"I didn't know she would do this" Aosu said the second he walked through the door, already trying to defend himself from any accusation of treason. Accusations Azula had no intention to make. The princess had noticed Aiyra and Yisha were both flight risks right after their talk about Zuko, and she made sure to keep 'enlightening' them on just how dire the consequences could be if they were to lose this war to him, and had even given her guards explicit orders not to do anything if they spotted them trying to leave. Two losses for the enemy were not enough to guarantee an easy victory, but it was still something.
And it was already affecting the entire group. They were an unorganized bunch, who had no plan and no leader until Azula showed up. But they were competent enough that they had some basic structure that could have eventually led to something if Katara and Aang had not discovered them in time. So, she was giving the group a few more reasons to fall apart. She interrogated them one by one, and made sure to act like she was suspicious of all of them, which was quickly leading to many idiots assuming some of their own were deserters and traitors.
She made sure to leave Aosu for last. From what she had seen of him those fours weeks, he was as short-fused and proud as her brother, so leaving him in the dark on whether or not she was questioning his loyalty to her would put him on the edge. Azula wanted them all unfocused and unsure of who was or was not trustworthy.
"Causing a scene instead of explaining yourself is not the way to convince me you're innocent in all of this"
"There's nothing to explain! I didn't know what Aiyra was planning!" he screamed
"Watch your tone" Azula warned, giving him an angry glare "You're talking to your Fire Lord, not a servant or a subordinate"
"Forgive me, your highness"
"Give me a reason to"
"I meant you no disrespect. I'm just shocked" he tried to justify himself "I've been with Aiyra for so long. She always told me everything. I thought she was as loyal to the Phoenix King as I am, and now she does this!" the man sounded so lost "I don't know what happened"
She's smarter than you. That's what happened.
"You just said she always told you everything, and you rarely left her side since she arrived, yet you want me to believe she never told you anything? That you didn't notice something made your girlfriend decide to no longer support my father?"
The man laughed at his own disgrace "Guess I don't know her as well as I thought. I don't even know if something happened or if she was planning it from the start. I never expect something like this from anyone, but especially not for her. I don't even know if I'm truly angry at her or at myself."
Does he think I'm his therapist or something?
"Details of your failed love-life don't interest me, nor are they useful to anyone. Tell me if you have any idea where she and her friend might have run to and if you think there are any more deserters among us, or just go practice your firebending before I lose my patience.
To his credit, the young man immediately recomposed himself and bowed down to her, apologizing for his behavior. The one thing the princess liked about these traitors was that they knew how to follow orders.
"She wouldn't go back to her parents home, but she will ask them for help, I'm sure. They'll probably give her enough money to buy supplies and hide in some small village for a while, or just help her flee the nation entirely. I don't know much about Yisha or her family, unfortunately, but she and Aiyra have always been close, so I don't think they'd flee to different places. And if they were to try and have any involvement with this conflict again, it would be to support your brother. They'd probably try to gain enough sympathy by helping him somehow, so they'd be pardoned for ever joining us at all.
That was interesting. This small act of sabotage could end up being even more beneficial than Azula had first thought.
"Is that all?" she pressed on.
"Yes, your highness. I'm sorry I can't do more to help, and I apologize once again for my behavior. I'll train for two extra hours every day from now on, and will have everyone else do the same. We need to prepare to start taking over villages and small cities so we can truly begin helping your father win back the throne that is rightfully his"
Azula nodded and dismissed him. She was sick of having to listen to all that bullshit about how great of a leader and warrior Ozai was when he would have burned down their nation if it meant he could rule everywhere else, and it was laughable to hear people referring to him as the 'rightful' king, when he had only become Fire Lord because made Ursa murder Azulon and forge his will. It was ridiculous how inconsistent the traitor's story was - Ozai was great because he defeated his enemies and took over their land, but Zuko was a traitor for 'stealing' his own father's right to the throne.
And she almost felt bad for how hard all these fools were training to start conquering cities when their demise was so close and hidden in plain sight. They would be unknowingly walking into a battlefield very soon.