Author's Note: Another new fic? This is just a very short minific. How can I not write a fic for Albert's birthday when I wrote one for Candy's already? I was just trying to be fair. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Candy Candy manga and all the characters in it, but the talented Kyoko Mizuki does. This fic is a product of my own twisted imagination and inspired by Mizuki's masterpiece. If any of the plots, specific scenes, or dialogues appears to be similar to that from another fic or story, it is purely unintentional and coincidental. 'Great minds think alike', after all.

The characterization in the fic is based on the Manga and not the Anime.

Acknowledgement:

A drawing from the talented oekaki that I used as the visual for this fic inspired me to write this fic and thanks to the ever talented Enaka for doing such a fantastic job coloring it.

As always, my heartfelt gratitude goes to my lovely beta readers. Thank you for your invaluable suggestions and comments.

Last but not least, as always, I want to dedicate this story to those who have been diligently, patiently, and faithfully following my other Candy Candy fics. Thank you all! I hope this could whet your appetite while waiting for the next chapters of my other fics that are coming your way very soon.

A Sweet Candy

by forever

A bit over a year had passed since Albert had revealed himself as the Prince of the Hill to Candy. Since then, the two had grown closer than ever. Corresponding through letters had been their main means of communication, especially when he had been away on business trips. But whenever he had had a chance, he would take the opportunity to meet her in person, either by inviting her to come to Chicago to stay in his mansion or visiting her at Pony's Home.

Since early this week Candy had been in Chicago. After several days had passed, the moment that she had been waiting for had finally arrived. Tonight was Albert's thirtieth birthday party. There had been anticipation building in her mind and excitement rushing through her veins as everything that had occurred the days before seemed to have led up to tonight's event. However, things hadn't always gone the way one wanted to. And tonight, unfortunately, had fallen short off her expectation.

There she was standing by herself in a corner while guests, dressed in their finest apparels, continued in their merry ways of enjoying the party to the fullest as their loud chatter and gleeful laughter competed with the waltz music playing in the background. Her eyes followed the familiar dancing couple in front of her who seemed to be in their own world. She was glad, at least, her friend Annie was having a good time, but that wasn't the case for her.

Candy bit her lips, sighing out loud to unleash pent-up exasperation. This certainly wasn't how she had pictured it in her mind. But what did she expect? She had to accept the fact that Albert wasn't the same traveling vagabond she had known before. Instead, he was Sir William Albert Andrew, the illustrious leader of one of the most respected families in the country.

Since the party had begun a couple of hours ago and up until now, he had been preoccupied with entertaining and consorting with his guests. By the cheery smiles on his face, it seemed that he was having a good time doing that. Surprisingly, he had even danced with several of the young and attractive female guests without any reserve or hesitation, something that she had thought he was not too fond of. But not once, had he come to approach her.

On the other hand, Archie, upon seeing her walking down the stairs earlier, had spontaneously expressed his appraisal with an indiscreet whistle that earned him a sharp nudge from Annie who was standing by his side. Not too long after that, even the stern Aunt Elroy herself had also given her a brief compliment, passing her a stiff smile. But the one person whom she had really wanted to impress hadn't said a single word. Why did I even bother to spruce myself up with an intricate hairdo, spending hours in front of the mirror for the ball tonight?

When Candy noticed Albert just started another round of dancing with the ever so graceful Miss Johansson, who seemed to be the belle of the party tonight, disillusionment began to sprout inside of her as her spirit gradually deflated. She lifted her hand and unfurled her fingers, revealing a piece of candy wrapped in a gold colored foil. It didn't look like that she would need the candy anymore now, and she should just throw it away. With that thought in her mind, she clenched her hand and squeezed the piece of candy inside it as her eyes scanned her surroundings carefully. Surreptitiously, she slipped out of the ballroom and exited the mansion, walking with hurried steps toward the verandah.

As she flung the door open, a soft beam of light from the full moon glowing above illuminated her pale skin. She slowed down her steps, strolling past the patio ground that was covered with redbrick paving stones, and proceeded down the steps leading into a well-manicured garden burgeoning with colorful summer flowers, the tranquil blue lake standing as a backdrop.

