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. 🙂
