Manga image, colored by Letita
Thank you all for the positive feedback regarding my latest fanart. 😀 One asked if she could use the cropped version on her Facebook profile, and another asked me for permission in using it to create postcards for her friends. In any case, I’m more than motivated to keep drawing, and thank you once again for your support and encouragement! ❤❤❤
Some of you who are familiar with Candy Candy Final Story (CCFS) understand why Albert in his adolescence didn’t look very happy before running into little Candy. Based on his description of his runaway incident in his letter to Candy, we learn that he had been practically imprisoned for years. To protect the only heir at all cost, his aunt had kept him away from his peers and relatives, so her young nephew was surrounded by a handful of tight-lipped servants and tutors. Then one day, when Albert couldn’t have been more exasperated with his life, he escaped without having second thought.
On that day … yes, the day I met cry-baby Candy, I ran away from home.
Don’t laugh.
Even if it was just one day, runaway is runaway.
…
Who on earth am I ?
Already 17 years old now, have no freedom, things are being done in my name without my knowledge, who am I ?
What a distorted life —
I slipped straight out of the mansion.
I was good at driving.
If I run away in that costume I would soon draw people’s attention. However I was so pushed to the breaking point that I couldn’t think about it … I didn’t have any money with me, either.
Nevertheless, I had never felt so free before, it was the first time…
I don’t know how far apart the Lakewood Villa and Pony’s Home was, but I guess it was probably two to three hours of driving distance? Yet, Albert was quite mad, and he could have pushed the car to its limit. 😉 That was why I figured he had arrived in early afternoon and rambled around the area, lost in deep thought about his destiny and the people around him.
So I’m glad you like the slightly melancholic expression in my drawing of Prince on the Hill. In fact, I think he didn’t smile till he talked to the little girl. A selfish guy would have quietly left the girl alone, not wanting to get into any trouble, and nobody would have known his presence. Yet, he didn’t leave the scene. The way she was crying her eyes out drew his attention, and he talked to her before he knew it.
This showed that he was a kind and tenderhearted boy. Despite feeling fed-up with his own life, he attempted to console the girl. Moreover, unlike his aunt or the Leagans, Albert didn’t look down upon the girl of a lowly origin. He might not be aware that she was an orphan, but clearly she looked like a poor girl (wearing old, hand-me-down clothes for example).
In the same letter, Albert continued his recollection of meeting the little girl the first time (from spoilers):
You were struggling not to cry until you were on the hill, until you were alone.
I was touched to see it.
Candy,
I had never seen someone cry in such a wonderful degree. It was also my first time to hear such an honest crying.
And such a charming smile.
— I spoke to you before I knew it.
Their encounter was brief, but it successfully distracted Candy and made her stop crying. She also made Albert laugh (possibly the first time in years). Since then, neither of them could forget each other. Little did they know that their lives had been connected by invisible threads, but one day, when Candy was so much older, she somehow arrived at this conclusion.
Albert wrote the following in another letter to Candy (from spoilers):
But I think, as you always tell me, we were tied by invisible threads, so I could come across you again by chance in that way.
Sounds like Candy was very convinced that they were tied by invisible threads, and she must have told Albert more than once. When do you think did she first tell him? Before or after he decided to make his important confession?
Anyway, talking about Prince on the Hill, I’d like to share with you the following cover image of the manga version (volume 1), amazingly colored by my friend Letita quite a while ago. For details, please visit this link As you all know, Prince on the Hill didn’t really stay this long, so this drawing is likely little Candy’s dream of sitting beside her prince, making a flower chain for him.
Now, does this sound familiar to any of you? Near the end of the manga, didn’t Candy make a very long flower chain for Albert? Is this a coincidence or what? 🙄
For your interest, you can read Love Triangle (Part 7) about what I said regarding this flower chain. In a sense, Candy’s dream had come true, but she was unaware that she was sitting right beside her prince. 🙂
oh, this is so sweet and beautifully colored!
