AO3, where I also publish this story, was down yesterday, which meant I didn't publish here either to avoid getting out of sync and making a stupid mistake. But that meant I missed wishing a Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian readers! Hope you had a good one!

Responses to Reviews:

RonaldM40196867: Apparently it's a fairly contentious question as to whether Avatar counts as an Anime. I don't really watch anime, so I couldn't possibly say either way.

Zigzagdoublezee: She was left in charge when her husband and children went on their diplomatic mission to the north, which everyone expected to take about two weeks, maybe a month. Thanks to Ozai, it's now been quite a lot longer than that.

Dive- Bombers: Yes, an interesting Canada fact.

As Always, Please Review!

Zuko awoke with a start. For a moment, he felt like he was falling but then he was awake, underneath his blanket, the open sky overhead and a strange rustling coming from somewhere nearby. The moon cast a dim light over their group, and he could make out Chen, Bei, Lian and the actors they had rescued asleep in a ring around their wagon.

The refugee column had halted on top of a large hill for the night, believing it would afford them protection and a good view of the surrounding countryside, and Zuko and his group had settled down to sleep. They were spread out around him now, none of them apparently having noticed the disturbance.

He reached beside him for his bag, and brought out the mask that the actors had given him when he had first met them. He regarded it for a moment and then slid it over his face. It was probably better he couldn't be recognised, just in case it was an intruder from the Fire Nation who might recognise him. It might just be an animal too, or a fellow refugee stepping out of the group for some private moment; but better to be safe than sorry.

He stood up slowly and went over to the cart, pulling out Bei's swords again, which he had already wielded once when fighting the Fire Nation tank, so he had some feel for them. It was also a good idea to have some weapon that wouldn't involve him firebending. Then he looked around, concentrating.

For a moment, he could hear nothing except snores and the gentle rustling of the trees in the breeze. Then he very definitely saw a branch move unnaturally.

Slowly, carefully, making sure not to stand on anyone, he crept towards the tree. He hid the blades behind the folds of his robe so they would not glint in the moonlight and give him away, until at last he reached it and leapt around it, bringing them out and into a fighting stance.

Nothing was there.

Disappointed, he looked around, just in time to see a sword whistling towards his head. He yelped and rolled out of the way, raising his dual-swords towards the masked attacker. As he got a good look at them, he saw that they were very thin and wore baggy clothing, with a hood hanging down over a mask not entirely dissimilar to his own. His assailant was holding a long, slightly curved, blade that they pointed at him.

Zuko didn't dare speak, not wanting to give himself away in case this was a Fire Nation spy. For a moment, the two of them stared each other down. Then his opponent attacked, skipping forward a couple of steps as they lunged with the blade. Zuko parried it with one sword and chopped with the other, but they skittered backwards deftly, and his blade passed through only air.

At an impasse, they went back to circling one another, sizing each other up and waiting for a move, or, preferably, a mistake. Zuko didn't have to wait long; his opponent charged again, feinting with the sword on one side before deftly passing it into the other hand, what should have been their weaker hand, for a thrust on the other side.

It was an unconventional move, and would have worked for them facing an opponent with only one sword, but Zuko had two. His opponent was forced to roll under a second swing of his sword, but took the opportunity to knock his legs out from under him. As he crumpled, they retreated again. He snatched up his swords and scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could.

Now he badly wanted to say something, but if he spoke and they recognised his voice it would all be over. He could not take that risk. Instead, he gestured down the mountain with his blade, and cocked his head in the same direction a moment later. The message was clear:

Leave. Now.

The hooded figure only shook their head.

No.

Zuko shrugged, and settled down into a combat stance again, his opponent doing the same. Then they both attacked at the same time, parrying and thrusting, metal clanging against metal as they furiously ducked and weaved and went back and forth.

As they fought, Zuko found himself analysing his opponent's fighting style. Something about it was definitely familiar, but he couldn't quite place it.

By now, the sounds of fighting had woken others up. Zuko saw torches being lit behind them, and the other swordsman saw them too. Seeing the light reflecting off Zuko's mast, they whirled around to see the source of the light. Zuko leapt forwards, swords outstretched, but again they only connected with air. The mysterious masked assailant had ducked under his blow again and come up behind him. He turned to face her.

"Who goes there?" A voice shouted. More joined in, demanding to know what was happening.

Again, Zuko levelled a sword at his attacker, and again he invited her to leave with a gesture of his head. This time, his opponent hesitated. Whatever they had set out to do, there was now a lot of attention on them.

A tense moment later, they turned and retreated down the mountainside. Zuko relaxed, and after watching them go for a moment, pulled off his mask and went to meet the others.

"What happened?" Someone demanded.

"We were attacked," Zuko explained. "Some masked intruder."

There was general outrage.

"Who could do this?" Someone else demanded, to nobody in particular.

Zuko wasn't sure, but now he had thought about it more he had placed why his attacker's fighting style had seemed so familiar.

That had been Fire Nation swordsmanship. Whoever they were, they had clearly learned their trade in the academies of his homeland.

He shivered, and was suddenly tempted to put the mask back on. Even behind the line of mountain forts that he had thought were between him and his father's armies, he was still not safe. They had to get to Ba Sing Se soon.