Chancellor Esteban

Chancellor Esteban Flores is a major character who appears in the Disney Channel animated series, Elena of Avalor. He is Princess Elena and Princess Isabel's maternal older cousin and the former Chancellor of Avalor. He becomes the secondary antagonist of the third season, and the deuteragonist of the series finale

Personality
As Chancellor of Avalor, Esteban is very knowledgeable of the Kingdom of Avalor and, as he himself boasts, knows "anyone who's anyone in Avalor". He is also a firm adherent to etiquette. He is shown to also be a coward who is both shameless to the point of refusing to own up to his actions and a bigot; because of this, he can be snooty and is not liked much.

Esteban believes Elena is too young to bear the responsibilities that come with ruling a kingdom and disapproves of her personal approach to leadership to the point where he constantly seeks to undermine her and become viewed amongst the citizens as "the true power behind the throne". He dislikes being reminded that she is the one in charge, which ties into his overall intolerance of being told what to do by others.

Unlike Elena, Esteban is happy to delegate responsibilities to others and simply give orders from the sidelines. Despite his differences with Elena, however, he does care about her enough to want to keep her safe and values his family quite enough. In fact, in "Island of Youth", he chooses to save Elena's life rather than retrieve his canteen to keep himself young.

Throughout the second season Esteban has relaxed a bit about Elena's rule, but won't hesitate to put her in her place, if she behaves in a reckless manner.

When at long last the truth Esteban had tried so hard to hide is made known to Elena and the rest of the family, Esteban is remorseful and though he explains his motives for helping Shuriki, he excuses them by how he felt like an outsider in his own family, as though he were invisible and that Shuriki had taken advantage of his anger, and youthful naiveté and a false promise that no one was supposed to get hurt. While his grandfather and youngest cousin can find it in their hearts to forgive him, Elena and Luisa cannot, nor can Naomi as they vote to have him punished for his crimes and sentenced to lifelong exile on a deserted island. Esteban is shocked that his family has basically disowned him and while he acknowledges his misdeeds he refuses to answer for them as he escapes the dungeons with the help of the Delgados, and leaves with Ash (after she'd turned Victor to stone and Carla refused to go with her) out of fear and having no other options.

Despite siding with Ash and being disowned by his family, Esteban displays there is still good inside him. He hesitated in helping the Delgado's when he saw the Royal Family portrait and despite helping Ash, he would not allow her to hurt Elena, showing he still cares and and loves his family. Esteban even attempted to reason with Elena, revealing he never wanted their family to get hurt, but she refused to listen, believing his words to be nothing but lies and attempted to abandon Ash and flee Avalor, only to be intimidated by Ash.

Esteban was also unhappy and reluctant after gaining his new-found magical powers and did not want to hurt anyone. However, when Elena used her magic and transported him back to Avalor to confront her unresolved feelings, she officially disowned Esteban as family, causing him to officially turn to the side of evil and embrace his magic. However, despite his new-found villainous ways, Esteban continues to show he cares for Elena and others as he continues to prevent Ash from hurting Elena and was worried for Alacazar when he was injured in battle.

Though Esteban initially continues to be more reluctant than Ash towards the idea of defeating Elena and taking over Avalor, when Chatana's pet Pili describes Esteban as possibly being even worse than Ash, Esteban gives off a sinister smirk and agrees with Pili, implying that he has now fully embraced his new-found villainy. He is even willing to go after baby Jaquins when they catch him and his allies in Vallestrella.

It is shown that Esteban had trouble taking responsibility even as a child, blaming their chocolate mess solely on Elena. Despite this, he was far more caring and innocent than he is now, planting a tree to honor his grandmother and late madre and abuelo, as well as happily entertaining baby Isabel.

When confronted by his grandmother about his actions, he reveals he does not see himself as a villain. In the end, he came to realize power isn't what he wanted if people were going to hate and fear him. After seeing Elena in danger of being petrified, he was willing to give his life for her. She finally forgives him, and he vows to spend the rest of his life making up for what he did; he also accepts Elena as Queen and Naomi as Chancellor.

Physical appearance
Esteban, in comparison to the majority of the other characters, is the tallest and has a rather slender physique. He has short, slicked black hair that is slightly graying around his temples with wavy side bangs that fall just above his ear. His eyes appear to be a warm, hazelnut or amber color. Although he appears to be in his early thirties, it is stated that he is in his fifties and was able to keep his youthful appearance thanks to exfoliation.

