"This is stupid" was the first thing Azula said to her doctors "I should be helping Zuko organize things. I'll leave in a few days."
"With all due respect your highness, if your brother insisted on having you talk to us, there must a good reason for it. After all, it's not like him to let us talk to you alone" Chise said in her usual blunt way.
"Chise, you're talking about your Fire Lord. Be more respectful" Mayu adverted before Azula could, and using much, much kinder words than she would have.
But the woman wasn't wrong. The princess and her brother had been pretty much joined at the hip the past months, and even before that Zuko would constantly be present when her doctors talked to her. Now that she actually wanted him around, they were always together - even though that clearly wasn't what her doctors wanted.
"I understand that you'll convince the traitors you're one their side, but you'll make them keep that a secret" Chise went on as if she had not been reprimanded at all "Why is that?"
"Zuko needs to show he's in control. That'll be harder for people to believe if they think he was manipulated by someone who's supposedly on our father's side"
"Then why do this at all?"
Azula was surprised at that question. It should have been obvious for someone as smart as Chise, especially since she had been her doctor for two years "Were you expecting me to just stay here and do nothing?"
"I expected you to take action, yes, but I thought you'd do so by your brother's side. I can understand why you'd want to join him in battle, but why are you choosing to distance yourself from him, even if just for a shot amount of time?"
"I didn't choose to, I have to" the princess replied, not liking where this was going.
"It was your plan. Even if you believe that this is the best option, i assumed you'd go with the second best to stay with your brother. You're not with him right now, and you're clearly unhappy about it. Why are you trying to get away from him?"
"I'm not" Azula stood up, looking down on the woman "But i am tired of your insubordination."
"Your highness" Mayu finally spoke up again "It's not unusual for two people in a relationship as... intense as the one you have with the Fire Lord to feel the need to take a step back to try and see things objectively. Your brother did try to do it before giving in to it, and it didn't make him love you any less. We just think that maybe we could help you deal with whatever is pushing you to do this, so you'll stay with him."
They want us to stay together?
That didn't make any sense. Those two had stopped trying to get in their way, but Azula knew they wished for her and Zuko to split up and have a normal sibling relationship. Why were they trying to desperately to convince her to be by his side all the time when they had always told Zuko that this could be dangerous for both of them?
Azula could only think of one explanation.
"You're afraid I'll betray him" her tone was cold, but she had never felt that much rage "You think being away from Zuko and being surrounded by my father's supporters could make me decide I really do want Ozai to be the Fire Lord."
"Don't ever say something like that" the emotion on Chise's voice caught Azula off guard and was the only reason she did not snap at the woman, not only for what she thought she had implied but for giving orders to her princess. The woman was always calm and collected, and seeing her like that was jarring "Your highness, we know you truly have changed. We know how much you love your brother, even though we fear what it could mean for the two of you and for our nation. We know you won't betray him. But that doesn't change the fact that this could end up hurting you."
Mayu looked at her with pleading eyes "Your highness, you've made so much progress, but you're pushing yourself too far. Something like this is far too dangerous for someone in your condition. You need to be around people you trust and love, not going back to your old ways, lying, manipulating and constantly waiting for the next battle. Please reconsider. If not for your own sake, then for your brother's. Seeing you at war with your own mind nearly destroyed him."
Some part of her felt touched by how much they seemed to care about her and, most important of all, about Zuko. And she couldn't deny she was afraid of what this would do to her. But she was still their princess, and it was just so easy to ignore it all and focus solely on the fact that almost no one could ever tell her what to do. She had grown fond of them, but they simply weren't her equals, and never would be.
Azula would not be locked inside the palace anymore. She wouldn't let anyone else do what she knew she could better. She had to take charge. Perhaps it was a terrible mistake, but she just could not and would not rest until she had dealt with those traitors herself.
She wasn't doing it for Zuko, but for herself.