short minute before it is broken open. Dublin, in his anger, rushed upstairs and unlocked the door and flung it open to see the child of his anger not in the bed. He looked everywhere but the closet before unlocking the closet and finding Cabot.

Cabot, close to crying as the closet door flung open, yelped then spoke in fear of his uncle. "Please, sir. I promise I didn't make a noise. Please, do not punish me. I haven't done anything-"

He was cut off in his words by a slap to the face. "Quiet. You know not to speak, Cabot. Get out of the closet. Now!"

Dublin shouted at Cabot pointing to the wall. Cabot rushed to the wall and getting into position for the whipping ensuing. Dublin ripped his belt off and locked the bedroom door, before going to Cabot and whipping his ass and thighs in a flurry of painful strokes, as if he was painting a picture with a brush, very precise. Cabot cried through the whole spanking before he was yanked over to the bed where Dublin sat and through him over his lap. Dublin then opened the side table next to them, and grabbed the hairbrush, before grabbing it and continued the spanking. The brush smacked down, one, two, three, twenty, fifty, ninety times before Cabot's bladder started to make itself known. Trying to save himself from embarrassment, Cabot decided to speak up.

"Sir, please. Let me go. I need to use the loo so desperately. I fear I can't hold it much longer."

Dublin stopped his spanking for a second, as though to process the words Cabot said. "No. I shall not allow you off my lap until you apologize for breaking my concentration. I was working on paperwork and you had made me lose my place in my thoughts. And you must mean your words."

Dublin continued the spanking until Cabot broke in desperation. Pride is damned, he had to pee. "Sir -Ow- I am sorry! I never meant to be inconsiderate about what you were doing -Ow! Please!- downstairs! -Ow!- I only was trying to get out of the bedroom so I could use the bathroom!"

"Excuses tell me you do not mean your words. If you dare piss, I will punish you harsher than ever before. I will not allow you to be the horrible bitch your mother was."

"I am sorry, Uncle. Please, forgive me. You are right! There is no excuse for what I have done. It was wrong."

Dubin released Cabot from spanking and let him go to the restroom. Once Cabot was back in the room, Dublin went downstairs, forgetting to lock the door of the room.

Cabot waited for the sound of Dublin snoring before going down the hall to leave a note with the twins before going to the back door and running to the forest with Van's snow boots on and Ritty's coat. He had the intense feeling of having to get out of that house. He got out of punishment light that night, but he didn't want to think of what would happen if he was caught or if he stayed until tomorrow for more pain. He checked the pockets in the coat once he got far away from the house to find 80 pounds and a letter written to him. The letter, which was addressed to him, was opened by Cabot and he decided to read it out loud to himself.

"Hey, Cabby. So you took my coat finally. I am so glad. Don't worry. We had a feeling that dad would forget to lock the door soon and that you would run. I left this money in my pocket from all my allowances for the past 8 months. 10 pounds a month was my allowance. I didn't want you to go hungry if you fled. Van said the same. If you ever need us for something, there is a phone in the other pocket. It only can make calls. It won't be tracked. You won't be found if you use it. I would change my name if I were you. On the back, there is a map on how to get to town from the north of the back yard. That large tree we used to play with when we were younger. I am sure you know the one. I and van will be calling the police so run as fast as you can and get off the mountain. If anyone asks who your family is, say nothing except 'I belong to Zereph'. People will leave you alone until you can gain enough to get a better life in a different town. I cared for and loved you. I hope we will meet again when we are older. Ritty.Huh. Ritty was always the nicer one of them. I hope he never changes."

Cabot then used the map to get to town and used 20 of the pounds to get to the city 3 towns east from where they lived. He looked like a kid that was going back home from his friend's place that lived in another town so no one questioned him. Once he got off the bus, he walked to the end of the street before using his phone to find out where he was with the GPS.

"So… I am in Alton. So if I hike… 16 maybe 18 hours northeast… I will be in London. Mother and father said there are people there who can help me but first, I should find a hair shop to dye my hair." Cabot tended to speak what he thought out loud. He was only give schooling until he was 7 so it was natural that he wouldn't know how to keep his thoughts to himself. Cabot at the moment had natural yellow blonde hair and had the most mesmerizing colored eyes. His eyes were naturally purple. His eye color gained through a recessive gene on his father's side of the family. "If I get it bleached and then my hair tips did black, then I can hide my identity well."

Cabot then used his GPS maps app to find a hair shop that would be open at 6 am. Image Hairdressing was just down the street. He knocked on the glass door first as the open sign was not on yet but the owner was at the counter. The owner saw him and decided to open the door to see what was going on.

"Hello, young man. Have you come to cancel an appointment for your mother?" A kind, southern American looking lady said to Cabot.

"No ma'am. I was wondering if there was a chance I could get some bleaching done and my tips dyed. I am willing to pay extra for such an early hour."

"Huh. Well, come on in young man. It is not usual for a young boy such as yourself to be wanting a dye job done early like this. But, seeing you are here an hour as early as this, I am guessing it is against your parents, and in that case, I would love to do it. Please sit in chair 3 and I will get the supplies for the hair. Now, do you want to know my prices before I get the items?"

"Yes please," Cabot said nervously, walking into the store and to the chair.

"It will be 40 pounds. Now, will those tips want ombre or solid? Solid won't look natural but be 15 pounds less. I hear it is a style the young ones have recently enjoyed."

"As natural as you can please, ma'am."