He is commonly portrayed in a wine colored coat with yellow and black accents, a yellow and blue sash, yellow neckerchief, (possibly) blue dress shirt, white trousers, and black boots.

Powers and abilities
In "Captain Mateo", Esteban falls into the Well of Crystals, causing him to gain teleportation powers, able to channel his powers through his magical staff, which had also been enhanced from falling into the well. The extent of his teleportation powers include teleporting people including himself and other people, as well as objects such as stalactites and the Scepter of Light. Although Zopilote considered him to have low raw potential for magic, Esteban was able to expand his abilities beyond teleporting himself after receiving training from him and Ash, such as to locate someone and using a beam of magic to grab objects. Esteban says his staff cannot go to the Spirit World so he and Elena combined their magic together.

In "Coronation Day", as Esteban tried to throw to Elena her Scepter, it began to glow in his hand, which meant he could use it too. Esteban then used the Blaze spell, and the spell hit Cahu and broke her hourglass.

Early Life and Orphaning
Esteban was born to Duchess Margarita Flores, the late sister of Queen Lucia and her unnamed husband. Tragically, Esteban was orphaned at a very young age when the boat his parents were on sank due to a storm at sea after he had begged them not to go. The death of his beloved parents would deeply scar him and influence his choices in later life and kept a pocket watch with a portrait of him and his parents with him. He was then raised by his grandparents as if he were their son. He grew close to his cousin, Elena and during their childhood, Elena looked up to him like a big brother. This would teach Esteban the value of family, and though he would grow to become quite selfish, his relatives would remain deathly important to him, as he would worry that every time they left the castle, it would be the last time he saw them. When he was young, Esteban and Elena befriended Victor Delgado, the son of King Raul's Royal Treasurer and would often place Hide-and-Seek in the gardens before cooking all afternoon and Esteban and Victor would eventually become best friends.

Turning to Darkness
At some point during his teenage years, an evil sorceress from the Northern Isles named Shuriki began to attack Avalor's allies. Esteban tried to warn King Raul that Shuriki would eventually turn her greedy eyes on Avalor and advised him that they should bend their resources to defend their own kingdom. Sadly, Raul ignored the advise and instead stopped her from attacking Avalor's allies. Alas, though his intentions were noble, this would turned the sorceress attention to Avalor to get revenge. By that time, Esteban had began to crave power due to believing that the love of his family wasn't real as he believed that he no longer mattered since nobody ever noticed or listened to him. As a result, Esteban felt he needed to be heard and seen, and to obtain it, he and his best friend Victor Delgado, made a deal the ruthless sorceress, who offered them more power they could ever dreamed of. This deal included Esteban and Victor helping the sorceress take control of Avalor, on the condition that they will be granted a healthy amount of political control under her reign, although in exchange for his survices, Esteban made Shuriki promise not to her his family.

Esteban also had Shuriki promise to keep his family safe and unharmed during the purge, but this particular agreement fell on deaf ears as Shuriki's first action was the assassination of Esteban's aunt and uncle, Queen Lucia and King Raul. Esteban's grandparents and Isabel were placed in an enchanted painting by the Royal Sorcerer Alakazar, while Elena was apparently killed by Shuriki as well. As the only surviving member of his family, Esteban was riddled with guilt, but was nevertheless hailed as the new Chancellor of Avalor under Shuriki's order, as promised.

With her selfishness and vanity keeping Shuriki from actually caring for the kingdom's welfare, Esteban put his intelligence to good use by ensuring that the kingdom remained financially prosperous and outwardly appealing over the following decades in spite of their tyrannical ruler.

While he disliked Shuriki's rule later on, he refused to oppose her, believing that there was no chance of success against her. Once Elena reclaimed the throne, Esteban would maintain his role as chancellor, though he refused to confess to his treacherous actions, instead claiming that his partnership with Shuriki was completely unwilling. He did everything in his power to keep this a secret because he finally saw that his family did really love him couldn't bear losing them a second time.

Elena and the Secret of Avalor
Forty-one years after Shuriki became queen, Esteban still serves as her chancellor but is noticeably uncomfortable with enforcing Shuriki's laws, which strip Avalor of its identity. The most notable of which being Shuriki's ban of music and singing.

