| Reserved for the Cat | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Mercedes Lackey |
| Cover artist | Jody A. Lee |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Elemental Masters |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy novel |
| Publisher | DAW Books |
| Publication date | 2007 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 328 pp |
| ISBN | 978-0-7564-0362-1 |
| OCLC Number | 166296195 |
| Preceded by | The Wizard of London |
Reserved for the Cat (2007) is a novel by Mercedes Lackey, part of her Elemental Masters series. It is set in England and is based on the fairy tale Puss In Boots.
Ninette Dupond was a dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet who was chosen to be the lead when Mademoiselle Jean-Marie Augustine is injured. She is fired when her performance receives good reviews but also when she catches the eye of the La Augustine's patron. Poor and desperate, Ninette is surprised when she finds a tomcat that is able to psychically talk to her. The cat, Thomas, convinces Ninette to migrate to England and become a premier dancer there. With no better options, Ninette takes the chance despite her disbelief in magic.
On the way, Thomas teaches her English, instructs her on the basics of the magical world and convinces her to adopt the identity of the Russian ballerina, Nina Tchereslavsky. Thomas is also able to convince the owner of a music Hall, Nigel Barret, who is an Elemental Master of Air to take 'Nina' on as the main act of his show. In a ploy based on the fairy tale, Nigel and his partners discover Ninette posing as "Nina" supposedly shipwrecked on a beach near Blackpool. Inspired, Nigel and his partners, Arthur (who is in charge of the orchestra) and Wolf (a parrot who supposedly is the reincarnation of Mozart), create a production based on the experience. They set Ninette up in a nice apartment with a maid named Alsie McKenzie (who has no magic, but has the abilities of a Sensitive, which means she can see Elemental beings and the like ) and start rehearsals, with Ninette also doing some dancing acts on the stage in the meantime.
Nigel enlists the help of Elemental Master of Fire and stage magician, Jonathon Hightower, both for the production and that he suspects the shipwrecking was actually an attack on Nina. The threat becomes real, when the real Nina Tchereslavsky discovers Ninette's impersonation. The danger in this is that the real 'Nina' is also a troll that is able to absorb people's identities and their memories.The troll had previously the taken on the forn of a young poet and from there seduced the real Nina into a bed then used its elemental powers to absorb her and then take her place.