Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 16 of Gypsy. I want to thank those who have left a review for this story. It truly does mean a lot to me that you guys enjoy this story. It also tells me you guys are in it for the long haul. I hope that this next chapter doesn't turn out too badly. It is a completely OG Chapter. Without further ado Chapter 16. ENJOY!

Chapter 16

Tony was out the next day looking over the sites of Rivendell in awe. She had to admit that this place was rather beautiful, but it was so much different from her world. Her heart clenched in her chest as she thought of her friends. She knew that they probably missed her as much as she missed them. They were after all her friends and they were thick as thieves causing trouble wherever they would roam but they would always seem to find a way out of it.

She had a feeling inside of her heart that Bilbo was enjoying the sites as well. She could hear the heavy footsteps of someone coming up behind her. She turned her head to see that it was none other than Thorin. She blinked in confusion wondering if he had searched her out to begin with. Her hands went to the breeches she wore that didn't suit being in Rivendell. "Thorin?" She asked slightly confused seeing him there. Her heart clenched in her chest wondering why he was here.

"You seem to be enjoying your time here?" He questioned gruffly as he took a spot next to her looking out upon the valley. He hated to admit the fact that this young woman was more suitable here in Rivendell than on the road with them where there were many dangers ahead of them. Some dangers that he still wasn't quite sure of were in their path to reclaiming Erebor.

Tony took a soft breath. "As beautiful as this place is, I'm looking forward to seeing what Erebor looks like…"

Thorin cleared his throat. "You want to see my homeland?" He asked softly unsure if he should be allowing her to even be joining them to his homeland. He already put her in a lot of danger and he knew she was stubborn, but he knew that the stubbornness was going to end up getting the poor girl killed.

Tony smiled softly looking over at him. "I would." She said softly, pushing some of her hair back looking at him. "But something seems to bother you, Thorin. What is it?" She bit her lip hoping that it wasn't something bad that was weighing heavily on his mind.

"Are you sure that you don't want to stay here?" He gruffly asked, finally questioning his opinion. He wanted her to stay behind. He just could only hope that she wouldn't say no to him and actually do as she was asked to do.

"Stay?" She questioned tilting her head to the side. She didn't want to stay. This place was much too glamorous for her to stay in. "You don't want me to come with you?"

Thorin rubbed his hands together as he looked at her. "It's not that…"

"Then what is it Thorin? I thought that I proved myself to you." She questioned feeling her heart race inside of her chest. She didn't like the feeling that she had. She didn't want to stay behind, she felt like at least she had some place amongst the company even though she wasn't a master yet at her sword skill. But she was willing to learn.

"It's dangerous for you to be out there."

"It's dangerous for anyone out there. Orcs are hunting for you and your company. What would be the difference if you had me in the company? It wouldn't change a thing."

Thorin pinched his nose taking a breath through his nose trying his best to not snap at her. That was the last thing that he wanted to do. "You can hardly handle a sword." He pointed out to her as his heart began to race in his chest. He didn't like the idea of her putting herself in harm's way when there was a much better way to do things.

"Thorin, I've been learning how to use the sword… Dwalin hardly lets up on me when it comes to training." She pointed out as if she was going to win this debate on if she should continue or not.

"You really should stay behind."

Tony shook her head. "I'm not going to change my mind." She pointed out that it was the easiest choice that she had to make.

"You're making the wrong choice."

"No, Thorin, I'm not. Honestly, I thought that I proved to you that I'm more than just a pretty face."

"I don't want you to get yourself killed." He snapped, finally admitting the truth of why he didn't want her to go with them.

Tony looked at him with wide eyes. She hadn't expected him to say that outloud. He didn't want her to get hurt on the journey. It stirred something up inside of her in shock. "You… you don't want me to get hurt?" She asked softly, surprised that someone would care for her in such a way.

Thorin nodded his head firmly.

"Thorin… I know you may not want me to get hurt… but I still want to go with you." She said softly brushing her hands softly against the blue tunic he wore.

Thorin sucked a breath through his teeth. "Why? It's dangerous for you to…"

"Thorin, I can protect myself and there are others in the company that can help protect me…"

"I cannot guarantee your safety."

"I know…"

Thorin sucked more breath through his teeth. He couldn't believe that he was about to lose this battle with her. "Fine." He said softly touching her cheek softly with his hand. "Listen to what we say."

"I promise." She said softly turning her head in his hands, her soft lips meeting against his calloused skin.

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This is the end of Chapter 16. I hope that you guys enjoyed this chapter. I tried my best with trying to write this chapter out and making it as long as I could. Hopefully I did it some justice. Hopefully it turned out fairly well. Please leave a review and let me know what you think of this chapter. Reviews help me keep going when it comes to writing out these chapters. We have seven chapters left before An Unexpected Journey is finished. I'm excited to show you guys what is to happen next. Until next time.