Yes indeed! It was a great drawing by Igarashi, and Letita has done a marvelous job coloring! 🙂
Bonsoir Ms Puddle
Tout d’abord félicitation à Letita pour avoir colorié cette scène du manga.
Eh bien Ms Puddle vous me surprenez une fois de plus, je n’avais pas fait le rapprochement entre la scène sur la couverture du premier tome et celle dans le dernier. C’est éloquent.
Quant aux fils invisibles, je pense à mon avis que Candy en a parlé après la confession d’Albert, car à partir de ce moment là, elle a réalisé qu’elle avait rencontré Albert pour la première fois à l’age de 6 ans et non pas à l’age d’environ 12 ans quand il a sauvé de la noyade.
Entre la chaîne de fleurs et les fils invisbles, oui ils étaient liés l’un à l’autre, une ronde éternelle…
Bonjour Antlay! Yes Letita is great at coloring, and this one is amazing!
About the connection of this manga cover image and the other one near the end of the manga, I happened to notice that just recently! 😉
About invisible threads, I’m writing a new post on that actually, so I won’t repeat myself here. Have a nice weekend!
Wow, wow, wow!!!! I am still astonished about this revelation!!! I was looking at this picture the day before yesterday, and I got a glimpse of a thought. That was when I saw your drawing and left my message. Now I understand what you meant about writing in another post. (Of course, someone had already said this in another comment!!!) But now what I really want to say is that this is enough evidence provided since the begining of the manga about the end of it. Circle! Remember? The story starts where it ends! Who is ANOHITO after all?
Please, please keep writing!!!
Hola SweetCandyAndley!
I felt the same when I paid more attention to this manga drawing. I mean it wasn’t the first time I saw it, and I remember thinking this must be little Candy’s fantasy of her prince spending time with her. However, lately, when I compared various official drawings of Prince on the Hill by Igarashi, I astonishingly realized that in this picture, little Candy was making a flower chain for her prince on Pony’s Hill. Instantaneously, the scene in the manga in which Candy was happily making a long flower chain for Albert popped up in my head.
Like you, I don’t think it was a coincidence. Igarashi knew right at the beginning who would be THE ONE… the only male character who had ever come to Pony’s Hill (Candy’s favorite refuge). Yes, it’s a circle indeed.
Bonjour Chère Ms Puddle,
Je ne suis pas surprise du succès de vos dessins, c’est bien mérité car ils sont magnifiques de plus, vous savez restituer l’émotion, notamment dans les yeux des personnages. Quant à cette image, elle rappelle effectivement une certaine « Afternoon nap » ! La même situation à environ onze ans d’intervalle, quel clin d’œil ! 😉 🙂
Au sujet de la première rencontre entre Albert et « Cry-baby Candy », c’était la rencontre entre deux âmes boulversées. Albert a dû se sentir connecté avec la douleur de cette petite fille puisqu’il a compris qu’elle était venue sur cette colline pour déverser ses larmes à l’abri du regard de ses proches. En fait, ils avaient tous deux perdu une sœur (le décès récent de la sœur d’Albert et le rejet d’Annie dans sa lettre pour Candy) et tous deux étaient orphelins. Même si aucun d’eux ne savait alors l’histoire de l’autre, Albert s’est rendu compte que sa souffrance était sincère, authentique et que ce n’était pas des larmes juste dues à un caprice enfantin. Comment pouvait-il donc passer son chemin ? Impossible pour ce jeune homme qui devait déjà avoir son côté altruiste même s’il s’était révolté en s’enfuyant de chez lui ! Ensuite, ils se sont mutuellement fait rire apaisant momentanément leur chagrin.
