A.N: Yeah, finally the first official chapter! No waiting, let's get right on it!

Nontacitare: All the love for Amalay! And thank you, I loved finding ways to integrate the Nauatl language.

(Translation)

Chapter 1: A Jungle of Thoughts

There are many paths one can take. For Esteban, that one path was the only way. And not only a metaphorical path. Somehow it involved an evil witch as well as her odd but equally malevolent teacher through a dense trail in the jungle.

Esteban wasn't built for these long travels, or at least used to it. In no way was this because of age. 57 years old and yet strong enough to almost topple over a parade float. Height maybe since being 1.9 meters tall caused him to hit almost every single branch as they walked through the dense grove. Esteban looked down at his clothes. His wine coat and white trousers getting dirty the deeper they went, black boots caked in mud. Not the most ideal clothing for a trek through the jungle, though he didn't have much time to figure anything else out when leaving Avalor City.

Esteban stopped and looked back from where they came from. Xotep, a volcano with an unusual blue tint to its earthy surface was peaking out of the canopy of trees far behind them. Yes, they had just left that place, though Esteban imagined what was on the other side. Towards the ocean, at the bottom of a large mountain along a coastline, was the beautiful city of Avalor.

His home...

Looking back distracted Esteban enough that he took a misstep. If Esteban didn't have his silver staff with an obsidian lightning-shaped tip to support him, he would have fallen face-first to the muddy ground. Esteban sighed in relief but quickly looked up at the other two in his party.

Ash and Zopilote had gotten farther ahead on the narrow path, only stopping to look back when they heard Esteban trip on his own feet. "At this rate, we'll never reach the other hideout in time," Zopilote said annoyed, stomping a taloned foot on the ground as his feathered cape seemed to bristle in reaction.

Ash brushed off a leaf that had fallen on her white hair tied back with a clip as she said, "Well if time was an issue, why take us the long way around the jungle to Los Garras?"

Zopilote pointed a grey and wrinkled finger towards a dense part of the foliage along their path. "Creatures lurk in there, and you know that."

Ash huffed as she pulled out her tamborita from the holster strapped to the belt around her hip. She brushed her fingers on the intricate silver designs of the instrument-like weapon as she smirked, "So we bump into a stray gnoblin here and or a cursed spirit there. We can take them easily, Master."

"There is more to this land then gnoblins and spirits. I stayed near that volcano all these years for a reason."

Esteban heard every word, getting a little spooked at the idea of dangerous creatures. He looked around nervously, taking a couple steps forward to catch up with Ash and Zopilote. But once again looking up didn't help and his foot caught a tree root poking out of the ground. The swift jerk motion caused him to fall quicker then he could use his staff to stay up. And worse, he fell right into the muddiest part of the path. He immediately raised his head to wipe the mud from off his eyes so that he could see. Then he sat upon his knees to look down at his coat stained with mud. "Ugh! Belgh!" he began by spitting out the mud that got into his mouth before continuing, "Could you have not chosen maybe an actual road instead of a muddy hiking trail?"

With a roll of her eyes, Ash put her tamborita back in its holster as she said, "It's just mud, it's not that bad." She motioned to the bottom of her white dress with the black feather designs that matched her sleeves and the owl design out of feathers on her chest. There were mud stains but she didn't seem all that phased by it compared to Esteban. "You can wash it off when we get to Los Garras."

Esteban shook his head and waved a finger as he used his staff to help him stand up again. "No, no. This is my only pair of clothes. The longer these stains stay on, the harder they come off."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this right now," Zopilote muttered as he pulled down on his black braids in frustration. Then his eyes shifted around nervously before he dropped his hands to say aloud, "All right. We've wasted enough time as it is, so if you insist on getting yourself cleaned there's a stream several meters in that direction." He pointed to the right side of the path where the jungle seemed less dense. "Walk a straight line there and back, and be quick."

Still, the idea of washing his clothes in a stream made Esteban cringe, "Anything else cleaner than a river you can suggest?"

Now Ash was just as annoyed as Zopilote, but she quickly thought of something to get this end quick. She smirked and said, "I'd say a well in the nearest village… that is if you want to get caught by the Avaloran Guard, ex-Chancellor?"

