A.N: READ TO THE END NOTES I HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT! And no let's continue

Nontacitare: The only rest Esteban gets is during siestas XD. Nagual info coming in hot!

I don't own Elena of Avalor

(Translation)

Chapter 5: Interrogation or Introduction

Esteban's eyes fluttered open to see darkness and he immediately felt a dull pain on the bridge of his nose. He put a hand to his nose, checking for any injury. When his hand felt nothing off, he wondered why it still hurt. And why did it feel like he was lying on grass?

"He's awake," He heard someone say and Esteban looked around. The darkness was caused by the stone walls that surrounded him. To the right was one wall carved to look like prison cell doors. Two silhouettes stood guard just on the other side. "Oh no," He gasped. Remembering the last time that he was imprisoned, Esteban sat up in a panic. But then he recognized the two guardsmen.

It was the scar-faced man and his younger companion with the deerskin. It all came rushing back to Esteban now. The fire, the strangers, their magic. For a moment, Esteban felt relief he wasn't locked up at the Palace again and even slightly annoyed that had been knocked unconscious by the woman. But why was he trapped again? And how was it night already? "I'll go prepare them," said the young man as he walked away from the stone cell doors.

The other man stepped back from the doors and raised his hands up. As he lowered them, the walls around Esteban collapsed into the ground. Esteban scrambled to his feet as he watched the rocks sink into the earth, leaving no trace that anything but the grass had been there. "I still think we should call Council," the older man said as he marched towards Esteban and grabbed him by the shoulder.

As Esteban was shoved forward, the younger one called back, "Biso's orders. So play nice."

The scar-faced man rolled his eyes and pulled out his weapon. "Walk," he ordered.

The moonlight only gave Esteban view of the clearing they were in… but they were now on a hillside. "Where am I?"

"I said walk," the man ordered again, this time pressing the un-studded tip of his weapon into the small of Esteban's back. Esteban complied, but only because he would have to see where he was if this guy wasn't going to give him answers. In silence, the two walked through a dense grove of trees until they came to open space.

Even though they were still on a hillside the ground beneath Esteban became flat and slowly turned from grassy to stone. The glow of dwellings at the foot of the hill they were on was the only indication that this is where the people lived. There was nothing but shadows from there but the silhouette of an unfamiliar mountain on the other side showed he was nowhere near Las Garras. Esteban slowled down to ask, "How far are we from-"

"No speaking until you meet The Itz'at," the man interrupted as he pushed Esteban forward again.

"Meet the who-wait, I can't stay!"

"If you want to leave, you'll have to talk with him first." Without waiting for Esteban's reply the man forced him to pick up the pace, bringing him to a narrows set of stairs on an incline built of stone. Once on level ground again, Esteban could see a few dwellings on his right and even up another incline. But he was then distracted by what was coming up on his left. A crowd of people. Esteban panicked.

He may not know who these people are or if he was within the boundaries of Avalor anymore, but even if they made a point to hide from the world that didn't mean they didn't know what was going on. Including the fact that he was on Avalor's most wanted list. As he was pushed towards the crowd, Esteban wondered if he should flee before anyone recognized him. What if they already knew who he was, and this was going to be an interrogation? Maybe he can't run but he can probably teleport with his staff…. Which he didn't have.

Even though they parted way to let him and the man pass, the crowd still pressed together and surrounded them from either side as they talked in harsh whispers. Men, women, and even children. But it wasn't anger or disgust they had in their eyes. There was worry and many even were curious. A tug on his coattails made him look back to see a little girl grab hold of him but soon get pulled away by an adult and get scolded. Before he could figure out what that was about, the scar-faced man pushed Esteban to the other side of the crowd to a set of stairs. Wide and big enough to make up a large pedestal where a building stood.

The crowd attempted to follow them up the stairs but the man and a few other people stood alongside each other to make up a wall. Alone on the steps, Esteban wondered what he was to do next. Maybe run? A hand on his shoulder made him jump and he almost slipped down the stairs as he turned to face the younger man. Stepping back with his hands up in surrender, the younger man said with a small smile, "Relax. No one here will hurt you unless you do." He motioned to the building. "Just talk to our Itz'at and you can go."

The man's words and calm demeanor made Esteban relax somewhat. It sounded like they didn't know who he was. At least not yet. And if this Itz'at, most likely their leader, had a say if he goes or not then it was Esteban's best bet of getting out of here if he went along with it. Esteban gave the younger man a small nod and both of them walked up.

Once getting to the top, The younger man stopped just outside one of the four open doorways carved into this large one-story building. "Go on," he said. Esteban hesitated for a bit. His instincts wanted him to flee. But then he quickly brushed down his hair so it wouldn't stick up. He talked to dignitaries before so this shouldn't be too hard, right? Holding his head high and hands behind his back, Esteban stepped in.

