Chancellor Esteban

**Chancellor Esteban** 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, who ties in strongly to the show's backstory.

## Background

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. He was then raised by his grandparents as if he were their son. 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.

At some point during his teenage years, however, Esteban 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 needed to be heard and seen, and to obtain it, he and his best friend Victor Delgado, made a deal with a ruthless sorceress named Shuriki who offered them more power they could ever dream 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.

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 Alacazar, 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.

### 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 can find it in his heart 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 he still has 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 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.

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 about 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 mother, 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. When he was younger, he had his hair in a ponytail. 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.