Barbara frowned, pausing in her chores. Something was not right, she should have been done with this section five minutes ago, could it be that she was starting to slow down? But how? She was supposed to get better as time went on, not get worse! What was she to do? Perhaps if she practised more, she would get better! With that in mind, Barbara quickly finished her task and went about looking for more. However, wherever she went, the nuns told her to take a break for the day and have fun. That simply would not do! How could she rest when there was so much to be done for the day!

And yet, no matter how hard she looked, all the chores were already assigned for the day. How could this be? How could she show herself as the Deaconess of the Church of Favonius if she was seen slacking off?

She confessed her worries to Rosaria but the latter seemed confused (and mostly uninterested) in helping her. She tried asking Amber who was passing by the church and Amber thought that it was a good thing to be allowed to take a break. Barbara disagreed, how could one better themselves if they are not always striving to become better?

It was Kaeya, of all people, who suggested to her to consult her elder sister, Jean. However, Barbara had reservations about bothering her sister about mundane questions. Surely Jean was far too busy to entertain her for something so minor.

"You'll be surprised," Kaeya said with a knowing smile. "Just ask her, she's not going to turn you away."

It took much convincing, mainly from herself, to get Barbara to walk up to the door leading to Jean's study in the Knights of Favonius headquarters. And yet, as she stared at the heavy oak door, she was starting to regret ever setting foot into the building.

What was she doing? If her father found out, he would be very displeased with her! She should leave before anyone saw her, before her father caught wind of where she had been. And yet, Barbara found herself unable to move as her feet remained rooted to the ground, uncaring of the inner turmoil ravaging through her mind.

The decision to leave or not was taken out of her hands when the door to Jean's study opened and Barbara found herself standing before her sister instead of the door.

"Barbara?"

"Ah…Acting Grand Master, I apologise for being in your way, I will take my leave now."

Barbara quickly fled, ignoring her sister's cries for her to come back. She ran until she reached the statue of Barbatos. She stared up at her god and wondered if Barbatos was still watching over his people. If he was still watching over the people of Mondstadt, then perhaps he would be willing to lend a listening ear to her woes?

She moved to kneel in front of the holy statue, to offer her prayers to the Archon and to seek guidance from his wisdom. She prayed, hoping for a sign, anything that would set her down the path she needed to go.

"Oh lord Barbatos, please guide this lost child. I seek to better myself but I seem to have reached an end to how much I can push myself. Please, tell me what should I do?"

She prayed and prayed, but other than the murmurs of the people in the plaza and the wind rustling her hair, Barbatos offered no words or guidance to her, no signs that he had heard her prayers.

Barbara sighed. Of course Barbatos would not have responded to her prayers. He was a god and he had duties to perform. A single prayer and wish from a devout worshipper would not be enough to catch his attention.

Wait, perhaps this was the sign she was looking for! Maybe he was telling her to work harder to break through this wall blocking her growth!

"Barbara?"

Barbara was snapped out of her thoughts by the call of her name. She turned her head to face the person, surprised to find Jean kneeling down on one knee beside her.

"Acting Grand Master?"

"Barbara? Are you okay? You didn't hear me when I called you."

"I am fine, Acting Grand Master! I apologise for the trouble caused!"

Jean sighed tiredly and Barbara wondered when was the last time her sister had taken a break. The last time she remembered seeing her sister relax was back when they explored the Golden Apple Archipelago, has it been so long already?

"There's nothing to apologise for, I'm not upset or angry at you. I'm worried for you. What's wrong? It's not like you to look for me. Did something happen?"

What should she say? Should she shrug it off like it was nothing, to claim that it was simply a mistake, or should she confess her misgivings, to speak of her woes to the one person who understood her? And as she stared at the worried face of her elder sister, Barbara broke down and confessed.

Jean listened calmly, the two sisters moving to sit on the ground before the statue of Barbatos. She listened as Barbara told her how she was unable to get better, whether it was to her duties to the church or the singing that brought hope to the people. She listened as Barbara told her how she was getting worried that she could never get better no matter how hard she tried. She listened as Barbara told her how she wanted to get better to help the people of Mondstadt and more importantly, to help her elder sister. She listened as Barbara asked her how she could improve if she was unable to get over the hurdle set before her. Jean listened to everything all without interrupting her younger sister, she listened calmly and when Barbara ran out of words to say, she spoke carefully to the sibling she loved.

"Barbara, you are still young, you have so much more ahead of you. Don't be in a hurry to grow. Growth is a kind of accumulation. Stick to what you have been doing and the rest will follow. But there are times you must rest when needed. If you keep running without stopping, then one day you will trip and fall."

Barbara listened and took the words to heart. Jean was right, just because she did not see any significant improvement today did not mean that she was not improving. She just has to keep doing what she was doing!

"And Barbara," Jean said, stopping her younger sister before she could rush back to the church. "Happy birthday."