Secrets are buried deep in tonight’s Once Upon a Time season 4, episode 14. Our recap has all the dirt that may tarnish a few heroes.

Exceptions have the power to drive people into madness. The fear of living up to what other people expect you to be can be just as challenging as trying to break away from those preconceived notions. On tonight’s Once Upon a Time season 4, episode 14, “Unforgiven,” Mary Margaret and David are not the only two people struggling to keep their hero status squeaky clean.

Difficulty sleeping is only one of the side effects when a secret threatens to come to light. Mary Margaret and David are having trouble catching some shut eye while Cruella and Ursula are lurking around Storybrooke. As the Charmings sit and wait for the latest crisis to rear its ugly head, Regina tries to juggle her own troubles with the sea witch and dog whisperer. Not only is she trying to convince the villains that she is no longer the reigning Queen of all things evil, Regina tries to keep the town from turning against their visitors.

There is no time for stories from Hook’s seafaring days with Ursula as David steals Emma away to tail Ursula and Cruella. They follow the duo from Gold’s shop, down the road where David recovers a relic of Maleficent’s that Ursula’s extendo-tentacles slipped out.

Regina and Henry return their focus to the storybook and a textile difference may hold some information. When August was still around he inserted his own story into the storybook. If he was able to take apart the book as an adult, maybe something stuck around in Pinocchio’s mind. But that road quickly turns out to be a dead end as Regina pesters Pinocchio, isolating him and Marco as potential leads.

Even with the relic, David and Mary Margaret agree that the only way to ensure Maleficent does not return is to take her ashes and dump them in the harbor. Without them, no spell can resurrect the woman or the secret that lies with her. While Hook omits information about his past to Emma, Mary Margaret and David resume their own lies, claiming that a hike will clear their paranoia about the presence of two suspected villains roaming around.

Back in the Enchanted Forest, the Charmings return from their honeymoon to find a peaceful palace. Too peaceful… Maleficent, Cruella, and Ursula have placed a familiar sleeping curse on the kingdom. It will last until the valiant heroes pay a visit to the Wisdom Tree and learn how to remove Regina from her reign of terror before she unleashes the stolen dark curse. Trusting the villains’ vision of a brighter future, Snow and Charming follow along. That is until Maleficent’s brutal negotiating skills leave three guards in ashes.

Slipping away from the trio, the Charmings recognize the Wisdom Tree by its decorative rock circle and golden handprints. Only the tree is not as responsive as they had hoped. It turns out that the heroes of the Enchanted Forest are not alone in their quest to seek wisdom — the product of true love has found her way into the mix. With the potential for great power comes the potential for great darkness. The Savior has yet to make her choice and thus the tree dismisses them.

With the idea cemented that as long as their secret does not break heroic expectations, David and Mary Margaret walk right into Rumpel’s trap. Expecting them to see the potential resting in Maleficent’s ashes, he prepared Cruella to knock them out and add their blood to the pile of ash. With the blood of those who wronged her the most, the dragon/mummified monster/sorceress returns to the land of the living.

With the threat of their goodwill at stake, David and Mary Margaret decide it is time to peel back their shiny Mom and Dad cloaks and tell Emma everything.

Regina does her best to make amends for unleashing her eviler side and pays Marco a visit. “I’m sorry,” goes quite a long way even if the former Evil Queen nearly chokes getting it out. Marco hands her August’s backpack from when he was still around and hopes that it will help her find some clue to her happy ending. What the contents do reveal is that August was onto something much bigger than he realized.

Hook walks into the Sheriff’s station, head hanging low, awaiting a confrontation with Miss Swan. However, Emma is learning more from her parents than we are sure they wish she would. Whatever beef Hook and Ursula had in the past should remain there until Hook is ready to address it. He may be having a hard time seeing the man he has become beyond his days at the helm of the Jolly Roger, but Emma does not. With her heart finally opening, Emma takes the knife Hook felt was aimed for his heart and twists it into her parents’ in one fell swoop.

Tabling their conversation with Emma, Mary Margaret takes her secret to the one person who has no reason to ever keep a secret for her — Regina. After asking Regina to once again be the woman the Queens of Darkness expect her to be, Mary Margaret confesses that she understands why the trio is looking for their happy endings.

A long time ago, in a kingdom far away, two children were meant to be born with the potential for greatness. To ensure that the daughter of the heroes remained on the expected path towards goodness and light, Snow White and Prince Charming eliminated the child of the villain.

There are certain expectations one has when they hear the name Snow White, Prince Charming, and the product of true love. The fall from good to evil is much swifter than the rise from evil to good. With this secret, Mary Margaret and David will fall fast. The bonds they worked to build may never be repaired. But if Regina can pull off her trip back into darkness, her rise will be that much easier following the Queens’ defeat.

Watch Once Upon a Time season 4, episode 15, “Enter the Dragon,” Sunday, March 15 at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.