Shuriki x Esteban Requests

Night Terrors Part #1

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."