"He had fervently hoped that, though she reported little encouraging about the encounter, their mother might have gotten through to her the previous day..."

>
>>"Looking good, Captain," she said, then added wryly, "I think you might be a
>>little too young for me now, though. Just my luck."
>
>I'm guessing Azula lost a few years, although I hope it was some trick
>on her fathers part to maintain the illusion, and not her being killed
>and her afterlife being diverted... Although I suppose that would then
>lead to her taking her crew and heading off to break out of the
>Afterlife.
>

It's entirely possible that she was killed, along with the entire crew of the Phoenix Queen, and that somebody lacked the foresight to keep them from interfering.

Of course, it's also possible that they simply kidnapped her, and as a necessary part of the deception, it was decided that actually trimming six or seven decades off of Azula's physical age was easier than maintaining an illusion.

Edit: "With a well-timed abduction and a little help from Beria's experts in the manipulation of mortal matter and memory..."

I was thinking option one, but it looks like it's option two.

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.