Of all the places in the vast estate, she just had to end up at the very place where they had spent some time just a couple of days ago. She settled down on a wooden bench that circled around the trunk of a stout oak tree, her free hand smoothing away the creases on her long silk gown. As she sat still on her seat, a gentle gush of tepid air blew loose tendrils of blond hair that hung above her nape, causing them to dance freely. She took a deep breath and let the sweet fragrance from the nearby blooming lavender bushes soothe her mind.

"Did the party bore you that much, Miss Andrew?"

Her heart practically leaped out of her chest at the sound of his deep voice coming from behind her, and she whirled her head sharply to find his stunning tall figure, decked in a black tuxedo set, standing a few feet away from her. A kind smile was displayed on his face.

"Albert- you scared me!"

Candy was completely taken aback by his presence there. Had he followed her all the way here? That didn't seem to make sense at all. Then, did that mean that he had been keeping watch on her all this time, even when he had appeared to be busy attending to his guests, or while dancing with Miss Johansson?

"I'm sorry - that was never my intention," Albert uttered in sincere remorse.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be inside?" she asked him.

Deliberately disregarding her questions, he replied lightly, "I can ask you the same question, Candy."

She flinched in annoyance as a scowl formed on her face. And before she could stop herself, she commented dryly, "You seemed to have enjoyed your time in there, surrounded by beautiful ladies of marriageable age."

Albert let out a chuckle. "You really think so?" When he saw her deepening her frown, he wiped the smile off his face and told her candidly, "Unfortunately, you're completely wrong - I actually think that it's so much nicer to be out here." He moved to round the bench and sat himself on it with his back facing her. "You wouldn't mind if I join you here, I hope?" His head swiveled past his shoulder toward her side.

Facing him, Candy simply responded, "You don't need to ask my permission." She paused and turned her head away from him, looking down at her lap, and then added, "This is your property after all. You're free to do anything you want here, Sir William." Her voice was tinged with more than just a hint of sarcasm.

To her utter irritation, he burst into a loud guffaw, but she forced herself to just ignore him. Maintaining an indifferent attitude, she crossed her legs on her seat. She was clearly not in the mood to exchange banters with him tonight.

Reclining his back to lean against the sturdy tree trunk, he let another fit of repressed laughter break away from his throat before releasing a long audible sigh. The corners of his lips lifted in a wistful smile as he tilted his head to face toward the sky.

Soon, silence descended upon them as they sat mutely in a back-to-back position.

Then, a moment later, without saying anything, Candy abruptly rose to her feet and moved to stand right in front of Albert. Brushing aside his questioning gaze, she grabbed his hand briskly and transferred the item that she had been holding inside her fist into his, pushing it onto his palm. Her head dipped lower as she diverted her eyes away from his.

Albert instantly fixed his eyes on the item lying on his hand. "What is this? A piece of candy?" he asked, raising his head to look at her. His eyebrows crinkled slightly in confusion.

"It's your birthday gift, Albert," she explained to him while struggling not to fidget on her feet under his intense blue gaze.

Albert watched her in silence, seemingly to ponder the reason why would she give him a piece of candy, before he finally said in a doubtful tone, "Um… Thank you." A baffled look was still displayed on his face.

Right at that moment, she was pervaded by disappointment. "Is that all you have to say to me?" she let out without being able to mask the hurt in her voice.

Albert appeared stunned by her solemn reaction as he surely hadn't expected her to be so upset. Immediately, he bounced off the bench and tried to mollify her, "Candy-"

Her ironic loud chuckles halted his effort. "Oh, never mind!" she retorted, straining a smile on her face. "Just forget it - I'm just being foolish. Goodnight, Albert." Swiftly, she pivoted on her heel and darted away from his sight.

Albert was left feeling completely at a loss and had no clue of what had just happened. Focusing his sight on the piece of candy that lay on his palm, he lowered himself down slowly to sit on the bench. He knew he must have missed something. But what?

After scampering about on her high heels for a little while, her aching feet made Candy decrease her speed to a mere saunter. She absently kicked a pebble. Silly Candy. She should stop dreaming now. A man as perfect as Albert wouldn't be interested in an immature girl like her. She had thought that something had changed between them. The way he had regarded her with his tender gazes and the gentle words he had spoken to her with his warm voice had given her the impression that she was very special to him.