Esteban is first seen informing Shuriki of the arrival of King Roland II and Queen Miranda, the rulers of Enchancia who visit Avalor to discuss trade arrangements between the two kingdoms. Shuriki poses as the rightful ruler of Avalor with Esteban's family having been wiped from Avalor's records and their fates being completely unknown to outsiders. Esteban even explains that he has sent to guard to force the townsfolk to cheer for Shuriki in front of their visitors in order to make her look beloved by the kingdom. During Roland and Miranda's visit, Shuriki nearly exposes herself as a ruthless sorceress, with her anger tempting her to use her wand to aggressively remedy whatever annoys her. Though Esteban is able to swiftly cover up the lie each time and keep Shuriki's temper under control, Elena miraculously arrives in the palace and reveals the truth behind Shuriki's schemes. Esteban is shocked to see his cousin alive, while Elena is confused by the sight of Esteban working alongside Shuriki, as well as how much he has aged since she last saw him. She confronts him on the matter, but Esteban insists that the partnership was by force. Shuriki suggests otherwise which angers Elena into attacking Shuriki again. After another failure, Elena is forced to flee with Mateo and Sofia while Esteban is charged with imprisoning Roland and the rest of his family.

Esteban orders the guard to treat the visiting royalty with respect despite being prisoners and expresses dread at having to clean up the mess caused by this incident. Armando strongly suggests that he and Esteban join forces with Elena, as she is the rightful heir to the throne, and Esteban's cousin. While Esteban refuses to face Shuriki because of her power, his guilt for assisting the sorceress consumes him at the mention of his familial ties to Elena, and he takes this frustration out on Armando before leaving in a huff.

Later on, Esteban confronts Shuriki on her broken promise to keep his family away from harm, including the now-fugitive Elena. Shuriki scoffs at this and threatens to kill Esteban should he show signs of disloyalty towards her again. Just then, a jaquin infiltrates the castle, causing Esteban and Shuriki to chase after her. This is merely a diversion to buy Elena time to form a rebellion against Shuriki and releasing Esteban's grandparents and cousin from their enchanted painting. By the time this is figured out, the rebels have entered the castle gates, with Elena standing in the foreground. Shuriki prepares to strike her with her wand, but Esteban finally stands up to his superior by grabbing hold of her wand and throwing it to Elena. Elena destroys it, and thus defeats Shuriki, the wands destruction striping her of her magic and sending her plummeting into the water far below. Esteban declares Elena to be the rightful ruler of Avalor, and the two cousins embrace. Elena voices her relief of Esteban's morality, confessing that she wasn't sure where his alignment fell. Esteban lies by reassuring Elena that his affiliation with Shuriki was by force and nothing more, and a new era for Avalor officially begins.

Season One
As Chancellor of Avalor, Esteban is a major character in the show that is the sequel to the special. He is a member of the Grand Council of Avalor, alongside Luisa, Naomi, and Francisco. He was chosen by Elena for his extensive knowledge of the Kingdom and his management of it in her absence. Unlike his cousins, he is very knowledgeable of how much Avalor has changed during the royal family's imprisonment.

Throughout the series, he is seen opposing his cousin's impulsive and emotion-based decisions. He comes up with schemes to prove himself more capable than Elena and sometimes fellow council member, Naomi Turner. Still, he values his family and the traditions of Avalor and is eager to show off his experience to Elena as well as other dignified officials.

In the episode "Spellbound", Esteban is among those attending Mateo's celebration as he succeeds his grandfather as Royal Wizard of Avalor. However, Alacazar's arch-enemy, the malvago wizard Fiero, turns Esteban to stone alongside Isabel, Luisa, and Francisco, to force Elena and Mateo to find the Codex Maru to undo the spell. In the end, Mateo turns Fiero's own spell back on him, turning him to stone, while Mateo uses the Codex to create the counter-spell and return Esteban and everyone else to normal, though not without Esteban noticing half of his mustache lying on his shoulder due to Naomi breaking it off earlier while he was stone and panicking about damaging him, leaving him very puzzled.

In "Olaball", Esteban is with his grandfather to cheer on Elena and the Avalor Olaball team as they face the Cariza Olaball team. At first, it looks like Avalor will lose as Cariza takes an early lead, but thanks to Gabe and the training he completed with Elena, Avalor comes from behind to win the match, and Esteban is ecstatic with Francisco when they see Avalor won.