A propos de savoir à quel moment Candy a parlé de ces « fils invisibles » qui les unissent, selon moi, c’était probablement entre l’annulation des fiançailles de Candy avec Neal et son retour à la Maison de Pony donc avant son « importante confession ». En effet, ils ont eu du temps pour discuter de choses sérieuses après la révélation de la véritable identité d’Albert, ils ont forcément dû parler beaucoup considérant tous ces évènements. Au départ j’avais pensé que c’était au moment où Candy a découvert qu’Albert était son Prince mais ils n’ont pas dû avoir le temps étant donné que « a priori » Georges est venu le chercher pour une affaire urgente. Cela a pu aussi être un indice pour Albert de l’évolution des sentiments de Candy envers lui car parler de tels liens invisibles me fait plutôt penser à une fille amoureuse, pour moi c’est une vue plutôt romantique de sa relation avec lui, elle devait penser qu’ils étaient finalement destinés l’un à l’autre : un fil invisible reliant deux âmes sœurs. Peut-être même que cela a pu pousser Albert à lui dire qu’il était son Prince ? De toute façon cela devait être un fait marquant puisqu’Albert en parle dans sa lettre et un fait répété puisqu’il écrit « as you ALWAYS tell me ». Ne pensez-vous pas ? 🙂
Bonjour Chère Agnès! Merci beaucoup, mon amie! Your kind words about my drawing once again make me grin from ear to ear! 😀
I’ve seen this manga drawing before but didn’t pay much attention to the details till recently. 😉 Like you, the image of Candy happily making an extremely long flower chain for Albert suddenly popped up in my mind, and thank you for remembering my short story “Afternoon nap”. 🙂
The stories behind their first meeting were actually beautiful as you have described. You’re right, in a sense, they had both lost their sisters. Unlike the manga, Candy didn’t cry because Annie didn’t want to write her letters anymore. In CCFS, Candy cried after Annie left with the Brightons. She had tried to appear strong until her best friend left, and then she climbed the hill to cry her heart out. There she met the handsome boy (also lonely and an orphan himself) up there. You’re so right saying that their brief encounter somehow consoled them both. No wonder neither of them could forget each other, and that also explains why Albert decided to help her when he saw her again near the waterfall.
About “invisible threads”, the important point is that Candy was the one who had arrived at the conclusion, not Albert. Also, as you agree as well, Candy must have told Albert more than once about her implication that they were destined together. What a romantic girl! She was in love with him. 😉 Like I said to QuevivaCandy in my reply to her, I’m planning to continue talking about this in a new post. 🙂
MsPuddle, what can I say, I love Letita’s work. She’s amazing couloring our favorite scenes. Now, I guess some girls left me behind asking you to use your drawing…. lol… May I?please??? 😀
Yep, I agree with you about the distance between Lakewood and PH and now, about the threads, I also have thought about it. It is clear that she had a crush with her Prince, and around him, she took important decitions. Then she met Albert in the cascade and met him over and over again until finally he had the train accident and then found out he was Uncle William. You can say she had reasons to tell him there were threads between them but I sense, she didn’t tell him by that time. It’s my guess the first time she told him that was in the moment she knew he was her POTH ’cause until then, she connected everything.
I don’t know if I am wrong, but I sense she mention that in a way that they were predestinated…. :/ what do you think?
Dear QuevivaCandy, yes, Letita did an excellent job coloring this precious image of little Candy and her prince! Those girls asked me in private, and you might have known that Letita was one of them. 😉 Sure you can go ahead and get the cover photo on my Facebook page, my dear. 🙂
Like you, I used to think Candy didn’t tell Albert about her theory of “invisible threads” until after she knew that he was her prince. It makes sense because as you said, Candy connected everything together afterwards. However, recently, I thought about it again and realized that Candy could have arrived at this conclusion earlier (even before she found out that he was her prince). Why? Even without that, she figured that she and Albert (the vagabond she used to know) had been connected somehow. Anyway, that’s what I’m planning to talk in a new post. 🙂
I think what you said was true, and Candy implied that she and Albert were destined to be together. Isn’t that clear enough where her heart was? 🙂
LOL… I better hurry to write, before you made change my mind…lol… but now, there is no space for that… :p lol
Hahaha… QuevivaCandy my friend, it doesn’t matter too much whether it was before or after the confession. The important point is that Candy was the one who figured it out, don’t you think? As you said in one of your comments before, knowing that Albert was her prince was like adding more icing to an already delicious cake. 😉