Moreover, she had been so sure that just a couple of days ago in that same spot where they had been just now, if George hadn't suddenly shown up, Albert would have kissed her. How could she forget the feeling of his warm breath floating across her face as he leaned his face closer toward hers, his mesmerizing blue eyes focusing on her parted lips? She must have let her imagination running too wild because in reality, it didn't seem that he found her as appealing as the other women in the party. He didn't even bother to come look for her, let alone inviting her to dance with him.

And that candy thing… That had been a stupid idea, using a piece of candy to give him a hint about her feelings. At least, she could breathe a sigh of relief now, as it didn't seem as though he had interpreted the true meaning of that piece of candy. She would be mortified if he had since he probably would have just laughed it off, dismissing her gesture as a childish antic. He wouldn't have cared about her feelings anyway.

"Thank you for this sweet gift, Candy. But you were in hurry just now and seemed to have forgotten to tell me something," Albert's calm voice suddenly said from behind her, causing her heart to lurch abruptly for the second time that day. What is he doing here?

Spinning around to face him, Candy attempted to disguise her awry state of mind with an awkward smile. "Errr… Happy Birthday?" she told him dumbly as a major part of her mind was still reeling from his sudden reappearance. She hadn't thought that he would follow her again this time.

Albert laughed quietly, looking at her puzzled face, and started to move closer toward her. "Forgive me - but I'm going to steal another gift from you instead," he told her with a voice that sent shivers to run along her spine as he continued shortening the distance between them in lingering steps, his blue eyes locking with hers in a warm gaze.

Candy grew extremely nervous but couldn't find the strength nor the motivation to move out of her spot as he was only an arm's length away from her now. She attempted to form a coherent answer but only a soft mumble came out of her mouth, "Huh?"

Her heart throbbed faster and faster within the confined cavity inside her chest and her breathing had become ragged as she noticed that instead of stopping he resumed to take one more step. She held in her breath sharply when he slowly bent forward closer and closer until their faces were only a hair's breadth away.

Then, with infinite tenderness, Albert let his lips touch against hers before withdrawing them, his eyes examining the face in front of him intently.

The brushing of their lips had been too brief and had left Candy wondering whether they had truly shared a kiss That's it? She blinked a few times; her face was a blend of disappointment and confusion. But before she was able to draw any conclusion, Albert had leaned over her, holding onto her upper arms, and a second later, their lips pressed against each other's. This time was different. The second time their lips met, a jolt of surging current cascaded through her entire body, sapping what was left of her coherent thoughts while her lids drooping to a close. Very slowly, his lips moved against hers in a gentle caress, enticing hers to join in a passionate tangle.

A moment later, reluctantly, he retreated his lips from hers and took a step back, pulling away from her completely. In the mean time, the only thing she could do was to stare blankly at him.

"Thank you for the gift, Candy," Albert uttered in a low voice, his lips arching into a smile. "But… " he drawled before suddenly, in one quick scooping move, he swept her off her feet with ease and held her petite form securely in his strong arms. "I rather have this sweet Candy instead," he finished, his blue eyes drifting down to focus on her face.

Candy had been too shocked to react, but as soon as she had regained her composure and ability to think clearly, she released a loud yelp. "Albert! Put me down!" Despite the fierce glare she shot at him, without her even realizing it, her arms had already moved to wind around his neck.

Albert broke into a hearty laughter. Then, without challenging her at all, he fulfilled Candy's request and lowered her down to the ground so she could stand on her feet. Wordlessly, he just grabbed her hand and dragged her with him as he started to tread along the narrow dirt path that cut across the garden.

Candy was overwhelmed, too happy but at the same too nervous to say anything, so she just followed his lead silently. When her eyes caught the sight of their joined hands, her lips curled up into a contented smile. However, when she realized that they were moving farther away from the mansion, her smile vanished instantly, her green eyes widening in disbelief. "Where are we going? The party is still going on inside." Her voice rose in unconcealed panic.

A mocking snigger flew out of his mouth. "That's exactly the reason why we're not going to return."