In the episode "My Fair Naomi", concerned about being talked about by Dona Paloma and the other big members of Avalor City when Elena decides to throw a birthday party for Naomi, who wasn't from Avalor herself, fearing that if things go wrong, it could humiliate him for some time, Esteban aids Naomi in making her Royal Quinceanera party-perfect, causing Naomi to alienate Elena, Gabe, and Mateo in the process. However, when Naomi bails on her party to make amends with Elena and the others, Esteban thinks his fears will come true as Dona Paloma and the others start to gossip about Naomi leaving her party, but when Naomi returns with her friends and manages to dance with them and get everyone else involved, Esteban is impressed, and with his grandparents encouraging him that Avalor will be talking about the good parts of the party for a long time, Esteban makes sure it will stay that way, causing an unamused and defeated Dona Paloma to walk away in disgust at having failed to disgrace the Royal Family again.

In the episode, "King of the Carnaval" an old friend of his Victor Delgado threatened to expose his secret if he didn't steal the crown jewels. Later when Victor and his daughter tried to escape he called the man's bluff, who revealed the truth to Elena, who dismissed it as a lie just as he was about to elaborate and confess. Esteban did agree that he would never do anything to hurt Elena, however, he did confess his guilt and shame of what he did during Shuriki's reign. Elena told him he did what he had to do and to stop living in the past and work towards a better future. He helped regain the stolen jewels and became King of the Carnaval.

In the special "Realm of the Jaquins", Esteban is the only member of the Grand Council not happy with Elena for having ruled Avalor as Crown Princess for one year, leaving three more before she comes of age to be Queen, even feeling nervous when the mention of the Delgados is brought up, fearful of if Elena really learns of his part with Shuriki's takeover. He sees off Elena as she leaves on Luna to go watch the Guardian Test that Skylar's younger brother Nico is taking part in under Mateo, Migs, and Chief Zephyr's supervision. Esteban assists his grandfather in trying to fight off the plant growth of the forest sprite Marimonda, after being warned in advance of her attack on Avalor by Zephyr's Jaquins, alongside the Royal Guards, to little success until Elena manages to imprison her again thanks to an illusion created with the Scepter of Light. Learning afterward that the ones responsible for Marimonda's escape from Vallaestrella was Victor Delgado and his daughter when Elena tells their grandparents everything, Esteban prepares for their return once more, knowing they want revenge for what happened with the Crown Jewels. Unknown to him, Victor and Carla were working for Shuriki, who was planning revenge on Elena for her previous defeat. Whether Esteban was to be dealt with by Shuriki for betraying her at the last moment previously after he had been her faithful servant since her original takeover is unknown.

Season Two
In "Royal Rivalry", when Elena calls an emergency meeting of the Grand Council to discuss the threat of Victor and Carla Delgado still being a threat to Avalor, Elena suggests allying with the neighboring kingdom of Paraíso, which Esteban is vehemently against due to Paraíso and Avalor being long-time rivals, and how if the Delgados make it across the border to Paraíso, they will never catch them and bring them to justice. Despite learning of what sparked the long-time feud from her grandparents, Elena suggests inviting the Paraíso Princess, Valentina, to Avalor to sign the peace treaty. When Elena calls the vote, Esteban is the only one to vote against it while everyone else supports Elena's idea. When Valentina arrives, she quickly begins boasting about Paraíso having better stuff, angering Esteban and his grandparents. In an attempt to quell the tension, Esteban and Elena take her to the Twin Xolos, but when Valentina finally pushes Elena too far herself, an attempt by Valentina to attack Elena brings the Twin Xolos statues to life, threatening everyone in the royal carriage. After Valentina confesses to being jealous of thinking Avalor had better stuff than Paraíso, she and Elena make amends and are able to return the Twin Xolos back to their inanimate forms. Valentina signs the treaty, and the Delgados and Shuriki are forced to rethink their plans once they see the increased patrols at the Avalor-Paraíso border. Afterwards, Esteban and Naomi try some of the Paraíso chocolate, but quickly agree that Avalor's is better.

In "Three Jaquins and a Princess", Esteban is with Elena in the kitchen, checking out Armando as he prepares his entry for the Avalor Bake-Off when Isabel comes in to show off her latest invention. However, when an accident with it ends up causing the pies it was carrying to hit Esteban in the face, he reprimands his young cousin for it, hurting Isabel's feelings. Later though, he makes it up to Isabel and helps her with her invention before she goes off to play with Migs and Dulce's new children Mingo, Zoom, and Estrella.

