Despite the fact Aang had reluctantly agreed to marry Azula, he wasn't allowed out of his cell. Perhaps Azula hadn't trusted him enough to let him out of his cell without having to chase him. That brought up an interesting question in Aang's mind: when he was married to her, how would she make sure he wouldn't run off? Have the Dai Li hypnotize into thinking he was in love with her, have him locked up in their room, or him chained up with her? Whatever plan she had, Aang did not want to find out. Without thinking, he banged on the door, yelling, "Azula! Azula, get down here! I have to ask you something really important!"
"Quiet in there!" snapped a Dai Li agent, hitting Aang's cell door hard enough to send him flying into his cell's opposite wall.
"What's all the racket down here?" a familiar voice demanded. Aang leapt to his feet and ran to the door, unwillingly smiling. He then wondered something: why on earth was he smiling? Azula's his enemy, for the spirits' sake! There's nothing about her to smile at! Remembering that made Aang's smile fade.
"The Avatar was banging on his cell door, possibly trying to escape," replied the Dai Li agent.
"I was not!" Aang protested. "I was trying to get Azula's attention so I could to talk to her!" Azula almost blushed; he wanted to talk to her? That was the first time she was caught off-guard by him and she liked it.
"Unlock this door," she ordered. The Dai Li agent looked at her in shock.
"But Princess-" he began.
"Now!" yelled Azula, shooting blue flame at him. Frightened, the Dai Li fumbled around for the keys in his pockets. When his rock glove met something metallic, he sighed and pulled the object out. Unfortunately, what he pulled out was not the key, but a small ring. As Azula's face turned red with anger, the Dai Li agent's turned white with fear. "Where is that?" Azula asked a dangerously calm voice.
"It's… an engagement ring I was holding onto," the agent replied sheepishly.
"And where did you get that from?" questioned Azula, losing her patience.
"I-I got it from… a craftsman," answered the nervous man. "I was planning on proposing to someone not worth mentioning right now."
"So this is your engagement ring?" Azula paraphrased, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, Princess," said the man, looking very ashamed and embarrassed.
"You stupid Earthbender!" shouted Azula, snatching the ring and throwing it away. "What made you think it's alright to marry somebody when you're a part of an important job such as serving the princess?"
"Please, Princess!" the agent pleaded. "Do forgive me! I never meant for this to happen! It just did!"
"Get out of my sight!" demanded Azula. "Leave me your keys!"
"Yes, Princess!" said the Dai Li agent as he frantically ran off, clutching the ring tightly. Azula rolled her eyes as she scoffed, picked up the keys, and unlocked Aang's cell. When she opened the door, Aang stood in the cell, his gray eyes sparkling with an unusually large amount of happiness. The princess skeptically looked at her prisoner before she stepped inside.
"So you wanted to ask me something?" she questioned.
"I did," Aang said smiling sadly. "Could you at least allow me to see my friends?" Azula raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
"Why should I?" she asked.
"Well, when we're married, you're letting them go, remember?"
"Perhaps."
"Well, I just want to tell them my last goodbye before our wedding and they have to go." Azula thought about this for a moment and suddenly thought of an idea.
"Very well, but I want you to decide how your friends shall spend the rest of their lives."
"Hold on! Why do I have to decide their fates?" Aang cried. The young princess smirked at the angry Avatar.
"Would you prefer me to choose then?" Aang glared at her. "Trust me. What I would choose wouldn't be very pleasant for your friends. So which will it be?" Suddenly, all of Aang's anger melted as he hung his head in defeat.
"What are the options?" he finally asked. Azula reached out and patted the boy's hairless head as if he was a pet.
"That's what I wanted to hear," she said. "Your options are as follows: they can spend the rest of their miserable lives serving my family here, they can be sold as slaves to other fellow citizens here, they could stay here in the prison and die, or they marry my brother, Ty Lee, and Tom-Tom when he gets older. What will you choose for them, Aang dear?" Aang's eyes widened in fear; no matter what he chose, they would be forced to stay in the Fire Nation for their eventual death. How was he supposed to choose a suitable fate for his friends when either way, they'll be unhappy?