gates of fire

Pg. 296


"'Let neither of us pity the other,' my cousin spoke in parting. 'We are where we must be, and we will do what we must'"





What i love about this passage is the great love that there is between them. Xoe feels really bad about not being able to protect his cousin Diomache, but she explains to him that he has been and that he is. After explaining to Xeo about what she saw and what she thought it meant, it really seemed to get to him and realize that what she was saying was true. Although I would have preferred of they ended up together, the message that she sends across was very touching. The way she tells him that she will honor him when he dies and that hes really been protecting her all along even though he didn't think he was, was moving and makes you want to agree with the way things worked out between them. She believes that as he goes out into battle he is going to die along with the other Spartan soldiers and she, as well as him, is okay with the fact. It really just makes me wonder if even though she really truly believed what she said about them being who they should be, I just wonder if she ever wanted to know what would have been of them if nothing had ever changed and he had kept his word to marry her some day. Although the story has a little twist here, they are both learning in love and of life as they go on with what to them is their responsibilities.