Esteban soon learns of Shuriki having returned in the episode "Shapeshifters", during a Grand Council meeting with his grandparents, Naomi, and Elena, with Elena now under heavy guard by Gabe and the Royal Guards. Despite Elena's arguments that she needs to confront Shuriki and deal with her for good to avenge her parents, Esteban calls a vote to have Elena kept in the palace under heavy guard to keep her safe. Naomi, Luisa, and Francisco all agree with him, as they don't want to lose her after losing King Raul and Queen Lucia, especially knowing Shuriki will be gunning for the throne again and was gathering allies together with promises of power in return for their service, and Esteban most likely does not want to lose any more family, especially after betraying Shuriki at the last moment to allow Elena to reclaim the throne, and keep his part in helping her take over the first time from being exposed.

He is mentioned in the following episode, "The Scepter of Night", being away on a diplomatic visit to the neighboring kingdom of Cordoba with Francisco and Luisa, but his earlier ruling that Elena stays in the palace under guard remains in effect, which Gabe remains ironclad to maintaining, even when joining Elena, Gabe, and Naomi with pursuing Shuriki and getting the pieces of the Scepter of Night before she does.

Esteban joins his grandparents, Elena, Isabel, Mateo, and the Turners as they travel to the Avalor Summer Palace in Nueva Vista for summer vacation in the one-hour special, "Song of the Sirenas". However, they have an encounter with the Sirenas while en route, and then meet up with Duke Cristobal upon arrival in Nueva Vista. Later on, following the parade held for Elena regarding her original defeat of Shuriki, Esteban is horrified alongside Francisco, Luisa, and Isabel, when they find themselves face-to-face with Shuriki, Fiero, the Delgados, Cruz, Troyo and Vestia, and are taken to be imprisoned in the tower. Elena joins them shortly afterwards with Princess Marisa, the crown princess of the Sirenas, revealing Duke Cristobal to be allied with Shuriki, having betrayed them for gold. Mateo, Naomi, and Gabe bust them out with Migs, Luna, and Skylar, and they attempt to flee back to Avalor City, but are pursued by Shuriki on the Duke's yacht. Luckily, Sirena King Pescoro and his people arrive to save Marisa, having been warned of her capture by her brother and Pescoro's son, Crown Prince Marzel, and soon after, Mateo petrifies Fiero again, and Elena kills Shuriki, leaving only the Jewel from the Scepter of Night behind, which Cruz escapes with alongside the Delgados and Vestia. Esteban is relieved to see Elena is alright and Shuriki is gone for good, before watching as Elena punishes Duke Cristobal for his treason, and forges a new alliance and friendship with King Pescoro and the Sirenas.

Later on, in "Movin' On Up", Esteban doesn't take too kindly to some of the changes that Rafa makes to the palace due to her wanting to be with Mateo after he was granted his own quarters in the palace, still believing he needs her help. One, in particular, is a plant he tried to hide behind some curtains. Later on, when Rafa finally heads home, now convinced of Mateo's maturity and ability to handle himself without her support, Esteban is too late to return the plant to her before she departs. At the end of the episode, he drops it from the tower so it smashes on the ground below.

In the Season Two finale, "Naomi Knows Best", Esteban joins Elena when she travels to King Joaquín's kingdom under the pretense that he had captured the Delgados, only to find that they had been lured into a trap so Carla's mother and Victor's wife, Ash Delgado, could drain Elena of the magic within her, which would kill her, using the salvaged Jewel from the Scepter of Night that Victor and Carla retrieved after Elena killed Shuriki, while Esteban is locked up with Joaquín, and later Gabe, after Gabe attempted to save Elena and botched the rescue attempt. However, thanks to Mateo and Naomi, Esteban and Joaquín are able to capture Victor, while Elena is rescued while Mateo destroys the Jewel, forcing Ash and Carla to retreat, swearing revenge for their defeat and Victor's arrest. Esteban returns to Avalor with the captured Victor to aid Princess Elena in preparing for Ash and Carla's return to rescue Victor and get their revenge on Princess Elena and her friends.

Truth Revealed
Esteban's dark secret was revealed in "The Magic Within" by the new truth revealing power of Elena's Scepter of Light. He was sentenced to be exiled from Avalor as punishment but escaped before the sentence could be carried out and joined up with Ash Delgado (though out of fear of being turned to stone like Victor).

