In just a few words: cold, calculating, guarded, cagey, ambitious, determined, distrustful, driven, deceitful, intense, bold, well-intentioned, protective.
For a longer version:
As a mortal surrounded by powerful and immortal creatures, Jude has always been regarded as lesser — something to be mocked, controlled, or discarded. Those that have not dismissed her as a dull human with a meaningless existence have treated her as a plaything, a target for their cruelty, or a tool at their disposal. Faerie's children have glamoured her into being under their control; her father's guards have mutilated her out of hatred for humans; princes have used her to further their aspirations. For much of her life, Jude has been powerless to stop it, living her life in a constant state of fear and distrust.
Motivated by those factors, Jude has grown more ambitious. Understandably so, as a lifetime of mistreatment has made her long not only for control but for the power needed to gain and maintain it, seizing every opportunity she can to secure herself a position in Court. A spiteful, devious part of her enjoys outwitting and frustrating fey like Nicasia and Cardan after what they've done to her, and she even takes pride in proving to her father that he has underestimated her. Her feistiness aside, however, Jude's ambitious nature is mostly driven by her desire to make something out of her life — a life that is regarded as worthless to so many of the fey. She wants to find her purpose in Faerie as well as a place where she feels like she can belong without fear as a permanent shadow at her back, despite being told that she has neither a place nor purpose in Faerie; more importantly, she wants to earn that place as a testament of her own worth and skill, to prove a point to herself in addition to those that have mistreated her.
Less (or perhaps more?) selfishly, she simply doesn't want to be afraid and subjected to the whims of others any longer.
There are very few limits to what she will do, and has done, to fight for her place in Elfhame. She has a mind for strategy courtesy of Madoc's teachings, and while this sometimes shows itself through diplomatic means or trying to charm her way into deals (admittedly not the greatest skill of Jude's) — like promising a favor to the Court of Termites to ensure they'll support Cardan — Jude often resorts to scheming, as is common among the fey. Time and time again, Jude has shown herself to be shrewd, using her ability to lie in fey (who, notably, cannot lie) society to spy on and deceive others, keep people away from learning her secrets and plans until it's absolutely necessary to reveal them (mostly at the last second, or when she realizes she can't carry out her plans alone and can no longer act independently in her usual recklessly daring way), and outsmart her opponents in both strategy and combat.
Even her position as seneschal is gained by tricking Cardan into swearing himself into her command under false pretenses only to then crown him High King. It isn't a position he wants, and though it destroys his trust in her and requires her to fight against her bloodthirsty father to prevent him from taking the throne, Jude is willing to be seen as a villain by the people around her for both the good of Elfhame and the assurance of power (especially power in what Jude believes are the right hands). Taryn has stated Jude always had a liking for stories centered around heroes dispensing justice; in a way, she embodies the same spirit of those tales.
Undoubtedly, Jude is ruthlessly dedicated to the causes she sets her mind to. Not only that, but she's determined and stupidly brave, using daredevil measures to get the job done. In the name of her goals, she has betrayed, poisoned, manipulated, intimidated, and killed both her enemies and her loved ones (to either protect them or keep them from impeding what Jude believes is right) and that same intense dedication is turned on herself at times, as Jude has routinely pushed herself to the brink, up to consuming poison to build up a tolerance, scaling buildings in weak health to get to where she needs to be, and stabbing a knife through her hand to prove her loyalty to Prince Dain. If a risk has a high pay-off, she'll make any necessary sacrifices, even at great risk to herself. Jude is, after all, accustomed to gambling with her own life and performing dangerous feats. In fact, one could say she enjoys the rush of danger.
Stubbornly, she often carries these plans out alone. It's not completely a matter of pride, though self-righteousness is a factor, as Jude often convinces herself to carry burdens by herself and commit to ugly choices so others will not have to shoulder and live with them. It isn't entirely Jude's protective instinct at work, though the lengths she'll go to defend her loved ones, including masquerading as her own twin Taryn in order to cover up Taryn's murder of her husband Locke, is also a factor. After what she's endured in Faerie, at the heart of her independence is the fear of betrayal, rejection, and being made to look like a fool for putting her trust in the wrong person; after all, even her own family has betrayed her. It's left Jude distrustful, cagey, and reluctant to show vulnerability or depend on anyone due to her paranoia that they, too, might eventually turn on her or use her up and toss her aside. That fear has made her hesitate more than once and has blinded Jude, a normally perceptive woman, more than once — so much so that she overlooks the loophole in Cardan's exile of her, believing that he no longer has any use for her and really has double-crossed her and tricked her into giving him his freedom back.
In a similar vein, Jude is excellent at deception, even fooling herself into unhealthily suppressing her own emotions. Truthfully, she's terrible at confronting them, preferring to take decisive action to rectify or distract from what she's feeling (often for fear that those emotions will break her or limit her in some way, and acting is much more productive to Jude than drowning in her emotions). Beyond that, Jude can play a part well when she needs to. She can ignore her anger and pretend Balekin has seduced her, disguise herself to gather information, and act bravely when faced with terrifying situations, as she is used to doing what needs to be done in the name of self-preservation. It's that same composure that allows her to improvise, even in precarious circumstances, and alter her strategies as she goes. Fortunately, it also helps her hide her vulnerabilities and secrets, and feeds into the impression that she is a fairly cold, intense, and well-guarded individual.
Still, she's beginning to learn what it means to share power and how to relinquish some of her control in the process by acknowledging that her wariness, need for control, and distrust has impacted her chance to be happy. She releases Cardan rather than chaining him to her like she once would have and openly confronts her feelings for him. She's slowly teaching herself to rely on and trust her closest confidants, and to offer her forgiveness once it's earned. It's a work in progress, but it's still progress all the same.
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