A/N: so in this story Emma is a teacher at Auradon Prep. I changed a few things about her so there's that. I really wanted to write this because I wanted a ONCE/Descendants crossover. With that said, I don't own Once Upon a Time or Descendants. All mistakes are mine. Enjoy!

It's an art form

"This new teacher is Snow White's daughter, you know." Evie heard Mal whisper beside her. She couldn't stop the eye roll. She knows this teacher is going to make things extremely difficult for her. A blood feud never makes anything simple. As if being forced into this swordsplay class to be tortured wasn't bad enough.

"Joy." Evie drawled sarcastically. Mal laughed.

"Eh. I hear she's pretty cool." The young sorceress pointed out.

"I heard she's hot." Jay added.

"They also say she's not like the other teachers here. She's different. Like us." Mal said completely ignoring Jay's comment.

"And she's hot." Carlos added.

Evie rolled her eyes again. "This is going to be a nightmare."

"You never know it might be great. You might even make a new friend. I'm sure she's..." Mal trailed off when she saw Jay's and Carlos' jaws drop. They just stood there frozen with their eyes wide, almost coming out of their heads. She turned around just in time to see a beautiful blonde woman walk out onto the field. She was wearing dark jeans and a red leather jacket. She wasn't dressed all formal like the other royal teachers in the school and also unlike them she looked calm almost relaxed.

Her blonde locks fell down her back in soft curls. Her bright green eyes twinkled when she approached the kids.

"Hey guys." The gorgeous blonde said. "I'm Emma Swan, your swordsplay instructor." Mal and Evie took in the woman's appearance before exchanging looks of approval. Cool doesn't even begin to explain this teacher.

"Okay." Emma said placing the blade of the sword on her shoulder and pacing in front of the kids. "Like I said... I'm Emma Swan but you can call me Emma."

"Why not 'Miss Swan'?" Mal asked.

Emma paused. "Anything but that."

"Why isn't your lastname Charming?" Mal asked.

"It's a long story..."

"How can your father be Prince Charming if Chad's father is Prince Charming?" Asked Mal.

"Apparently 'Prince Charming' is a popular nickname." Emma said wryly. "His real name is David."

Mal snorted. "Bor-ing." She said in a sing-song voice. Emma just smiled. "Is he the one who taught you the sword thing?"

"Yep." Emma replied lowering the sword so that the tip was digging into the grass. "Now... is my little interrogation over?"

Mal shrugged. "For now." She grinned. "I'm just trying to get to know my teacher."

Emma nodded. "Makes sense... so how about I get to know my students?"

"Fair enough." Mal said crossing her arms.

"So... you with the purple hair, what's your name?"

"Mal."

"Mal as in Maleficent?"

"Yep, that's my mom."

"Cool." Emma said before turning her attention to Carlos. "You in the black and white. What's your name?"

"Carlos."

"Cruella De Vil?" He nodded.

"Okay... You." She pointed to Jay.

"I'm Jay." He said with an overdramatic bow.

She paused for a moment studying him. "I'm really sorry but I can't place..."

He smiled. "Jafar."

Emma nodded. "Right. I should've guessed that. It's nice to meet you." Her attention fell on Evie who tried not to squirm under her teacher's stare. Emma gave a warm reassuring smile, picking up on her nervousness. "And you?"

"Evie." She replied quietly.

"Evil Queen?" Evie nodded hesitantly. "Okay, cool well it's nice to meet you." Emma said simply with another warm smile.

Evie released the breath she had been holding. Maybe this teacher was as cool as Mal thought. Maybe she wasn't going to judge them for who their parents were. Maybe she could tolerate this class after all.

"Arent you wondering why they would allow us to take a class that lets us be around all of these sharp objects?" Mal asked watching Emma walk over to a rather large trunk.

"Um... No..." Emma said as she opened it. "Why? Should I be?"

"Well, yeah..."

"Why?" She asked turning her attention back to the kids.

"Because... our parents... most people don't trust us."

Emma nodded slowly finally getting it. "Those are your parents. I wouldn't judge you for what they did. DNA doesn't define who you are... what's inside your heart does. So with that said, I will trust you as long as you don't give me a reason not to, got it?"

All four heads nodded.

"Great." She said returning to the trunk. She fished out four wooden swords. She tucked them under her arms before heading back to the kids.

Jay groaned. "Please, tell me we're not using those."

"I would." She said handing one to him. "But then that would be a lie and that's no way to start a friendship, right?"

"But why?" Carlos whined when she handed one to him.

"Because real swords are sharp as hell. I don't need you cutting your finger off or for one of you to get accidentally impaled." She replied handing one to Mal.

"Which is a good idea." Mal added. "Carlos is quite clumsy. He'll end up decapitating all of us."

Emma had to suppress a chuckle. "Well, we're going to work on your poise, stance and discipline amongst other things." She handed Evie a sword who took it and eyed it warily. "All of which will come in handy. You'll all be able to wield a sword like a true knight in no time."

"Are you a knight?" Mal asked curiously.

"I am." Emma said with a wink. "I've been knighted and everything. I'm the real deal."