The light of a large fire pit in the middle lit up the decorated walls of this one room. Just like when he first met these people, there was a familiar feeling to this place. What diverted his attention was the people inside. First, there was the woman in green again sitting kneeled on a woven mat on the other side of the fire. As soon as Esteban walked in she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. He was equally not as happy to see her but before he could return the gesture, Esteban noticed the older man next to her sitting on a woven mat with knees up to his chest

What little white hair he had left on the back of his skull and chin gave the impression he was well into his nineties. Withered and skinny but the gleam in his brown eyes showed he still had energy. He wore a brown poncho-like cape and skirt with turquoise tree designs. A green loincloth that wrapped around his waist matched the green of his turban and sandals. His jade jewelry looked heavy on him, with hoop earrings clinging to saggy earlobes and a beaded necklace with a glyph carved into a large pendant. What stuck to Esteban was the feather on his turban. As the old man moved it changed in the light from pink and blue to green and orange.

The old man was holding Esteban's staff and examining it from every angle. He took his time, not addressing Esteban for a solid minute before he looked up to him. For a split second, Esteban saw his eyes lit up as if he recognized him. Fear would have risen again in Esteban's chest if the old man didn't smile and say in a raspy but hearty, "Overwhelming day for you, eh?"

Esteban didn't expect any of that, so all he could do was rely on his time as Chancellor. Keep calm, speak clearly, tell them what they want to hear. "Yes, Señor. Are you The Itz'at?"

"I am." The older man handed the woman the staff which she let rest on her lap. Then the Itz'at crossed his arms over his knees and said, "Please, sit." He motioned to the large woven mat just at Esteban's feet. Sit on the ground? Esteban looked around, noticing there was no furniture. Just woven baskets full of herbs and decorated tripod vessels and pots with brushes and other tools. Well, if that's how it's done here. Esteban sat down cross-legged and got down to business. "I mean no disrespect when I say this but I cannot stay long."

"Why in such a hurry?" The woman asked with a raised eyebrow.

The Itz'at held a hand out towards her and said, "Now, now. He slept well into the night, I'm sure he's got places to be. It's not every day one gets set back by shapeshifting wizards."

The woman's eyes widened and she turned to stare at the man as if trying to get him to say no more. Esteban however was more curious. "Shapeshifting wizards? You are not Malvagos?"

The Itz'at motioned to Esteban and gave a knowing smirk to the woman. She turned away with a huff and added, "Well, we still had to step in. The magic he has-"

"We will speak of later," The Itz'at interrupted. "At least we know he's not a threat." Then he looked back to Esteban. "Your question about us being Malvagos, the answer is no. At least our people who reside here are not those heathens who abuse magic. But we are not exactly wizards either. That's just how it's translated in your language. Anyone can learn magic so long as they have the right conduit like a tamborita, and even then there can be some limitations. Our people, however, are born strongly connected to magic. We are still human but we are part magical creature. In the end, we are protectors of magic within nature. In Maruvian, we are called Naguals."

Even though Esteban still had questions, at least it made sense as to why they could shapeshift and move the elements. But that last part… "In Maruvian?" As soon as he asked, Esteban looked at his surroundings now in detail. The way the ceramics were decorated with spiral motifs. Textiles with unique patterns adorned the walls. Any surface not covered had glyphs carved as well as colorful beings painted with eccentric features. There were even people depicted facing one way dressed in feathered headdresses and elaborate clothing.

No wonder all this was familiar. Back when Esteban took an archeology class during his royal training, they had studied murals and artifacts found in temples that had belonged to the Maruvians. The very people who lived in Avalor before the Kingdom even existed. Looking from the murals to the people, Esteban's jaw dropped.

The Itz'at chuckled at Esteban's reaction and said, "Yes, we're Maruvians." The woman yes shifted around in nervousness.

"But Maruvians aren't…." Esteban began but faltered.

"Not completely gone as the world has been led to believe?" The Itz'at said as more of a statement than a question. "We are very much alive and keeping to the way of life that has been passed down since the very first temples built in this land." He motioned to the walls around them as if making a point.

Esteban didn't stumble on an archeological discovery. This was a living civilization! Maruvian scholars would go crazy with questions. One question though would probably be, "Why hide yourselves from the world?"

The Itz'at and the woman gave each other somber looks before The Itz'at looked back to Esteban and explained. "We are far and few in the realm of Avalor. We are probably the only settlement. If word got out of about us, especially our home here, Malvagos wouldn't hesitate to hunt us down."

"Malvagos hunt down Maruvians?"

"They do not care we are Maruvian. They only seek the abilities we have as Naguals. We hide in order to preserve what's left of our living culture, even if it means hiding from those who don't mean harm."

