François' heart skipped a beat, but his expression did not betray any emotions. He instead managed a bit of a smirk, then took a step forward and put his knuckles under Arthur's chin.
"You want to die, cher? That's not very attractive."
Arthur pulled his head back, then, without a second thought, spit on François' face in contempt. The pirate grimaced, wiped the spit off with a glove, then shoved Arthur back into the wall roughly.
"Kill me now," Arthur said. His voice was quiet, yet powerful.
"I don't want to be here another minute on this damn ship, kill me now!"
"Arthur," Ivan started, his eyes wide with worry. François turned his head to the Russian, then gazed at the two restraining him. He grinned at them, making them let go of Ivan. He immediately rushed to Arthur's side, grabbed his shoulders, and made the Englishman look him in the eyes.
"Please, please, Arthur, comrade, you are not thinking straight. We can stay here, we can stay, you don't have to be dying, come on..."
His voice was soft and reassuring, but his eyes were pleading.
"Ivan, I don't... I'll say goodbye before he does it- I'm saying goodbye, Ivan."
Ivan had started sobbing right then.
"I don't want you to! You can be safe here, why do you want to?! Why?"
Arthur sighed softly, then looked over at François.
"I'm ready," he said, looking at the french captain with a resigned expression.
Suddenly, François started laughing.
"I'm not going to kill you right now! Ten minutes alone, first. That's all I ask; then you die."