"We can't just leave! They'll think we did it, or that I did it!" He said, heart racing. He had been in control earlier, but now that he was faced with the consequences, he felt himself a bit panicked. He wanted to wait and tell the truth, but he knew telling them he was being chased by Darkfriends and Mave was an Aes Sedai was the last thing that would absolve him in the villager's eyes. The two rivers youth dropped his head. His next words were quiet, hoping desperately she would believe. Hoping he would convince himself as well. "I'm not a murderer, Mave." 

"I know," She said, placing a hand on his cheek. "But we don't have time. We have to go now." 

"Light, what's going on?" A voice was heard in some room down the corridor. More whispered seeped out of the doors, but to Ali they erupted in his ears. As one, he and Mave headed towards the door, though Mave came up short with a shocked expression on her face. "My things!" 

"Leave them!" He said, now fully committed to fleeing.

"I can't, Ali." She confessed, and whether or not she was exaggerating, he didn't wait to find out. From the hallway they heard a gasp, followed by a scream that pierced their ears even across the room. With some digging the townsfolk might notice the knife was in Darius's own hands, but at the moment they were liable to react to anything. Quickly Ali grabbed Mave's hand and pulled her out the door, closing it quietly behind them. For a moment, Ali thought of sneaking back in through the windows and acting like they were asleep, but the girl Mave had shared a room with would have noticed her gone.

"We need to decide now." He told her once they were off the porch. The night air was cool and crisp to the touch, and the moon leered over them like a waiting spectre. It made Ali feel exposed. "We can sneak in through the window and grab your things before we go, or make some excuse up as to where we were. We uh...we could say we wanted some private time of our own in the barn." 

As if on cue, raised voices could be heard inside. Feet were stamping closer to the door just beside them, and something along the lines of 'I think they're out here!' sounded from the otherside of the door. Ali's normally ruddy face paled.

"Bloody Ashes, ok let's just sneak back in and grab your things." He told her, and less than half an hour later, the two were tramping out of town with nothing but their supplies, a few blankets, and one horse.