💛 Esteheaven 💛

Okay buckle up because there's a lot to get through. SPOILERS FOR ELENA OF AVALOR..!

Esteban's story begins with his parents death at sea, a sailing accident in a storm with no survivors when he was about 8 years old. Following this, he moved in with his Aunt's family. This included King Raul and Queen Lucia (his aunt and uncle), their daughters Princess Elena and Isabel (his cousins), and Lucia's parents Francisco and Luisa (Esteban's maternal grandparents).

Growing up, Esteban felt outcast and forgotten by his family, overshadowed by the royal status of his cousin Elena, and struggling to talk about and process the death of his parents. At around 17 or 18, he struck up a deal with the evil witch Shuriki. The terms were that he would help her take over the kingdom in return for power, and that she would not harm his family in doing so. Obviously, evil witch will evil, and she killed Elena's parents, as well as attempting to kill Elena herself. Elena was saved by her amulet, which sealed her inside, and the rest of the family was sealed away in a magic portrait by the royal wizard to keep them safe.

Esteban spends the next 41 years as Shuriki's chancellor, with every member of his family either trapped or dead. He had the power he wanted, but spent all of his time trying to keep Shuriki placated and avoid further harming the kingdom. (I have... a LOT of headcanons about that 41 years. There is canonical evidence that he is seriously traumatized and it was generally a Bad Time.) But after 41 years, Elena is finally released from the amulet with the help of Princess Sofia. Elena manages to "kill" Shuriki, free her family, and take back her rightful throne. And that's all just pre-show!

The 3 seasons of the show cover the next 4 years. Elena learns how to be crown princess, eventually succeeding in killing Shuriki for real this time. Esteban manages to keep his deal with Shuriki a secret for these 4 years, despite some close calls, largely involving his childhood best friend, Victor Delgado. Throughout the first season, not much happens with regards to Esetabn beyond him failing to readjust to having his family back and failing to treat anyone kindly. Nonetheless, he says he understands now that his family loves him, and he is desperate to do whatever it takes to keep them safe. This all falls apart when his secret is revealed by Elena's magic powers in season 3, and he is promptly exiled from the kingdom. So, he latches himself onto another evil witch. This time, Ash Delgado, Victor's wife. Ash is one of my favorite characters in the entire show, and her relationship with Esteban is one I find particularly interesting. They travel together for a while, and Esteban gains magic teleportation powers by falling into the well of Takaina. Ash and her mentor train Esteban in dark magic, harnessing his new magic powers to their advantage. Ash and Esteban free the shades of chaos, a group of 4 powerful ancient gods(?) that want to take over the world. The shades bring Esteban back to Avalor, where they freeze everyone in his path so he can take the throne.

The weight of Esteban's actions only hits him when his grandparents are frozen into stone in front of him. Elena returns to Avalor after a battle with Ash, and comes face to face with Cahu, the most powerful shade of chaos. Cahu is just about to freeze Elena in time when Esteban finally grows a spine and sacrifices himself to protect her, getting frozen in her place. Elena, face to face with Esteban's sacrifice after not seeing him for months, is overcome with emotion. The power of which (combined with the immense amount of magic she is imbued with) unfreezes everyone in the kingdom, Esteban included. Esteban and Elena work together to defeat Cahu, and the kingdom is saved. Esteban asks Elena to give him one more chance, knowing he can't possibly make everything up to her. Elena agrees, and he's welcomed back into both her family and the kingdom just in time for her coronation as Queen. The end!

I told you, it's a lot! But every bit matters to who he is and why he's so special.