Working for Ash
In "Captain Mateo", Esteban and his horse Valiente attempts to leave Ash and Avalor. They are however, intimidated by Ash after she points out that Avaloran Guards where combing the kingdom for him as well as her. Esteban reluctantly leads Ash to Takaina and later encounters Elena. Esteban tries to speak with Elena, trying to reason for his past actions, but she refuses to listen. Elena's anger towards her cousin causes her magic to levitate everyone and when she finally calms down, Esteban falls into the Well of Crystal, causing him to gain magical powers focused through his wooden staff. However, Esteban has no control over them and accidentally transports himself, Ash and everyone out of the temple as Ash attempts to gain Takaina's power herself. When the temple is later sealed by Elena, Ash decides that Esteban must be trained to properly use his new magic before they can return and returns to her lair to seek help from Zopilote, her mentor in the dark arts in assistance in training him.

In "Dreamcatcher", Esteban is reluctant and unhappy with his new powers and wants nothing more than to return home to Avalor, frustrating Ash and Zopilote. During one of Esteban's training sessions, he is transported back to Avalor by Elena's magic to confront him and her unresolved feelings regarding his actions. Esteban declares he'll do whatever it takes to make things right between them and promises to reveal the location of Ash and Zopilote, but stays silent when Elena finally expresses her full anger and sadness towards him. Esteban simply apologizes and wishes he could take back what he did. However, despite Esteban's apology and remorse, Elena declares him to no longer be family, shocking and devastating Esteban. Afterwards, he is transported back to Ash and Zopilote. Following being officially disowned by Elena, Esteban decides to finally put the past behind him once and for all and officially turns to the side of evil. From then onwards, Esteban begins to embrace his magic at last and finally starts to take his training more seriously.

In “Spirit of a Wizard”, Esteban has fully mastered his teleportation powers. He and Ash learn from Zopilote that the entrance to Takaina is sealed shut by enchanted crystals, which Esteban quickly deduces is the work of Elena’s scepter, noting how powerful it’s become since Elena fell into the Well of Crystals. When Ash expresses disappointment about not being able to obtain the power Elena has, Esteban jokingly comments that now she needs her scepter for that, but Ash takes the remark seriously and therefore the three come up with a plan to obtain it. Esteban uses his powers to locate Elena and is surprised to learn that Alacazar is with her, explaining that he was once Avalor’s royal master wizard who hasn’t been seen for over forty years. Later, the three allies ambush Elena, Mateo, Flo, and Alacazar using fake firestones to lure them. After a brief struggle, Esteban manages to get ahold of Elena’s scepter using his powers, though he refuses to allow Ash to hurt Elena and becomes concerned for Alacazar when Zopilote injures him with his powers. However, Ash later discovers that she cannot use the scepter since it only channels good magic and Elena manages to get it back thanks to Mateo. When Zopilote attempts to attack Mateo, he gets turned into a small yellow bird, much to Ash and Esteban’s shock. Elena tries to blast them, but Esteban uses his powers to teleport him and Ash away. Ash blames Esteban for what happened to Zopilote, stating that he should’ve let her get Elena when she had the chance, though Esteban argues that Elena is still his cousin. Ash reminds Esteban that Elena didn’t hesitate in trying to blast him and claims that the only way to truly be safe is to stop her before she stops them. She decides to create an evil alliance with other villains and proclaims that together they’ll defeat Princess Elena. Though reluctant at first, Esteban ultimately agrees.

In “The Last Laugh”, Esteban and Ash decide to recruit Chatana, an ancient evil winged sorceress with the power to conjure horrific monsters who once attempted to take control of Vallestrella, as the first member of their evil alliance. Ash explains to a dubious Esteban that she will bribe Chatana into joining them with her golden diadem, the source of all her powers. Ash then attempts to free her from her imprisonment only to discover that the vault she’s inside of is boobytrapped. Esteban and Ash are transported miles away from it, so Ash tells him to use his powers to teleport them back. Esteban argues that he can’t take them all the way back there in one jump, to which Ash says that anything is better than walking. Esteban agrees and teleports them both. Eventually, they run into Chatana and introduce themselves to her, though Esteban becomes annoyed when Ash refers to him as her trainee, attempting to correct her by referring to himself as Ash's "partner" only for her to brush him of and tell him she doesn't. After Ash explains to Chatana why she freed her and promises to give her golden diadem back if she helps them, Chatana asks her pet Pili what he thinks, to which Pili says that Ash is definitely evil, but Esteban may be even worse. Esteban agrees with a smirk, showing his complete and utter turn to darkness, and Chatana joins their team.