"What?" she shrieked in surprise, lifting her eyes to look at his face. " But it's your birthday party. Aunt Elroy-"

Albert interposed quickly, "Aunt Elroy will do just fine without my presence there, and besides, if you're so inclined about celebrating my birthday, we can do that in private - I prefer that over the boring party. And then… " He ceased momentarily and brought his gaze down to her, passing her a bright cheery smile. "There is also this one matter that we really need to discuss in great details, to ensure that you haven't misunderstood my intention," he concluded, saying the last phrase with a voice that had gradually turned softer.

As Candy began to grasp the true meaning behind his words, a tint of red gradually glazed her cheeks, the color diffusing all the way down to the smooth pale skin along her neck. Only then, she realized the repercussion of what had just transpired between them. From this point on, their relationship would never be the same again.

Did he just say boring party?

She abruptly halted her steps, essentially impeding him from advancing forward. "What do you mean by boring party? I thought you… " Her words hung as her thoughts deviated from their original track when she noticed Albert turning around to face her with a somber expression on his face.

His lips folded into a thin line as he released a long regretful sigh. "Um Candy - please forgive me if I had misled you earlier and made you feel that I had been neglecting you," he began telling her. "I had my own reason," he added before pausing to fix dazzling sky-blue gaze on hers, a satisfied smile adorning his face. "And let's just say that I had proven my theory."

"Wh-" was the only thing Candy could expel out of her mouth before Albert seized her lips completely with his in a mind-blowing kiss that made her weak in the knees, causing her to frantically clutch onto his sleeves. Before long, as he deepened the kiss, everything around her faded away into a mere haze.

Meanwhile inside the mansion, Archie half jogged to approach Aunt Elroy with panic settling on his face.

"What is the matter, Archibald?"

"Great Aunt - have you seen Albert by any chance? He-"

Aunt Elroy let out a discrete cough, interrupting Archie's in mid sentence, while she looked at him with plain rebuke.

Archie immediately realized his error and corrected himself, "Err… I mean Uncle William. Have you seen Uncle William? We are going to do the toast now."

A repressed snort slipped out of Aunt Elroy's thin lips as she waved her hand in the air in a resigned gesture. "Just forget about it, Archie. I doubt he is coming back."

Archie's jaw dropped in bewilderment. "What? Where is he?"

"You will find out about it more," she said in an indifferent tone. "I suppose your uncle is going to make an announcement soon."

Looking very baffled, Archie just stared at Aunt Elroy as she calmly picked up her small plate from the table and then offered it to him, "Would you like some, Archie?"

Her nephew only shook his head, mumbling words that she couldn't decipher, and walked away from her.

Even though Aunt Elroy wasn't sure where William was now, she knew exactly who was accompanying him. Deep down in her heart, she couldn't deny that she had always cared for her nephew as if he were her own son. So if Candy was the only woman who could make him truly happy, then she had no reason to deter them from being together.

A bit over a year had passed since Candy had reunited with her Prince of the Hill, who turned out to be no other than Albert, the one person that had always been there for her all along. Her life had been filled with good memories only since then. Once all the secrets had been revealed, the barrier between them had gradually dissolved.

Tonight, as Albert and Candy stood there in the middle of the garden, sharing a warm embrace with blissful smiles gracing their faces, they had finally made the first step toward fulfilling their happiness. It had taken a long time for them to arrive here from the first moment they had met in Pony Hill thirteen years ago. Now, they were ready to take that step forward as a couple.

THE END

Author's Remark: This fic is meant to be a fluffy quick read with a very simple plot, so I hope it has done its job. I also want to say something regarding my portrayal of Aunt Elroy here. I have always thought that despite of her strict appearance, Aunt Elroy has a soft heart hidden somewhere inside of her, and in the end she would only want the best for her beloved nephew. That being said, I have to admit that since this was purposely written as a short minific, I might have over simplified a lot of things from the manga or CCFS. Nevertheless, I hope you can still find it entertaining enough. Lastly, I just want to say that I haven't abandoned my other fics. As a matter of fact, one chapter is going to be released very soon. So stay tuned. - forever

I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I have enjoyed writing it.

I love to read feedback and would love to hear from you what you think of the story. Or if you have any question you want me to answer, you can contact me through PM.

Lastly, thank you again for taking your time to read my writing.