Esteban was silent and almost emotionless. Except for the slight twitch in his left eye. Then he stormed off down in the direction Zopilote pointed to. Zopilote looked at Ash and said, "I'll remember that for next time." Suddenly, he burst into glowing purple bird glyphs before he took the form of a buzzard. He flew to the nearest tree and landed on the branch to look down at Ash. "I'll need to scout the area to make sure we're not being followed. Stay here so that High Maintenance doesn't get lost."

"What?" Ash asked as Zopilote took off into the sky. Even though he was already flying far out of earshot, Ash continued to call out, "What do you mean by that? Who could possibly track us this far?"

At a quiet stream where trees and rocks lined the sandy bank, Esteban burst out of the tree line with his face flushed in anger. "That woman! Thinks she's so-" He held his staff over his head as if wanting to throw it across the stream. He didn't notice the spark of green light, like a small match being lit, come from the tip of his staff before fading away. Esteban was distracted by his reflection in the water. His face still speckled with mud and almost the entire front of his coat covered in it.

He was reminded of why he came down to the stream in the first place. He sighed and just laid his staff against a giant boulder next to him. He quickly unbuttoned his muddy coat, showing off his white long sleeve underneath, before kneeling at the edge of the water to wash off the mud. The silence around him though allowed him to still wander in his thoughts again.

Esteban wasn't going to let Ash get to him, they barely even knew each other. Though her ex-husband may have been Esteban's childhood friend, he knew Victor well enough that he told her their story but twisted it up somehow. Without realizing, Esteban began to rub on the yellow embroidery of his coat where there were no stains. His thoughts took over. Yes. That sounded like Victor Delgado. Twisting words to deceive everyone around him. Esteban smirked when he remembered the day Victor's words could no longer save him. Oh, the look on Victor's face when he climbed back over that wall only to be met with almost all of Avalor City and Elena-

Esteban nearly dropped his coat to be completely submerged into the stream. He just froze in place as his thoughts changed and his smirk replaced with a deep frown.

He immediately pictured Avalor City's cobblestone streets and adobe homes and shops. Flowers growing from flower pots hung on almost every window sill. The people on the balconies of their homes waving a good day to those passing by below. At the port, ships from around the world bringing crates full of goods to trade. And that was just the city.

On a large outcrop of rock across a waterfall, sat a palace of yellow stone. Dome-shaped roofs decorated with gold and sea green tile. Hallways and stairs lead to different floors and rooms. All filled with carefully crafted furniture and walls decorated to the brim with portraits. The lavish life of royalty. But that's not what tugged on Esteban's heartstrings.

His family, or as everyone knew them as, the Royal family. Their story was just as popular.

How the sorceress Shuriki took over after taking the life of the King and Queen while the Royal Wizard put the rest of the royals safely in an enchanted painting. But the odds of Shuriki ruling forever were broken on that same day when she attempted to kill the eldest princess, Elena. It turned out the amulet the 16-year-old wore was enchanted, protecting her inside the gem until a princess with a true heart could release her.

Though it took 41 years, it's safe to say that story did have that happy ending. With Elena being freed, along with her taking down Shuriki and the royal family being released from the painting. For the last few years, Avalor had been ruled fairly under the crown princess herself along with those of her family who remained. Her abuelos, Francisco and Lucia, her eleven-year-old sister, Isabel, and her cousin, Esteban himself. One big happy family, everything should have been fine, correct?

Well, it didn't last long for Esteban. Once it was revealed he had helped Shuriki sneak into Avalor all those years ago, it was over. He would have served his sentence to Soledad Island the Council gave him if he hadn't escaped with the Delgados. And that was just the beginning of this nightmare. Ash had shown how far she'd go for power by turning Victor to stone and leaving her daughter, Carla behind. Esteban didn't want to risk challenging her but because he had stuck around long enough he ended up falling into a well full of magic. Now Esteban had magic that could possibly match Elena's powers. Powers he didn't want at all.

Esteban continued finishing up cleaning his coat, with barely any effort this time. Last thing he wanted was for anyone to get hurt, and Shuriki was the one to break that part of their deal. And he had done everything he could as Chancellor since then to keep things from falling apart. From making Avalor stay prosperous under Shuriki to never leaving his family's side since their return. But it wasn't enough to keep his family from casting him out, and a part of him knew that. It's why he kept his deal a secret. He knew it was the wrong choice, but that was the problem. There wasn't any other choice, right?. And he was faced with the same problem by escaping with Ash. What else could he do… right?