Esteban thought about what the Itz'at said, but then he looked at the woman with narrow eyes. "Would it be safe to assume I am an exception to this rule?"

The Itz'at covered his mouth as another smirk appeared. The woman gave a hiss-like scuff as she finally uncrossed her arms and slammed her hands on her knees. "As he said earlier we are protectors of nature," She explained, "Even if we must keep our secret hidden, in the end, our secret is not worth the life of the jungle. Not even Malvagos get to destroy it without us trying to stop them." Then her eyes scanned him. "In this case wanna-be wizards like yourself."

Esteban opened his mouth to retort but The Itz'at looked to the woman and said something in Maruvian with a warning tone. It made her sit up straight and look away to hide a small pout. The Itz'at waved a hand and said to Esteban, "Enough about us. Tell us about yourself, Señor… um…"

On instinct, Esteban answered with confidence, "You may call me Chan-" Then he stopped short and quickly corrected himself. "Esteban, just Esteban."

"Just Esteban?" The woman asked in suspicion. "Aren't your people all about last names?" The Itz'at didn't move but his eyes turned to the woman with a look of disappointment. But then he looked back at Esteban and waited on an answer.

Esteban thought quickly. It would be suspicious of him not to answer, but he had to say something without giving his identity away. "Esteban Garcia, if you must know," Esteban responded without batting an eye.

The woman only raised an eyebrow, but it was The Itz'at who raised his head ever so slightly and an enigmatic smile formed. Esteban wondered what that meant but the old man went right to the next question. "And what brings you to the jungle, Esteban?"

"I came to…" Esteban looked at his staff the woman still had on her lap. "... practice magic." The woman grunted prompting Esteban to add, "I did not mean to cause any trouble."

"I'm sure you didn't," The Itz'at said before looking to the woman. She just stared at the old man with a neutral expression. As if knowing what that meant, The Itz'at sighed. "Well, we will need a third opinion to break the tie." The Itz'at looked to the several pots and vessels to the right wall and he raised his voice just a bit louder. "So what do you think of our guest, K'ota?"

The woman gasped, "K'ota?" and she looked to where the old man did. Esteban also turned to see what he was talking about and he noticed a small spotted tail poking out from the shadows the ceramics cast. Then it disappeared before, from the other side of the pile, a small spotted feline head appeared. The woman's jaw dropped before she yelled in surprise, "K'ota!"

The little creature stepped out into full view and yelled, "Tlapopouili! Tlapopouili!" ("I'm sorry! I'm sorry!") And then the creature burst into green light and glyphs and what stood there now was a child, and not just any child.

"You again?" Esteban gasped as he recognized the small boy in the green loincloth from the other day.

The woman looked to Esteban confused. "What do you mean by 'You again'?" As soon as she asked she realized what he meant and she turned back to the boy. Esteban almost scooted back seeing the fury in her eyes as she hissed, "K'ota'men! Tejitta achto?" (He saw you before?)

The boy quickly waved his hands in front of him and said, "But he only saw me as a human the whole time. I promise." The boy looked to Esteban with a pleading look.

Without a second thought, Esteban said. "This is true. I never once saw him shapeshift. I didn't even think he could be Maruvian." The boy smiled, but the woman didn't relax at all. When she looked at Esteban, she was not angry but afraid. The boy didn't reveal their secret, so why was she so worried?

The Itz'at raised an eyebrow and smiled at Esteban, but for what he didn't address. He said to the woman in a chirpy tone, "You see, nothing happened."

"But-" the woman began.

She was cut off when The Itz'at said, "Come here, K'ota," and reached his hands out. The boy, K'ota, quickly walked over then placed his small palms on top of the old, wrinkly fingers of the old man's. "Now tell me," The Itz'at continued, "From your first encounter with him and what you heard here, what do you think of Esteban?"

K'ota cocked his head to the side as he gave Esteban a hard stare. A low hum rose from deep in his throat as he continued to think for a moment. Then the little boy finally said cheerfully, "I like him. He kept my promise. If he told other humans about me, then those humans would be looking in the jungle, right? And if he was bad, he would have tried to hurt me before. But he didn't. Oh! And I think he really did burn down those trees by accident. When I first met him, he fell off a tree and gut stuck in vines. It was really funny. I think he's good. He just needs to practice magic more."

For a brief moment, Esteban relaxed as the boy's naivety was going to be his ticket out of here. But it was that same naivety that left Esteban so confused again. This boy completely trusted Esteban without asking about his true motives behind those actions. Most of all The Itz'at, this powerful figure, considered the words of a child. And this whole time The Itz'at spoke to Esteban as if this were a friendly conversation. Was this really an interrogation or an introduction?

