Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! Elena of Avalor and its characters belong to Disney.

Dark clouds hovered in the distance, murky grey-green splotches crawling across manifold fractals of deep blue, pale yellow, bright orange and vivid red, bleeding unevenly into the iridescent gold of a setting sun. Esteban heard as much as he saw the impending storm as thunder rumbled low on the horizon.

He sighed and closed the book of accounts he had been working on for the past hour and a half. He couldn't trust anyone on the palace staff to handle the crown's finances. The majority of them couldn't read or write. Most came from poor villages on the outskirts of Avalor where opportunities for proper education were scarce.

Esteban leaned back in his chair and rubbed his face. Things had become difficult since his cousin's passing. The illness had been swift, Elena's body deteriorating due to over exposure to the amulet's magic for so many decades. None of the royal physicians could do anything about it. Even Mateo de Alva, their royal wizard, had been unable to save her. Esteban had mourned her death just as much as the rest of their family, but held it together and inside so as not to make things worse for Isa and the abuelos, the latter of which hadn't lasted very long after the unexpected loss of their eldest granddaughter.

Esteban and Isa were all that remained of the royal family. He excluded Duke Cristóbal. The greedy little prick hadn't bothered to visit them at all during Elena's short reign. As Isa was too young to rule, it fell on Esteban to act as the young princess' regent until she came of age to be queen. Taking care of the kingdom did not bother him though since he'd done so for most of his life.

No. It was the odd weather and the strange happenings that had been occuring that was worrying him. Citizens and animals were all acting uneasy. It was as if they had been spooked by an unseen force. He'd felt agitated and sometimes even frightened for reasons he could neither understand or explain.

Isa felt it. She'd ordered the palace staff to lock all doors and windows every evening before sunset as if whatever ominous presence they were sensing was connected to the night itself in some way.

Esteban stood up from his desk and winced when his back popped due to leaning over for such a long period of time. He took a minute to stretch out and move around a bit before walking over to his office window to stare at the massive city below along with the vast jungle beyond the palace.

It was Dia de los Muertos again in Avalor. Not that anyone would've known. Recent storms had forced him to cancel the festivities and impose a curfew to keep people safely in their homes. Some still celebrated despite the poor weather. He could see ofrenda candles burning in the windows of countless houses and workplaces. The tiny, pale, flickers cast long, dark shadows along empty streets and alleyways giving them an even eerier essence than they already had.

Esteban shivered feeling more unnerved. Why he didn't know. He just did. Once his office door was locked, he headed for his private apartments.

The corridors were empty as he walked the hallways. The entire palace looked just like the ghost towns people often read about in stories. He saw no servants or guards which told him something was off. Wrong.

Esteban froze when he heard the sudden and familiar click of feminine heels upon stone tile. The sound ceased when Esteban came to a halt only to continue when he began walking again. He swiveled his head in every direction, his wide eyes searching for the source, scanning every last inch of the large palace atrium.

"Is someone there?"

He squinted in an attempt to make something-anything-of the deep darkness hovering beyond the reach of the iron sconces he'd had the guards light just an hour earlier.

When Esteban spoke, it was with far more courage than he felt. "If this was meant as a quip, I assure you it is not the least bit humorous. I am acting regent of Avalor and I demand that whoever is out here step forward to identify themselves at once."

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end when an all too familiar chuckle rose from the shadows. "Mmm...I don't think that you're in any position to make demands, Estéban."

Esteban's eyes bulged when a woman stepped out of the darkness, raven hair pulled back revealing a pale, heart shaped face, almond shaped emerald eyes blazing in the torch light. Her crimson lips parted in a cold smile.

Esteban took a step back his face completely draining of color as he stared in horror at the sorceress. "Shuriki..."

"I know you've missed me," she purred.

Esteban shook his head. "No...thie cannot be. I...I watched you fall off the palace bridge. The drop alone...no one could've survived that."

Her malicious grin widened to reveal a long set of sharp, pearlescent fangs. "Is that so, Estéban?"

