Thank you for taking a break from your training to speak with us at Novel PASTimes. Will you introduce yourself?

Have you not heard of me? I am the Amazon, fiercest gladiatrix in all of Rome. My image is painted on the sides of buildings. Spectators scream my name when I enter the arena, shower me with flowers and tokens. They love me. 

But that is not what you meant, I think.  

My true name is Adelgard, but those closest to me call me Adel. In the Gallic School for gladiators, only the medicus cares to call me by my true name. Not the old medicus with sagging jowls and a fondness for wine, but Felix. The handsome one with gentle eyes and too many questions. He is very… irritating, of course.

What brought you to Rome?

Chains. No thanks to the Roman army, obviously. 

My people are Visigoth. When the Huns attacked and pushed us out of our lands, Rome granted us asylum as long as our men agreed to join the legions and fight for the empire. They were promptly sent to the front lines and used as fodder for enemy spears. When we tried to appeal to the emperor for citizenship and better treatment, we were denied, ignored, and finally, we took matters into our own hands and ransacked Roman towns to get attention. Well. We got the attention we sought, but it came in the form of the Roman army. They ambushed our war camp and dragged me and the other war-daughters to Rome where we were sold to gladiator schools. But it is not so terrible here. We are adored by the spectators, cared for by trainers and physicians. Loved. 

You keep mentioning love, but what you’re saying doesn’t sound like love.

Have you been talking to Felix? He often tells me the same thing and it disrupts my focus. See this wound on my arm? I cannot afford any more mistakes in the ring. If I prove myself worthy, the school manager promised to make me a trainer and put me in charge of the other gladiatrices. I can protect them better if I oversee them. Plus, if I can improve them, they will have a better chance during the emperor’s Victory Games. Fighters who find favor have often been awarded their freedom. 

What would you do if you were freed? Return home?

I joined the Visigoth army because I shamed my family. I thought I might earn back their affection if I did my duty as a war-daughter, but my father could hardly look at me, even then. What would he think of me now? The monk in our war camp liked to tell the story of the prodigal son, but how can I simply turn around and go home after all of this? It seems too easy and too difficult all at once. No. I am on my own, and if I do not fight for myself, no one else will.

Do you have any friends in the gladiator school?

It would be easier to name my enemies. Trust and friendship do not come easily when one’s downfall means another’s gain. But most of the gladiatrices in my school are Visigoth, and this trial has brought us closer than the war camp ever did. We do what we can to protect each other, but the competition thrumming through every word and action makes for a lonely life. Perhaps I could count Felix a friend, though. Despite my best efforts to intimidate him, he keeps finding ways to talk to me. He is as persistent and loyal as my wolfhound. How I love that dog.

What are you most afraid of?

The Amazon fears nothing. But deep down, I am not really the Amazon, am I? I am Adel, and I am terrified of letting go. Of trusting God with my heart and my dreams—what if He lets me down like everyone else has? I want safety and security, love. Perhaps a home and garden of my own where I can cultivate life instead of death. For years I have clutched these desires so tightly in my fists, they’ve been crushed to powder. If I surrender them to God now, what could He possibly do with a handful of dust?

What have you learned about yourself in the course of your story?

I spent my life striving for the things I wanted. Fighting to gain them on my own terms, in my own time, and in doing so I made a mess of my life. It is a hard thing, surrender. To pry my fingers off my dreams and give them over to a God who knows my heart and my mistakes and somehow loves me still. There is nothing more terrifying and exhilarating than surrender. Than freeing myself from bondage to my own desires and trusting His love. His timing. But as Felix says, to trust is “rarely easy, always costly, but never hopeless.”

Please…do not tell Felix I repeated his words. He will think I am beginning to tolerate him. Which I am not. Much.

I know you have to get back to your training, but is there anything else you’d like people to know?

Only that the Victory Games are coming soon. And we have something very big planned. Something that might—if we are successful—change the future of our world. You will not want to miss it.

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Jamie Ogle is a predawn writer, homeschool mom by day, and a reader by night. Inspired by her fascination with the storied history of faith, she writes historical fiction infused with hope, adventure, and courageous rebels. A Minnesota native, she now lives in Iowa with her husband and their three children, and she can usually be found gardening, beekeeping, and tromping through the woods. Learn more about Jamie at jamieogle.com.

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