The forest hums quietly with the typical bird chirps and stirs of life. It reminds me ever so slightly of home. Except the forests of England have many differences from the amazonian jungle, there's a tentative resemblance that makes me feel better on homesick days.

My footfalls barely register against the thunderous steps of my beau. Jack always walks like an elephant when something is on his mind. It's something that I learned the day we met all those months ago.

-- 6 months ago --

I slip through the trees as I wait for my prey to step into the small gap between the trunks. It's a rare comfort in this foreign world of 'civilized' life, to still be able to gather and provide for myself.

Of course, if Clara knew, she would remind me of the butcher shop that's perfectly nestled in the center of town. But old habits die hard. Not to mention, the Amazon is forever a part of my being after so many years.

I notch the arrow and pull it taught. My heart calms down and evens out with my breath. The deer dips its head down to nibble at some grass, and once it raises its head--I release.

Although, the arrow doesn't find its mark. Because at that same moment, a gunshot echoes through the forest like thunder. The deer bolts, now wounded and scared, as I notch another arrow and take a second shot.

It settles with a thunk through the heart. I bite my lip and painfully watch as it takes another few stumbling meters before falling to the ground.

Twigs snap against my cloak as I rush to the creature's side. Tears spill out of my eyes and smear the markings of my tribe I replicated as part of the ritual of the hunt. "Thank you for your sacrifice. May you find peace and rest." I whisper and feel the heartbeat stutter and give out.

Footsteps pound from behind me as I complete the rest of the tradition. The stranger stops beside me, clearly unsure of what to do or how to react. But once I finish, I answer the question for him.

"Do you have no shame?" I shout as the answer bubbles in my chest. The young man watches me with wide brown eyes and a blush coating his cheeks when he notices my limited attire. "Everyone here has felt the right to lecture me about 'civilized' culture, but I don't see it. There is nothing civilized about this kind of slaughter.

"The tribes I knew and life I lived may have been different, but at least we knew to respect life enough to end it quickly and peacefully. They taught to respect Death, not pretend as though we owned and ruled it." I catch my breath, chest still heaving in fury. "If this is civilized, I would much rather have the Amazonian barbarity any day."

The brown eyed boy watches me with a slack jaw as I untie the coil of rope from my waist and prepare to drag the deer out. "Who--who are you?" He finally stutters after I've made it a few steps.

I lift my chin and try to fight back the falter that always happens. "Y/N L/N." It's not my real name. No one knows what that is. I lost it and my parents to the jungle fever as a toddler. This one was given to me by the others in the group, pieced together from past lives or books. "My name is Y/N L/N."

He nods, still in some sort of daze as he speaks. "Jack Fawcett."

"Well," I retort as I secure the ropes around myself again, "good day, Mr. Fawcett."

Present

A laugh escapes me at the memory of his terrified expression and shock at my behavior. We've certainly come a long way since then. Most of which can be credited to my attempts to follow 'civilized' customs of being neighborly, which led to our second meeting and my apology.

Jack turns to me curiously at the sound of my laughter, but there's still a glaze of thought over his amber eyes. "What's so funny?" He questions and shifts the picnic basket so he can take my hand in his.

I happily lace our fingers together and press closer to him as we walk into the field. "Just thinking about how we met." The mention of the memory causes a smile to tug at the corners of his lips. Still, there's clearly something on his mind. "You've been quiet today. Tell me your thoughts?"

His fingers tap against my hand like they always do when he's nervous. But he forces a smile across his face as we cross the open field. "It's nothing, my love. Let's just enjoy our picnic."

I drop the subject, but the curiosity and worry still linger. Even as we settle ourselves beneath the tree that nearly all of our special moments have happened at. It's become our tree. The special spot we love and our corner of the world where no one can find us. It's where we shared our first kiss, where we first said 'I love you,' and where we always know to find the other on a bad day.

We settle the blanket down across the grass. I watch Jack in wonder as he puts everything in its place like always. When I left the Amazon with Clara and her husband, I never expected to find much. The main reason I agreed to come was to understand my roots, where my parents came from before they broke ties and settled in with the tribes.

Instead, I found happiness, love, and family. Most of which are exclusively Jack. He's become everything to me these past few months, and I love him for it. For the little and big things, like always making sure I understand that though I may live alone in a guest house, I'll always have him and a place to go.

Jack catches me staring, and his gorgeous chocolate eyes glimmer in delight as the blush rises to my cheeks. "You were doing it again, darling." He chuckles and leans closer to me

"Doing what?" I feign naivety and innocence as always. "Admiring the forest?" Jack rolls his eyes and chuckles. Still, he closes the distance and presses a chaste kiss to my lips. I kiss him back with a smile before pulling away. "So, what did you bring for today?" I question and search for whatever book Jack decided to bring.

"No!" He shouts and tears it from my hands in a panic. "I mean, not yet. We should probably eat first."

I nod but watch him curiously. The whole time we eat and talk, Jack keeps touching the book to make sure it's there. This is the first time I've ever seen him this flustered. It makes me smile and lean into him as we enjoy the sunny afternoon.

The same moment we finish our little meal, I look up at him through my eyelashes with a smirk. "Okay, now give me the book. I need to practice." Yet another piece of our tradition is Jack teaching me how to read and write. Each time we do this, he brings along a book to help me practice. Of course, I practice on my own time, but it's always more fun when he's here.