Esteban was buried so deep in his thoughts, he didn't realize he wasn't alone. In a tree across the river, was a figure shrouded by the shadows of the leaves. The person did well to hide among the branches as they balanced themselves perfectly on a thicker one. Of the rays of sunlight that breached the canopy of leaves, only one managed to cast on brown eyes staring directly at the man across the river.

Their right hand reached for something strapped to their back. They pulled out a long stick and held it high over their head. Not enough to breach the shelter of leaves but enough for some sunlight to reveal it to be a spear. The obsidian arrowhead recently sharpened.

The person slowly angled their arm, the spear held horizontally and level with their cheek. The weapon was aimed at where Esteban kneeled. Just as the figure took a deep breath and pulled their arm back, they stopped. Brown eyes shifted left as something came flying gently through leaves. Something small and fragile. Orange and black and frantically fluttering.

"Papalotl (Butterfly)," the person whispered as a monarch butterfly land on the arrowhead. They made no move to drop the aim of their weapon, but they did watch with a fixed gaze as the small insect no longer flapped its wings so quickly. It was calm with their antennas not even twitching in the slightest. They slowly dropped the aim of their weapon, no intent to move the bug from its resting spot. When the figure held the spear tip in front of them, that's when the insect flew away. It flew from the tree and across the small creek.

By then, Esteban had finished cleaning his coat and was putting it back on. As soon as he grabbed his staff resting on the boulder, the monarch landed on the obsidian tip. Esteban caught a quick look at the small bug before he dropped the staff out of shock. The little insect flew in the air but hovered nearby as Esteban recovered quickly and looked around in embarrassment. Remembering he was all alone, Esteban bent down quickly to grab his staff and with the other hand, he fixed his ascot back in place. "It's just a bug… nothing to get scared over."

The Butterfly continued to fly close to Esteban and in return, he would shoo it away. The stranger in the trees rolled their eyes and whispered, "Xoxotl (Moron)."

Soon, the butterfly managed to land again on the tip of his staff. Esteban was about to brush it off but stopped short in noticing how relaxed the small creature was. It made him realize something, so he looked curiously at it with a raised eyebrow. "A little too early in the season for you, don't you think?" He raised the tip so that it was eye level to him. "Dia de Los Muertos is not for another few months." But of course, the monarch made no response. It didn't even move. Suddenly, Esteban frowned when a quick passing thought crossed his mind. "Or you're separated from your group. On your own. Like me."

This caused the figure in the trees to lean in closer, head tilted as they raised an eyebrow. A small breeze caused the little Monarch to leave it's resting spot again, this time letting the breeze dictate its direction. Esteban watched it go before a snap from across the stream caused him once again to jump out of fear. He managed to catch a glimpse of a large animal run through the foliage, a spotted tail being the only thing Esteban saw clearly before it disappeared altogether.

Esteban gulped and took a step back. Zopilote's words about dangerous creatures lurking around quickly came back to him and he turned around in a hurry to get back to Ash and Zopilote.

A.N: Probably the most difficult chapter i've written in a long time. There is so much analysis into Esteban's thoughts behind his actions. I had to even go back and listen to a couple of the Prodcast Princess's episode reviews just to be able to find a way to summarize it all. Esteban why are you so COMPLICATED?! XD And speaking of summary, I know for EoA readers the story recap in the middle seems unnecessary but a i've found my followers from previous fics follow me into new fics and aren't familiar with the show. Though my hope is I did a good job lol.

Fun Facts:

1. Considering EoA is based on Latin American cultures and a good portion of the fandom is Latin American, I'd thought I'd write using the metric system instead of the U.S metric system.

2. If you know me well enough, I like to get inspiration from my favorite films. The 3rd quarter is in reference to Avatar, specifically Neyteri first seeing Jake in the jungle.

3. This is more of a tease than a fact but did anyone catch the similarity between Zopilote's transformation and the Naguals from the Prologue?

More soon. I'm KikaKatTIOI, peace out!