In “Giant Steps”, Esteban, Chatana and Ash recruit the crystal bat Tziloco to their cause and become wanted in an unknown port for their crimes and alliance with Tziloco. Esteban teleports Ash, Chatana, Pili, and their new ally, Tziloco to the gateway to Vallestrella, where Tziloco opens it up by producing a fake jaquin paw. They plan on recruiting Chatana’s most fearsome giant Kizin. On their way, Tziloco senses someone using magic to locate them, which Esteban realizes must be Elena and tells Ash to use her Cloaking Spell. Chatana also creates a flock of baby Aranaguilitas spider eagles as a diversion, though Esteban believes adult spider eagles would’ve been more efficient until Pili assures him that they’ll do. Once the team reaches the mountain in which Kizin is trapped under, Esteban teleports them in front of it and Ash frees him. When Esteban sees Kizin for the first time, he is baffled as to how such a babyish creature could be so dangerous, yet he still attempts to convince the giant to join their alliance by complimenting him. Though Kizin takes a liking to Esteban, he refuses to help because he is mad at Chatana for not freeing him sooner and almost steps on them until Esteban teleports them away. Esteban, Ash, Chatana and Pili hide from the heroes and return to the portal after Kizin's defeat, although, without Tziloco, they were unable to use it. As an impatient Esteban asked where the crystal bat was, Tziloco slams straight into his face, causing him to angrily take his words back. The allies then leave Vallestrella, planning on recruiting villains from the other side of Avalor.

In "Dia de las Madres", Esteban only appears in flashbacks and mentions, but still manages to play an important role in the episode. While celebrating Mother's Day with their grandmother Luisa, Elena uses her Scepter to show visions of her favorite Mother's Day, which also show child Esteban's life when he first moved into the Palace following his parents' death. Evidently, Esteban had an incredibly close relationship with his cousins Elena and Isabel, having a chocolate fight with the former and entertaining the latter with funny faces. Later on, to cheer him up after Esteban grows depressed upon being reminded of his mother and father's death and his orphaning after seeing various children give chocolate to the mothers, Luisa shows Esteban trees depicting their family's history, such as his parents' marriage and invites his to help her plant a new tree to symbolize his coming to live with Luisa, Francisco, Raul, Luica, Elena and Isabel. Inspired, he willingly misses out on his family's painting portrait to plant a tree himself to honor his mother, father and grandmother next to his grandmother's chocolate shop.

The revelation of all this make Elena and Luisa become more sympathetic toward Esteban despite their initial disownment of him, and near the end of the episode, Elena calls him "Cousin Esteban" with a smile on her face.

A mini sculpture of Esteban made by Elena appears in "Elena's Day Off", along with Ash and Tziloco.

In "To Queen or Not to Queen", Elena is shown a vision by Zuzo when she's asleep of Esteban having become King of Avalor with Dona Paloma as his wife and Queen, and rules with an iron fist, being shown when one group of competitors that Mateo and Gabe race against win by default due to bribing Esteban to ensure their victory. When Elena confronts him about it, Esteban has her taken to the dungeon. After Naomi, Gabe, and Mateo bust her out, she encourages the citizens to revolt and overthrow Esteban and Dona Paloma. After it succeeds, Elena awakens from the dream.

Redemption
In "Coronation Day", Esteban joins Ash and her team as they lay siege to Nueva Vista and Coronado as part of a plan to unleash the Four Shades of Night to take over Avalor. When Elena arrives to protect Marisa and the Sirenas, Esteban attempts to tell her that she must leave the area before she is endangered, but is shot down by Elena and a battle between Ash's Alliance and Elena's Team commences. During the battle, Esteban faces Ixlan, the last living Maruvian warrior and Elena's newest ally, who tells him that though, through his teleportation, he is fast, she with her lightning-speed is faster, before knocking him briefly unconscious. As Antonia Bello prepares to take a captured Chatana and frozen Tziloco and Pili to the dungeons, Ixlan dumps a still-unconscious Esteban at their feet and asks what they wanted to do with him, to which Gabe replies that he is sure their was room in the dungeons. Before he can be take into captivity, however, Elena and Ash are sucked into the Dark Side of the Spirit World, leaving Esteban to take command of the newly-freed Four Shades (Antonia having left for Avalor with a captured Chatana, Pili and Tziloco) to invade Avalor with them. However, while it appears that they are following his instructions, despite losing one of them thanks to Isabel and her defense of Avalor in Elena's absence as Crown Princess and heir to the throne, Esteban overpowers her defenses and enters the palace, only to soon discover the Four Shades had no intention of following his command when Cahu the Time Shade, the most powerful and dangerous of the Four Shades, turns Francisco and Luisa to stone, to Esteban's horror. With this, Esteban affirms his belief there is nothing he can do to make up for his mistakes and that it is too late for him.