The Itz'at caught Esteban's shoulders slump as he looked away with a frown before he quickly sat up straight again and waited for judgment. That's when the old man finally said, "Well, it seems like Esteban can be trusted to take his leave without speaking about us to others." The Itz'at held out a hand to the woman and she reluctantly gave the staff to him. Thinking he was about to be dismissed, Esteban began to stand up but he froze when the Itz'at said. "But even if you intend no harm, we still must avoid accidents. Which means you'll want to take a few lessons."

Both Esteban and the woman looked to The Itz'at and yelled, "What?!" In unison.

The Itz'at continued as he glided his hand on the grip of the staff, "If you stay with us, we can teach you how to better understand magic. We may not be the modern-day wizard but we do know how magic works, especially your connection to magic which is very unique."

The idea of staying somewhere else beside Las Garras was tempting. But it was the idea of Ash and Zopilote coming to look for him that made him rush to his feet and yell, "No, I can't." This earned him some confused looks. Esteban quickly tried to cover for his answer. "The people I currently stay with will wonder where I have gone. They will come looking for me and find you." And considering what Esteban heard of the history of the Malvagos and Naguals, this wouldn't end well.

"Very true," The Itz'at said. "Then I guess you can come every once in a while to train. It shouldn't be a problem if you've already been coming into the jungle to train by yourself."

Esteban put his hands behind his back so they wouldn't see him fiddle with his fingers out of nervousness. He was so close to getting out, what else could he say? Well, just say what they want to hear and then walk away forever. "No, not a problem."

"Then we have come to an agreement." The Itz'at tossed the staff over the fire for Esteban to catch it with one hand on the first try. Impressed with himself, Esteban stood tall and smirked. But the contact with the staff immediately made the curl of his hair go up. He deadpanned as the woman and K'ota giggled at the sight. The Itz'at paid no mind and continued. "I believe once or twice every week should work for now. I will sometimes be your instructor, but I am physically limited in what I can teach you. So the rest will come from my granddaughter Zyanya." He motioned to the woman next to him.

The woman being The Itz'at's grandaughter was surprising for sure, but the idea of her being Esteban's teacher made him forget he lied about coming back at all and say, "Her?"

The woman, Zyanya, stopped snickering and gasped, "Me?" She looked to the Itz'at, hoping to see some sign that he wasn't serious. But he very much was. "Mam! Amo inayi!" (Grandfather! I will not do it!)

"Aabil… (Grandchild…)" The Itz'at began as he started to speak Maruvian again. Zyanya argued back as her hands clenched into fists. No matter what the old man said, she wasn't giving up. Then her grandfather said something pleadingly as he rested a hand on his chest.

Zyanya's shoulders sagged as her defensive glare turned soft. She looked away for a second to think before she looked up again and released the tension in her fingers. "Fine."

"Thank you, Aabil," The Itz'at said before looking at Esteban with an unprompted knowing smile. "As for you, Esteban, I wait in anticipation for your next visit."

DON'T FORGET TO READ 'TILL THE END! Yay! We now know who these strangers are and a somewhat basic understanding of what them and even magic mean within the story. There are some clarifications in Fun Facts. Though some more explanations and meanings will be made within the story later.

Fun Facts:

1) There wasn't much furniture in Mesoamerica save for low tables used to write codices. Women would sit kneeled down while men squatted with arms wrapped around their knees.

2) You can see the visual reference of K'ota and The Itz'at on my deviantart but here's some quick insperational description. The Itz'at wears a yucatec poncho-like cape and a loin cloth layer over a skirt worn by scribes and priests. The colors and tree motif are based on the Murals of Cacaxtla. Like any noble he wears good sandals and lots of jade jewelery. The Itz'at glyph is where I take inspiration for his turban and earrings since one who held the title Itz'at would wear something similar. Itz'at does NOT mean Priest or Scribe, but he does wear a feather like a priest. In this case a Sunbird feather.

3) The equivalent of Wizard in Mesoamerica was a Priests/Shaman and Nagual does mean "shapeshifting wizard" in Nahuatl. So in this story I interlink the two, though do know Naguals were not actually considered assistants to priests.

4) Full disclaimer, my Nahuatl is VERY rough, so if any experts want to chime in I'd love the help! Out of all the words though, Mam (grandfather) and Aabil (grandchild) is Yucatec Maya and Cho'l Maya respectively.

5) I'll do my best to describe visuals if I don't draw them, but if you want to learn more there are plenty of artists who post their work of reconstructing mesoamerican structures and how they looked, especially murals which were described here vaguely.

And that's it for now….. And this year…. I know, I know! We just got started but I'm behind on a lot of work and need to catch up before the end of December. So this story will be taking a hiatus until maybe mid-January. I'll try and keep you all posted. Until then, I'm KikaKatTIOI, peace out!