Mellon nín = My friend
Gi melin = I love you
"Tauriel…"
He found her kneeling on the ground, a look of utter despair on her face. The light in her green eyes was gone, and her hands were trembling.
"Mellon?" Legolas questioned, as he put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
The red-haired elf broke down in tears, and Legolas quickly knelt down beside her, letting her fall into his arms. She lay limply in his tight grasp, weeping like the world had ended.
"T-the dwarf," Tauriel cried, "H-he's gone… He's dead…"
And suddenly Legolas understood. She had loved the dwarf, even after knowing him for a brief time, and it broke his heart to see the one he cared about more than anything so devastated. He did not care about the fate of the company of Thorin Oakenshield, but Tauriel so clearly did, and Legolas felt numb.
"Let out your grief, mellon nín," he said to her, and he kissed the top of her head gently, "My eyes are darkened by the sight of you in such distress, and my heart aches for you."
"He was so young," whispered Tauriel, "He promised his mother that he would come home to her…"
"Do not let the life of one dwarf upset you so. Many died during this battle, and there are others in this world who love you far more than he ever could."
"Who? Who loves me?" the woman asked, "Do you not see it? I am alone, Legolas. I have nobody in this world."
"You have me," he told her, "Gi melin, Tauriel."
"Gi melin, Legolas…" Tauriel sighed, "Mellon nín."
"You have my love, do not forget it. I have loved you all of these long years, and it pained me to see you give your heart to another. But now that he is gone… I will do what I can to make things easier for you. I hate seeing you suffer so."
They sat alone. Tauriel wept, Legolas held her in his arms, and the two of them stared up at the mountain, wondering why the world was so cruel.