When Elena returns and sends the remaining two Shades with Hetz back to the Spirit World, Cahu decides to turn her to stone as well. Despite Elena having disowned him and being filled with hatred against him for his part in Shuriki's original takeover that resulted in Raul and Lucia's deaths, Esteban can't bear to see his cousin meet the same fate as his grandparents, and takes the bullet for Elena. As he is petrified, he apologizes to Elena for everything he had done against her, hoping to find some redemption before his inevitable death. Heartbroken by his noble sacrifice and apology for his actions against her, Elena forgives him, resulting in her emotion magic being triggered, restoring Esteban to flesh and blood. Together, the two cousins destroy Cahu's hourglass, stripping her of her powers, before banishing her back to the Spirit World to join the other Shades once and for all, undoing all their damage to Avalor in the process. Quita Moz then arrives to reveal that Elena's test was forgiving Esteban. By forgiving him, she passed her test, and can now become Queen. With his status in the Royal Family restored, Esteban attends Elena's coronation as Queen, and when Elena names Naomi her new Chancellor, Esteban gives his blessing to Naomi, knowing that she earned it since he no longer needed it. Esteban joins in the celebratory dance afterwards, which is also attended by the Royal Family of Enchancia.

Trivia

 * His name is pronounced "Es-TAY-baun".
 * As revealed in "Model Sister", Esteban spent some time in the Kingdom of Satu and is very knowledgeable of Satu's cuisine and culture.
 * Esteban is technically Elena's Regent, as he helped keep Avalor intact during her absence, and serves as Elena's mentor in leadership before she takes the throne.
 * According to "Island of Youth", Esteban was a picky eater when he was younger and would only eat his food if his grandparents pretended the spoon was a jaquin flying around.
 * It is also revealed in "Island of Youth" that Esteban feels he was never able to pursue his own passions because he was always being told what to do and still is.
 * He and Duke Cristóbal are the only Royal Family members to have lived through Shuriki's reign.
 * Esteban has a rivalry with Doña Paloma.
 * The English version of "Esteban" is "Steven"
 * Esteban has the same sash as his aunt Lucia.
 * In "Coronation Day", it's also revealed that Esteban tried to warn his uncle Raul about Shuriki attacking Avalor out of revenge for Raul stopping her from attacking Avalor's allies but Raul didn't listen which is why Esteban helped Shuriki.
 * Esteban's role in the show is similar to Cassandra and Varian from Tangled: The Series. All three characters started off as major characters on the side of good. One day, a big incident (Esteban past treachery was revealed, causing him to flee with the Delgados, Cassandra's learning of her true identity as Mother Gothel's daughter, feelings of appreciation and determination overcame her and successfully urged her to steal and bond with the Moonstone and Varian's love of his father and grief over him being encased in amber caused him to turn against Rapunzel) causes them to temporarily become villains, though not completely because they kept some redeemable qualities, including their love for another (Elena, Rapunzel and Quirin). Also, while their actions were wrong, the protagonists were partly to blame for their carelessness or unforgiveness. At the end of the arc, the villains turned back to good and turn against someone who was their ally during their time of evil (Cahu, Zhan Tiri and the Separatists of Saporia, who all, coincidentally, were manipulating them towards their own agenda).
 * He shares several similarities to Cassandra is particular (it should be noted that the kingdoms of Corona and Avalor may be both realms in the Everrealm):
 * Both gained a unique power through magical means (Cassandra gained control of the Black Rocks thanks to the Moonstone, making her Rapunzel (who could harness the powers of the Sundrop)'s counterpart and Esteban gained his powers from the Crystal Forge of the Well of Crystals, making him and Elena (who had also fallen into Takaina) equals in magic.
 * Both were educated in their powers by a being (or beings in Esteban's case) more darker then themselves (Zhan Tiri mentored Cassandra in her new powers while Esteban was educated by Zopilote and Ash.
 * Both were originally close to the main protagonist but grew more distant through the second season and turned completely to darkness after a confrontation with their former ally.
 * Both fought two individuals associated with their allies before meeting them faced to face (Esteban fought Ash's husband and daughter, Victor and Carla, three times before encountering Ash herself, while Cassandra faced Zhan Tiri's apprentice and servant, Sugracha the Eternal in battle and encountered another one of the demoness's apprentices, Tromus (although she did not battle the latter herself).