Keira

**Keira** is a character in Book 1. She is a prostitute, working for the enigmatic Hishi in the brothel 'Thousand Shades of Flowers', the most exclusive location of that kind in all of Oldtown. However, thanks to her relationship with the sellsword Martin Wilshere, she finds herself entangled in the war going on in Oldtown's criminal underworld, between the Burned Man and Maron Mullendore.

## Backstory

Keira was born in a small village not far from the town of Hellholt in Central Dorne. In her childhood and youth, she was the beauty of her town, admired for her flawless looks and with a great number of suitors ever since she flowered into a maiden, as well as a considerable number of lovers.

However, Keira was not satisfied with the live in her small town. She yearned for more, especially harbouring well-hidden dreams of marrying a gallant knight, something she was unable to ever accomplish thanks to her low origins. To get at least a taste of how live in a big city would be, she moved to Oldtown when she was sixteen years old.

Soon after she arrived, she caught the eye of Hishi, the owner of the brothel 'Thousand Shades of Flowers', who offered her to work there, using her beauty to make a living. Slightly frustrated that she was once again only reduced to her looks, Keira nonetheless accepted, as Hishi was known to be a benevolent employer who always paid well.

After a while, Keira started to enjoy her new occupation. One thing she was especially good at was getting secret out of others. Hishi, who has a thing for flowery nicknames, gave her the nickname 'Trustworthy Violet', probably as a joke, though it stuck with her and the other workers at the brothel.

One of her customers, the one that should change her life, was Martin Wilshere, sellsword in service of the Burned Man. Originally, Keira was meant to spy on him, but Martin quickly found out about her goal. Instead of being angry, he proposed a friendship with benefits between them and they started a relationship that was strictly physical in the beginning. However, Keira eventually developed deeper feelings, just as he started to develop deeper feelings for her, causing them to move their relationship a step further, to one of genuine love.

## Book 1

### The Iron Price

Keira is introduced during the celebrations after the apparent death of Butterfly. Having been booked as one of several entertainers for the victorious fighters, she nonetheless spent the entire evening with Martin. During this occasion, she also encountered Jaron, with whom she instantly got along well. Later on, she and Martin left for his room.

### Masquerade

A week later, Keira opted to accompany a few associates of the Burned Man during their infiltration of Lord Vyrwel's masquerade, thanks to her connection to Martin. She was chose to pose as Harpy's handmaiden and it was a role she played well, as she stayed at the other woman's side at all times during this evening, save for a short instance during which she spoke to Jaron and Jarek. She did not help out during the fight against the Alley Cats, though after the fight, she instantly rushed to Martin's side.

Shortly after leaving the masquerade, the group was ambushed by two of the Alley Cats, the Tom and the Moggy, followed by Maron Mullendore and his men. A fight broke out, during which Keira assisted Martin in their attempt to take down the Tom. This attempt should claim her life, albeit by accident, when she walked into a knife the masked man intended to throw at Harpy. She was hit in the head and dead in an instant. Her death drove Martin into a frenzy, that caused him to attack the Tom recklessly and ultimately led to his death as well.

## Appearance

Keira is known for her exceptional beauty. She is a young woman, shapely and buxom, with the soft, olive skin of the Dornish, as well as dark brown hair and warm, brown eyes. Her physical beauty is only enhanced by an encouraging, friendly look in her eyes and Keira is often seen with a genuine smile on her face. Her favourite colour is red, which shows itself in the choice of her wardrobe.

## Personality

Keira is feisty, lively and always unfailingly friendly, if not necessarily polite. Her general nature is optimistic and good-minded, as she always tries to see the best in a situation and outright refuses to give in to any hardships that may have been enough to break others. She is a bit of a dreamer, wishing for a handsome knight to marry her, even if she knows this is never going to be more than a dream. As part of her work for Hishi, she spies on her customers, though despite this manipulative streak, Keira greatly cares for others and would not hesitate to put her own life at risk for those she sees as friends.

## Relationships

### Martin Wilshere

Keira and Martin met shortly after the latter started to work for the Burned Man. Initially meant to spy on him, Keira eventually started a physical relationship and friendship with him. Slowly, she found herself falling for his charme, but also for his kindness and for the fact that he treated her well. At the same time, Martin started to see the genuinely good person she was and he fell for her as well. They confessed their love for each other and started a genuine relationship, even though they still tried to play it off as nothing special, with which they fooled absolutely no one.

### Lanford

Keira was good friends with most of the workers at the Thousand Shades of Flowers, but her friendship to the grumpy captain of the guard was special even beyond that. A typical loner, Lanford nonetheless took a liking to Keira an while she mistook this for physical interest, he actually saw her as a daughter of sorts. Once she realized this, Keira became good friends with him. It was her death that convinced Lanford to break Hishi's usual loyalty and to assist Jaron and Harpy in their mission to free the Burned Man.

### Jaron

Jaron and Keira only had relatively few chances to talk. However, thanks to their shared acquaintance Martin, they got along well instantly. Keira was very supportive of Jaron's feelings for Harpy, giving her own advice on the situation. She also calmed down a worried Jaron when the knight was suspicious of her interaction with Petyr Vyrwel.