"Oh! Dear me! I nearly forgot! My name is Susan Rice. Your deary?"

"Uh…" Cabot looked around for any inspiration and saw a poster for a magic movie. In the corner, it said the creator of the movie, 'A.B. Rowan'. "Rowan. Just Rowan please."

"What a wonderful name you have. Please sit down and I will get you situated and all the dye arranged."

It didn't take long for the dyeing process to start but it took 3 hours of bleach being on his hair and then 30 minutes to wash it out to turn platinum. It then took an hour and a half for the black ombre to be put in and then another thirty to wash the extra out once more. After 5, hours in the store, he was finished with his hair. They decided to keep his hair long. When Susan had asked why he wished it long, he said it makes him more comfortable with himself. He then hopped his mary way for food. He grabbed a 3-pound costing sandwich and then also large water to go.

He heard the policeman nearby though so he paid for what little food he got and casually walked out of the store. He didn't want the officer to be suspicious of him. He needed to get clothes. He went to a woman's thrift store and got a dress that fit as well as leggings and undergarments. He also got feminine boots and a feminine trench coat as well as hair ties. No one batted an eye that a boy was buying feminine clothes for himself as it was socially accepted in the UK since 2110.

The way life had gone was the UK went backward fashion-wise, but forward in social standings. Everything was very 19th century in fashion and social forward in ideals. Especially after World War 3 in 2092 to 2106 when the electricity grid went down and the world was sent on an electric restart. Everyone knew the devastation the war had caused the world. No one won that battle. It caused everyone to build walls and build kingdoms and restart life when life was in the 1600s, before the industrial period. In the year 2115, the world had finally started to find a way to restart the old electric grid to be better and usable once more. Everything has gone back to how things industrially were in 2020, and are slowly gaining in electrics and solar power. They found that the old system was working on carbon fuel for the electric build. They switched everything to solar and once done, everything was back on the grid thanks to those in Japan.

Back to the life of Cabot, now Rowan. Once dressed, Rowan changed his name to Peridot or Dot for short. He then tied up his hair in a nice bow. Everything clothing-wise cost him 10 pounds and that is the price of that store. They had a sale, one bag of clothes for 10 pounds. He only had 20 pounds left. He had to save it for food. He didn't know when he was getting money again.

"Oi! Little girl!" A police officer said to Dot.

Dot turned around and looked at the officer confused, and in his best feminine voice said, "May I help you, officer? I was just heading home to the next town. I was staying at my friend Abby's place tonight for a sleepover but her mama could drive me home."

"Oh. I thought you were someone else little lady. Uh... You have the lost boy's eyes."

"A lost boy!" Dot faked on being scared. "Who went missing? Maybe I might know them!"

"Please calm down miss... What is your name?"

"Peridot Stevens. Dot or Dottie for short."

"Ah. What a beautiful name. Here. This is the boy I am looking for." The officer presented a photo of him in the horrible rags he used to be in. Dot looked close at the picture before acting as he remembered.

"Ah! I remember now! I saw him at the train station from the gift shop. I believe the train was headed southbound. I can't remember the train name or number though. I just know I was fascinated with his eyes as they were just like mine. May I ask why you are looking for him?"

"Well, he stole 300 pounds from his family apparently and ran away. We wish to protect him. So I should say thank you for helping me out Miss Dottie. Sorry to pull you aside like that. You should be careful about the roads. It is going to blizzard soon."

"Thank you for letting me know. I just have to make it to London. I live 3 streets away from the bus stop, so depending on if the bus is late or not, I should be good. Thank you for worrying. The bus will be here in an hour but I am willing to wait. I love snow after all. But -nods his head making his hair bounce with it- I will make sure to stay safe officer."

"Well, that is good. I must be going now." The officer walked away from Dot and he took a deep sigh of breath he didn't know he was holding. He then started to act as though he was walking to the bus stop before walking to London. It was peaceful. It took him 2 days to walk there but the cold didn't bother him as he now had nicer clothes.

Once in London, Dot had no clue on what to do from there. So she went to the abandoned district of houses and went to one of the empty, not used rooms of a particular hotel before falling asleep and decided to think about it on the third day of travel. Dot knew he was now to become a she, otherwise, he would go back to that house that he hated.

It was December 7th, 2132 now, and the news has spread all across the United Kingdoms looking for the supposed thief, Cabot Avery. Everyone was on the lookout for this thief. It was unusual in modern times to hear of a thief who stole from his family. Especially one is so young. Whispers amongst the streets were noticeably louder. Questions of this case began spiraling. Why would he steal from his family, they seem so kind? What caused the child to snap? Why run away instead of grabbing the money and hiding in the house? So many questions rolled around the streets. None to be answered. Until Dot had entered the streets of London, in an abandoned homeless shelter with quite a few adults, where she/he was handed a newspaper at shared meals. She got lucky in choosing a building. They shared food daily so no one would grow hungry. They stayed quiet about her existence as well. They knew the darkness of the world. They as people knew that if a child was on the streets with them, it is best not to ask, contrary to what most believe, the adult homeless of London weren't nosy.

Dot had settled into the place she chose when the leader of the house came over to her and started to ask questions. So with a frown on his face, he decided to talk.

"Listen, I am in a lot of trouble. I am hiding until the cops stop looking for me. Once that is done, I will be on my way."

"You are welcome to stay. Just… don't snitch the location and you are welcome here. That is our one rule."

"Thank you."