His nervous smile returns to his features, and he wraps his arms around me and has me lean against his chest. All the while, he keeps an iron grip on the book. "This one is a little different today." He whispers right next to my ear, and I relish the feeling of his arms around me and the sound of his voice.

Jack's fingers interlace with my own as he flips the book open with his other hand. Across the pages are curves and lines of delicate black ink. It's unmistakably his handwriting--neat but rushed. The pages are littered with his thoughts and memories, but his fingers keep turning until it reaches a nearly blank spread. "Okay, here we go."

His breath fans against my neck, momentarily distracting me and making it very difficult to read. It's the only downside of being near him. He's intoxicating. My head swims, and I have to force myself to make sense of the scribbles instead of allowing Jack to distract me. "Wait, that's my name." I mumble and point to the first line.

Jack hums in confirmation, and I know he's waiting for me to continue. "Y/N," I speak with assurance before the onslaught of stuttering, "well--will you?" I follow the vibrations from Jack as insight on what to fix as I translate the last of it. "Marry me?"

I untangle myself from Jack and turn back to him to see if this is some sort of joke. "Y/N, will you marry me?" My voice is shaky as I wait for him to confirm what I think I read. There's a mix of fear and excitement in his eyes. His fingers tremble as he fumbles with something in his jacket pocket.

Everything spins as Jack pushes himself forward, a tentative smile on his face and an object in his hand. "Y/N, I know we've only known each other for six months, and everyone will say this is crazy. But I love you. I never thought I would understand this kind of love or feel for someone so deeply. Until I got to know you. You're crazy and wild, but you're beautiful and kind. It would be my honor if you would agree to marry me; 'cause I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

My hands cup my mouth as he offers up a simple silver band, which likely cost him a month's worth of wages, and so much more than I could ever deserve. Tears build in my eyes as I unthinkingly launch myself into his arms. "Is that a yes?"

I nod and mumble a confirmation as I press our lips together. Everything is in that kiss, and his calloused fingers cup my face with a tenderness only he could show. "Yes, I'll marry you, Jack. I'd happily marry you a hundred times."

The two of us can't help but smile, laugh, and kiss as we relish in the new feeling of being engaged. This is the happiest I can ever recall feeling. "We have to tell your family!" I shout after nearly an hour of enjoyment. Jack just laughs and pulls me back down to him for another lingering kiss.

"I know. I just wanted to enjoy it being our secret for a moment." He mumbles against my lips, and I feel a surge of giddiness at the comment. "I'm honestly surprised you said 'yes.'"

My jaw drops at the comment. "What? Were you afraid we amazonian women aren't fit for marriage?" I tease and bump him with my shoulder. "You forget marriage is a prized custom in my tribe. Of course, we won't do all the traditions, just the ones we can manage. Which reminds me, I'll have to start working on which tattoo to give you." I mumble the last part to myself, but it causes Jack's head to snap up and eyes widen in dismay.

"I have to get a tattoo?!" He shouts incredulously, but I'm too wrapped up in my own thoughts to pay him any mind.

...

My mind is lost in euphoria and nostalgia as we walk back hand in hand. Jack rambles and discusses a multitude of topics that sail past my head. All I can focus on is him. My wondrous Englishman with the touch of an amazon in his soul.

No matter how much he wishes otherwise, it's a quality he inherited from his father. Deep down he has the same adventuring, untameable soul as myself. It's what made me initially fall in love with him.

His house is quiet when we finally return, and the absence of noise and bustling from his siblings is quite odd. Jack's expression mirrors my own confusion.

We set aside the picnic basket and search through the house for anyone to share our good news with. Although, the announcement and joy dies on our lips when we find his mother and father seated at the table looking somber.

"Jack, Y/N," his mother smiles through teary eyes, "have a seat. There's some things we need to discuss."

Jack's calloused fingertips tap against my hand as we settle into the two empty chairs. He offers me an encouraging smile and doesn't look away as he speaks. "We actually had some news too."

His parents pause and lean forward ever so slightly. I give Jack a timid nod and intertwine our fingers again. A smile breaks across his face as he turns toward his parents and declares, "We're engaged."

Mrs. Fawcett clamps a hand over her mouth as tears freely stream down her face. Still, there's a barrier to her happiness. It's clearly visible in her eyes as she turns toward her husband and dismisses herself.

Worry floods my body as she removes herself from the room, barely containing a sob. Mr. Fawcett turns to us with a soft, sympathetic smile. "Jack, Y/N, I'm sorry to give you this news on the tailcoats of a happy occasion, but--" he pauses and takes a deep breath, "I'm continuing my search for Z."

My stomach knots at the mention of the lost city that has become Mr. Fawcett's white whale. It's a point of contention for Jack. He lost so much time with his father because of the fabled city.

I turn to Jack when his hand tightens around mine. Not in anger, but fear. Because we both know the promise he made before we met, and also the secret we've hidden from his father.

The secret that I know the location of Z.

But if we were ever to tell Mr. Fawcett, he would be lost forever. It was already difficult enough for him to return both times before. So Jack begged me to never mention it.

Although, our shock and fear only heightens with the next comment. "And I want you to come with me, Jack."