"How? By who?" Carlos asked.

"A friend of mine is a queen and she did it..."

"But you're a princess." Evie stated quietly.

"I am." Emma admitted. "But you can have more than one job."

"Which do you like better?" Jay asked.

"I like them both equally. They both have their benefits." She bent down and picked up her discarded sword. "So, let's get to work shall we?"

"Yay! Let's!" Mal said in mock excitement.

"That's the spirit." Emma teased. She held up her sword. "Okay, this is your sword."

"Actually, my sword is wooden." Mal cut in.

"Well pretend your sword is a real sword, like mine." Emma supplied.

"Does it have to be yours? I mean, the white handle isn't exactly my style."

"It's called a hilt and it can be any color you like."

"Why white?" Evie asked.

"Because... it was a gift and... I like it. Pay attention."

"I like the golden trim though." Mal added.

"Thanks. Anyway..." Emma pointed to the hilt. "This is the hilt. It's like a handle."

"It is a handle." Mal added.

"Well yeah but it's called a hilt." Emma explained calmly. "Anyway..." She pointed to the round part at the top where there was a small red ruby inside. "This is the pummel." She moved her hand down to the small part. "This is the grip or handle."

"I thought you said it wasn't called a handle.." Mal butt in again.

"That whole part is a hilt, but this small part is a handle. and this.." she pointed to the part that connects the hilt to the shoulder. "Is the cross or the guard."

"But the whole thing is the hilt?"

"Yes."

"I don't see why we can't just call it the handle."

Emma sighed. "Because it's not the proper name for it."

"But..."

"Mal, do you want to learn?"

"No not really."

Emma laughed. "Wow, it was really dumb of me to ask you that."

"Well..."

"Well you have to learn so let's make it easier for all of us and just let me teach."

"Fine."

"Okay, well, the hilt connects to the shoulder which connects to the rest of the sword..." She pointed to the middle. "The fuller." She pointed to the end. "The point." She smiled at the boys who were studying their own wooden swords carefully.

So Emma launched into a lesson about each part of the sword and it's use and purpose. Mal and Evie were surprised to find that this teacher made this boring stuff slightly entertaining while Jay and Carlos couldn't get over how beautiful the woman was. It was safe to say all four teens were enjoying and not just tolerating the class.

"That's your sword." Emma said with a shrug.

"Cool." Carlos beamed when Emma appeared to have finished her lesson.

"Any questions?" She asked looking at the kids.

"When do we get to use real swords?" Jay asked.

She smirked. "When I feel you're ready."

Mal rolled her eyes. "With Jay and Carlos that would be never."

"Hey!" They said in unison.

"If we're lucky." Evie said under her breath. But Emma heard her.

She looked at the young girl in front of her and watched as the girl held the wooden sword like it was a snake that would bite her at any moment. "You know..." She said gaining the girl's attention. "It's not poison."

Evie blushed. "I just don't like weapons... or anything representing violence in any way."

Emma shrugged "Then don't think of it as a weapon. Think of it as an instrument."

Evie's brows came together. "What do you mean?"

"Swordsplay' is an art form." Emma said shoving her hand in her back pocket. "There's a lot of beauty in it. Like the sound of a violin or even think of it as a paint brush. The rhythm of each stroke of the paint brush is similar to handling your sword. If you do it right it could be beautiful."

"I don't see how a murderous weapon could be beautiful or artistic in anyway."

"Well, that's my job to teach you to love and respect your sword and I plan to do just that. I promise you that I will show you the beauty in your instrument."

"I don't..."

"Will you be open to trying?" Emma asked softy. Evie nodded. "Great."

The bell rang signalling the period was over. Emma went about collecting the practice swords.

"Will we actually get to use these?" Carlos asked handing his over.

"Yes. Possibly tomorrow."

"Yes!" Carlos and Jay exclaimed in unison.

"So, do you need any help?" Jay asked as he watched her take the sword from Mal.

"I'll help!" Carlos offered.

Emma smiled at the boys. She pick up on their little crush on her the first moment she met them. She shook her head. "Nope. I got it."

She collected Evie's and headed back to the trunk and dumped them in. She closed it before turning back to them. "You're dismissed. See you guys tomorrow." Then just like that she turned and started leaving the field.

Mal and Evie headed off towards the building to their next class.

"I like her." Evie said quietly.

"Me too. She's cool."

"Did we just admit to liking a teacher?"

"Oh my god. You're right! We're turning into total geeks."

Evie realized that this class wasn't so bad after all and Emma was amazing. She actually looked forward to coming tomorrow. It was nice to have someone here on their side. That makes this school a little more tolerable.


I hope you enjoyed. Next chapter will go a little more into detail about well... Everything. Regina's not in the story as of now because I can't think of a place for her but I'm working on it. (So if you have any suggestions as to what Regina could be doing in Auradon pls pm or drop it in the reviews because I got nothin') Henry will definitely be added though. This story really isn't going to focus on ships btw. I just wanted to do a fun crossover. So, yeah. Thanks for reading. Reviews are greatly appreciated. See ya at the next update. :)