Esteban turned on his heel and fled back into the main hall running as fast and far as his feet would carry him. He had to get to Isa's rooms. If that...creature...got to her first...there was absolutely no telling what she'd do to his beloved cousin.

He made it to the staircase leading up to the corridor where Isabel's room sat at the end of the hall. Esteban ascended the steps two at a time praying he'd get there before Shuriki.

His prayers, however, went unanswered as the moment he pushed open the door, he found Isa's room completely in ruins. It looked as if some sort of wild animal had torn through the entire room like a hurricane. Everything had been destroyed. The balcony doors ripped off their hinges, the bed curtains, sheets and blankets shredded. Splinters of wood littered the floor as did shards of broken glass.

Shuriki stood amongst the ruins of the razed chamber cradling Isabel to her chest. The young girl laid limp in the witch's arms staring up at her captor with a vacant expression. All of the color had drained from her face and bright scarlet stained the white lace collar of her blush pink velvet and satin nightgown. Esteban took a step back gaping as Shuriki cooed and crooned softly to the half conscious child.

The sounds she made were something a normal person couldn't have managed. He wasn't certain what exactly had happened after her fall from the palace bridge, but Shuriki was no longer just a sorceress. How she'd become what she was now, he didn't know, but whatever Shuriki had done, it had changed the woman into something else. She wasn't human anymore.

"What have you done...?"

"Nothing too strenuous," she answered, nuzzling the girl's cheek. "You know, Estéban...I have always wanted an heir, but you...you were always so uncooperative when it came to providing me with one, so I think I'm going to keep this darling child. She's a fighter, and with her brilliant mind, there's no real limit to what we can achieve."

Esteban frowned. "We...?"

Shuriki tsked and wagged a finger at him. "Estéban...you didn't really believe I'd ever let you go...did you? You are the key to ensuring Avalor's continuing success. My little kingdom just wouldn't be the same or run half as smoothly as it does without you here. I need you. We both do, don't we, dear?"

Isabel didn't speak or move as Shuriki stroked her long, loose, wavy, warm chestnut brown tresses.

"What have you done to mi prima?" Esteban demanded.

"Oh, nothing permanent," Shuriki assured him.

"Why doesn't she speak or move?"

"She's feeling a bit drained-the poor thing."

"You fed off of her?! You leech! Isa, por favor, say something!"

"Stop your shouting," Shuriki hissed. "It won't do any good. She's temporarily comatose. I put her in a deep sleep so she wouldn't be such a handful."

"Give her here!"

Shuriki flashed her fangs at him with an inhuman snarl. "You dare to give me orders? You've forgotten your place, chancellor. Bow before your queen! Unless you want me to finish what I started forty-one years ago?"

Esteban held up his hands in surrender. "Mercy, por favor! Shuriki, I beg you, don't! Isa's the only familia I have left!"

Shuriki quirked an eyebrow. "I'm waiting..."

Esteban forfeited what little pride and dignity he had left as he lowered himself down on his hands and knees and bowed at Shuriki's feet. He'd submit to the witch if only to ensure Isa's safety.

Shuriki practically purred in pleasure as she watched him bow so low his nose touched the floor. She made him kiss the toe of her velvet covered stiletto shoe before tucking it under his chin to forcibly lift his head so she could see his face. "That wasn't so difficult, was it?"

Esteban's amber eyes strung with unshed tears. His entire body trembled, yet somehow he managed to keep his voice steady. "No, Your Grace."

"Good boy."

She dropped Isabel into his arms and beckoned for him to follow as she walked out of the room. Esteban did as directed fearing she would kill him and Isa if he dared to refuse.

Though...thinking about it now...perhaps death itself would've been kinder. He couldn't even imagine the horrors the witch must've had in store for them now that she was queen again. Esteban knew Shuriki far too well, and he pitied the citizens, maybe even more than he did Isa or himself. All of Avalor would suffer her wrath. It was simply a matter of when not if. The only question was whether or not they'd survive.