"Vorpal blade," she smiled, and her grin was nearly predatory. "A bit longer than a butcher's knife, and far more sharp. If one has good aim, it can be thrown at enemies, but then one has the difficulty of being unarmed until the weapon can be retrieved from the body. I haven't been to the salle; it seemed more for proper swordfights, I suppose. Is that your weapon?"

Alice's teachers had been desperation and need. She didn't know the elegant feint, and the dance of retreat. She knew how to carve and slice until her opponent stopped breathing.